Need career advice

[chedfredson]

Hello all. I'm 20 years old and currently rotting in my parents basement. I've been researching to no end trying to figure out what career to pursue and that adventure has brought me here.

I'm yet another individual trying to decide between nursing and EMS. The appeal that both paths have for me is that they don't require much schooling, the schooling focuses on what you're going for (rather than a bunch of unrelated general classes - eugh), and they both involve helping people. I just can't pick, so I need help deciding which to pursue.

EMS seems like an interesting job, and even a lifestyle, with the unusual shifts and humor. However, I've seen a lot of people say that you can't make a career out of it, and that's what makes me nervous. Is a salary as a EMT-Paramedic enough to live comfortably off of? Salary information varies greatly, and for my state (Iowa) I suspect the salary websites are offering inflated information for most everything I've looked up.

With that said, I'm not in it for money, I just want to find something that I will enjoy and could do for a decent amount of years and survive off of. That brings me to mentioning that I'm 5'3" and about 125 pounds. Would I be unable to perform the job since I probably wouldn't be of enough help with a partner to lift heavy patients. I'm also nervous that I wouldn't be able to work under pressure. I guess I don't know myself very well, I don't KNOW how well I'd perform, and I don't think it's a good idea to go through the schooling and try it to see what happens :/ So I don't know what to do about that.

The last concern that I can think of is the hours. So if you're working 24 on, that means you're at work 24 hours straight...can you sleep? I would think that would be very bad for a person's health long-term to stay up 24 hours straight on a regular basis. And if you are allowed to sleep, what about people who are heavy sleepers? The programs offered at my community college start at First Responder. If I go the EMS route, should I take that first then EMT-B?

As for being a nurse, I'd like to start at the CNA level but I don't know if I'd like it. I don't know how to be around elderly individuals as I've never really been around them much, so I don't know if I'd be good at it. I've heard a lot of bad things about nursing (high burn out, lots of drama, taking lots of BS from everyone, nurses trying to take eachother down, etc) which have really put me off of the profession. I didn't find nearly as much bad information about EMS, though I know it's said to be high burn out as well. The upside to nursing is that there are so many different places you can work, and still a decent demand for them. It's also said that they make more money, though I've read both ways. How does an RN salary compare to a Paramedic's typically?

I guess this thread is pretty unorganized and doesn't make much sense, so I apologize for that. I'm just not sure what to do, if I should go for EMS first or CNA to get a taste of nursing or what. I'm sure it would take ages to get through the waiting list for the nursing program here.

Agh. I don't know, and I'm losing my mind because it's all I think about every day all the time aggggh! I suppose it doesn't give you guys much to go on but I guess I just need to get it out of my head and see if I can get direction. If you've read this, thank you.

 

[DV_EMT]

You have to look at all the aspects to say the least.

-EMS is not a high paid profession, compared to other aspects in the medical field.

-You deal with family and friends in a whole other scenario as opposed to a clinical setting (people getting emotional and the sort)

...and many others... but there are perks

-feeling rewarded when someone thanks you

-feeling though you are actually "taking care" of the patient

-being on the open road and not having to be in a cubical all day long


CNA is not as medical as many people make it. Of Course it's necessary for RN programs, but it teaches you proper care of the patient as far as patient needs, vital signs, and the sort.... and of course there is bathing and wiping a**, but conversely, EMS deals with vomiting and blood and violent patients.

RN is rewarding, just ask my wife, but it takes a certain type of person to really want to be an RN. I could never be a nurse, soley because of the politics that are ongoing... and being a male also causes some anamocity (specifically at the hospital where I work at). If I had to do nursing though, I'd be in a field setting (flight or CCT) beacuse I have no desire to do what my wife does on a daily basis (shes a saint because of her patience)

As far as lifting patients.... beef up dude. Do some pushups and pullups and you should be ok. And being short means you have more mobility in smaller ambulances! if you go paramedic, you can go into flight as they want smaller people that wont weigh down the aircraft.

Lastly, 24 hr shifts.... now I personally havent done any EMS based 24 hr shifts, but I've done 12's at hospital and then gone to work 10 on a rig... its not bad so long as you pace yourself and don't put pressure on yourself. Yeah sure, you'll be tired... but who wouldn't be. Most companies also have crew quarters that you can sleep at until you get a call.

