Looks like I'm back to software. No EMS opps anywhere.

Phlipper

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I've wanted to try EMS since I took the CLS course in the Army many years ago, and finally got the opportunity to start this year. So I'm an EMT-B in the medic A&P class and after contacting every paid and volunteer county, municipal, and community service in a 75 mile radius I can't even find a place to volunteer. I have exactly zero practical experience and no chance of getting any until Paramedic clinical rotations, and the odds of landing any kind of paying gig are astronomical and don't appear to get much better after the Para course. Sure hate it. I talked to a lot of EMTs and Medics before starting school and never got a hint of this bad of a job situation. Maybe if I'd started younger. I dunno.

So ... back to Cubicle Hell. I'm sending out resumes tomorrow to start looking for an IT job again. The money will be nice, but I feel like I've sold my soul to jargon-spewing, backstabbing corporate zombies. The mere though of going back makes me nauseous. But I can't justify another year of school when the job prospects are this bad and likely to get worse as the tax base to pay for these services keeps shrinking more and more each quarter all over the Southeast.

Hope you guys have better luck than I have had. Ya'll stay safe out there. :D
 

akflightmedic

Forum Deputy Chief
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No one misled you here. See this thread many times over....people still do not listen.

Good luck!
 
OP
OP
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Phlipper

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No one misled you here. See this thread many times over....people still do not listen.

Uhhh .. not sure where this is coming from, or where I said that. I hadn't even heard of this site till I was almost finished with the basic. :blink:
 
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akflightmedic

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Just reinforcing what you said for any johnny come latelys.

Not sure when you joined but had it been prior to starting the class, you would not have been misled as it is discussed here often and people hear what they want to hear.

That is what I was saying...not directed at you.

As an aside, with the internet at our finger tips, you can bet your bottom dollar I will check out every possible resource before I ever decide to pursue another career. It is simply part of due diligence and we owe it to ourselves, but so few follow through.
 

terrible one

Always wandering
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you would not have been misled as it is discussed here often and people hear what they want to hear.


exactly.
look through the employment section (or should I say UNemployment section) to see just how many are looking for positions. Which is not surprising considering how many times "healthcare jobs are available" is advertised. people see EMS as healthcare (debatable) and go through a 2 week long class expecting to walk into the first place they apply and get hired. Then they'll go through a 6month-1 year medic course thinking if there are no EMT jobs there must be Paramedic jobs and guess what? its just as bad.
Unfortunetly the job market is not what it was 5 years ago or even 3. This is not directed at the OP (by the way)
Sorry it didn't work out for you, good luck back in the software world. You can always try your endevour later on if/when the economy improves.
 
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Shishkabob

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Meh, EMT jobs are hard.


Once you get your medic it should be a bit easier.
 

terrible one

Always wandering
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haha. ok, I suppose you did.

just to give some an idea, my paramedic class that finished in the summer of 2009 with 16 students, less than half are currently working as a medic.
 

TransportJockey

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haha. ok, I suppose you did.

just to give some an idea, my paramedic class that finished in the summer of 2009 with 16 students, less than half are currently working as a medic.

VEry location dependant. And you're in CA which is one of the hardest states to find employment in due to an overabundance of EMTs at all levels. I think every single one from my medic class in NM, and the one before that, have all found work except for one that I know of (she's going to school in a place that doesn't have any medic level services and the only paid service is the local FD [ILS level]).

In the few months since I got my TX EMT-I card, I've been looking at places to apply and there are tons of medic spots, especially in the more rural areas), same with NM.
 
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