Hope this helps, PM me for any other questions

 

[Shishkabob]

Ched,

Yes, you CAN make a career of it, though probably not all in the field as it will take a toll on your body.

Pay in EMS isn't stellar, and you'd HAVE to be a Paramedic before you start making a comfortable wage. The money isn't bad by any means, but it isn't great either. Honestly, as a single male working as a Paramedic for only 1.5 years, I make almost the national median HOUSEHOLD income... just off my pay alone, and not working absurd overtime. Considering that means on a single income I make almost as much as the average 2 person household, that's not bad.


Shifts in EMS vary by your agency. Some do 8s, 12s, 16s and 24s. It doesn't matter what length of shift you're on, you CAN be running the entire time. I've done my fair share of 24s, and some days you'd do nothing and sleep all night, other days you'd be up all day. Benefit of 24s is you get 2 days off, but I, and many others, much prefer 12s.


Go do a ride along with an agency to see if you might like it after seeing what we actually do. If so, go get your EMT. When you get your EMT, you'll actually be able to do some stuff, and can then better decide if you like EMS. It's not like you see on TV, all action all the time. Infact, only 5% of our calls are life threatening, and even then at the EMT level you won't be doing much if you have a Paramedic with you.


When you do EMT school you'll probably do some clinical shifts in a hospital. This would be the time to pick the brains of the nurses there, do some nursing tasks, and see if you might like that. Some people can't do field work and love the hospital, some people HATE the hospital and love field work... it's up to you to decide which you want. Along with that, some hospitals allow EMTs to work inside of them, giving you another chance to see if you might like the nursing realm.

EMS is rather limited in what you do career wise, compared to nursing which can go from one side of medicine to the other, but that doesn't mean you can't do different things in EMS, such as going from field work to education to management to research to sales.



Paramedic school and nursing school are big investments of time/money. Don't jump in to either one without being sure you want to do them for atleast a few years.

 

[abckidsmom]

I love EMS. I stepped away from a career in nursing to return to EMS, because it's what I really love to do. I sometimes stop to think in the middle of my shift "I'm getting paid for this?" I love that we come in for the day, check out the trucks, do our station duties, train a little, PT some, and do whatever calls come our way. Other than that we can watch TV, sleep (as long as we don't get caught), hang out chatting, whatever. Then when we go on calls, I love to take an overwraught, anxious person, lead them through telling me the story of what's going on, and figure out what their problem is. Sometimes I can even fix their problem, which is just icing on the cake.

EMS is not all hero work. That kind of stuff only happens in less than 10% of the cases. Heck, less than 2% really. There is a lot of moving heavy people from place to place, taking stupid people to the ER for stupid reasons, dealing with the people who fell through the cracks of society or the healthcare system.

But it's a good, fun job if you are cut out for it.

Now that I'm all grown up, I could be happy as a nurse. I made that decision to walk away from nursing when I was just 21, after a year in a busy Surgery-Trauma ICU. I love how independent and thinking a good ICU nurse is. I love how you can work hard to make the patient as comfortable as possible and then have a good night. (I highly prefer night shift over busy, chaotic days.) I love how you can do just about anything and still technically be in the same profession. In my family, there are nurses who have worked in: Medical ICU, urology clinic, radiation oncology, Neuro ICU, Pharmaceutical research, Public school, ER, Hospital bed management, social services, PCP office, flight nurse.

The choices are endless, but it's almost always a catty, snippy environment. A unit where the nurses work together, like each other, and rarely bicker is a rare, rare unit.

Good luck with your choice! Either school is tough and will require ALL of your attention while you are in it. While it is comparatively easy, it's still stout work.

 

[Underoath87]

Get your foot in the door as an EMT-B and decide what you want to do from there. This will give you plenty of opportunity to talk to Paramedics, nurses, etc about their jobs, so that you can make an informed decision that also takes into account your particular geographical area (assuming you want to stay in Iowa).

 

[chedfredson]

Thank you everyone for your responses. It has been great to have some input on my decision. I feel like I should reply to each individually so I hope that is okay.

*DV_EMT - I like all of the pros you mentioned and it does at least have one that Nursing doesn't - being out on the open road. It seems more "free" and I like that. I figured nurses dealt with vomit, blood, and violent patients maybe as much as EMS does as they're around patients almost constantly. It's just what I've gathered from what I've read.

I suppose it's important to note that I am female also, and I'm guessing EMS is a mostly male profession (as nursing has more females). I definitely need to "beef up" haha. I figured 24 hour shifts were pretty much the norm and most everyone has experienced them. Maybe I would be able to find a job that has 12 hour shifts instead as that seems less wearing on the body long-term.

*Linuss - I'm surprised to hear that someone can make that much being a paramedic. I thought they typically only made a few dollars more an hour than EMT-B's (though I've found a lot of different information so I suppose it varies a lot). How do I get into a ride a long? I don't know who to call or where I should go. I don't want to call a number that I shouldn't.

Your suggestion of trying out EMT and getting to do clinical work to pick the brains of nurses is a great idea. I had read that you do some clinical work in training but I forgot about it until now. Whichever I decide to go for, I'll be starting with either EMT-B or CNA training.

*Abckidsmom - You gave great insight to both fields. You've made both sound quite appealing. I think EMS sounds more like me personality-wise (if that makes sense?). Kind of relaxed and cheery at times but also incredibly serious at other times. I'm just worried that I'm *not* cut out for it. I suppose there is only one way to find out...

You mentioned the "now that I'm all grown up" thing which makes me think of how I feel like I'm not ready to just jump into a career and be done with it. I do want to move on and start doing something with my life but at the same time, I feel too...young yet. Immature. I just don't know how to reach the point of feeling mature enough to think of myself as an adult, as someone who has a career, not some boring job. I, too, prefer nights over chaotic days but working nights was hard to maintain a normal lifestyle with family and such (for me) so I don't know that I'd want to do it again. I hate the idea of nursing and the snippy catty environment...I'm just not into it. For being female, I'm not all that feminine and I don't enjoy the whole backstabbing, lie spreading, bs that some women (and I suppose men) seem to.

*Underoath87 - I think I might just go for the EMT-B to test the waters and also get to talk to some nurses as you and another poster suggested. I think it would give a better view of both fields than CNA would - and for me, probably a more enjoyable and memorable experience.


Thanks again all for your replies!

 

[Shishkabob]

As for how to do a ride along, find out who does 911 service in your area and give their front office a call and ask if they allow civilian ride alongs. Most typically do because they want the public to see what it is that we truly do.

 

[Seaglass]

You mentioned the "now that I'm all grown up" thing which makes me think of how I feel like I'm not ready to just jump into a career and be done with it. I do want to move on and start doing something with my life but at the same time, I feel too...young yet. Immature. I just don't know how to reach the point of feeling mature enough to think of myself as an adult, as someone who has a career, not some boring job.

Feeling grown up comes after the fact. Don't let your insecurity keep you from this career. Just go for it. Work hard, keep learning, and figure the rest out along the way. At worst, you'll walk away with a little life experience of a sort that most adults never get, and some handy first aid skills. At best, you'll wake up a few years later to the realization that you're well into your career.

I also say do EMT-B instead of CNA. It'll give you more flexibility. Even if you wind up in a totally unrelated field, it'll make a much more interesting icebreaker at interviews.

 

[abckidsmom]

*Abckidsmom - You gave great insight to both fields. You've made both sound quite appealing. I think EMS sounds more like me personality-wise (if that makes sense?). Kind of relaxed and cheery at times but also incredibly serious at other times. I'm just worried that I'm *not* cut out for it. I suppose there is only one way to find out...

You mentioned the "now that I'm all grown up" thing which makes me think of how I feel like I'm not ready to just jump into a career and be done with it. I do want to move on and start doing something with my life but at the same time, I feel too...young yet. Immature. I just don't know how to reach the point of feeling mature enough to think of myself as an adult, as someone who has a career, not some boring job. I, too, prefer nights over chaotic days but working nights was hard to maintain a normal lifestyle with family and such (for me) so I don't know that I'd want to do it again. I hate the idea of nursing and the snippy catty environment...I'm just not into it. For being female, I'm not all that feminine and I don't enjoy the whole backstabbing, lie spreading, bs that some women (and I suppose men) seem to.

The only way to know for sure is to do it. It has taken me an additional decade to really be able to work with women and not be a part of the catty, snippiness that comes with it. I couldn't even maintain the peace in my high school job as a cashier. I will not let the blame rest on the female work environment, I'm gonna go ahead and own some of the blame. I just am not a very well-socialized female.

I let this knowledge guide my choices, and walked away.

You will be hit one day with the realization that you are a forreal grownup now. It will sneak up on you, and you will be shocked when you know it's true.

Just a word of warning, if you're really going to swear off days if you decide on nursing: dayshift nursing is way more catty and snippy that nights. See if you can shadow on whatever kind of unit you'd imagine yourself working at, and see if you can check out the schedule for that unit. You'll see that the guys are mostly on nights, or work weekends only, even when they have seniority. Weekday days suck that much.

Now I've shifted my balanced comparison of two careers and my bias is showing, so take my advice for what it's worth.

 

[mycrofft]

Having ignored most of the comments above...

Nursing is a better life choice than EMS. You can be a nurse and join a volunteer EMS company or something once you are making a living. EMS is not forever, pays less, higher chance of disability.

You do not start out as a CNA. You will get stuck. Go to school, get your DEGREE (not a certificate, not a LPN or LVN, preferably get the BSN).

Once you get into it, you can look for positions outside or in hospitals. As for work environment, like anywhere it varies and a lot has to do with what the boss can do, or cares about. Nurses have a saying: "We eat our young". While that is only occasionally true, you might find yourself moving around a little until you find your spot.

 

[RocketMedic]

Nursing is nice if you like money and being cooped up.
EMS is a lot more fun.

This from a 22 y/o man who can't ever see himself as a Man-Nurse.

 

[wyoskibum]

Go to college and get an undergraduate degree while you're young. You will more options and a brighter future if you do.

 

[mlouie90]

As for how to do a ride along, find out who does 911 service in your area and give their front office a call and ask if they allow civilian ride alongs. Most typically do because they want the public to see what it is that we truly do.

+1 on this. It really is an excellent way to become exposed to the field if you're interested in it. Plus you'll be spending an entire day with either an EMT or Medic and you'll really be able to have in depth conversation with them about career direction.

 

[chedfredson]

Pardon my late reply all, and thanks again for all of your responses. I'm still not entirely sure what I want to do. I think EMT-B is a good start but I've read in various places that once you get to Paramedic level, there's no where to go and it doesn't have the job opportunities that nursing does...but nursing is harder to get into, has a dramatic environment, and I'm not even entirely certain that I want to do either yet.

I think I will start by calling about the ride along and go from there. If I like it, I think I will give it a shot.

In response to the suggestion of getting a nursing degree (BSN), I am worried I wouldn't even like it at all and I do not enjoy college whatsoever.

"You will be hit one day with the realization that you are a forreal grownup now. It will sneak up on you, and you will be shocked when you know it's true." - I can see that happening, though it feels faraway now. I want to get ready for that moment and BE ready when it finally arrives.

If I do decide to go for EMS, the school I'm looking at (and already a student at) has a First Responder program or whatever. Do I need to take that prior to EMT-B?

I am thinking about trying EMT-B and getting on a waiting list for CNA so I can try both and get a good idea about what I really want - then I have two things to fall back on instead of one. I have a sneaking suspicion that it would be easier to get a job as a CNA than an EMT-B as there are many more jobs. I don't interview very well and lack employment history so I'm also very worried about that...agh.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Shishkabob]

No, you do not need to be a First Responder before being an EMT. Yes, you do have to be certified as an EMT before you can get your Paramedic.

 

[Underoath87]

No, you do not need to be a First Responder before being an EMT. Yes, you do have to be certified as an EMT before you can get your Paramedic.

Some CCs actually do have First Responder as a pre-req to their EMT program.
OP, just check your school's requirements for the EMT program to see if that is is the case.

 

[chedfredson]

On my school's website, there is a list of prerequisites for EMT-B and First Responder is not listed. Should I take it anyway? Will it be helpful and beneficial to me in any way? What good is the Emergency Responder class on it's own?

 

[mlouie90]

On my school's website, there is a list of prerequisites for EMT-B and First Responder is not listed. Should I take it anyway? Will it be helpful and beneficial to me in any way? What good is the Emergency Responder class on it's own?

In your particular case, I would say yes, provided you have the time to do so. At my college, it is a prereq for EMT-B. I think First Responder gives a taste of a of what EMS is like and is a useful indicator to see if you like the field. IMO if you like first responder, you will like EMT, and vice versa. I think trying this first would be a better choice since it's not as intensive as EMT but will still give you a feel for the field.

 

[Shishkabob]

Some CCs actually do have First Responder as a pre-req to their EMT program.
OP, just check your school's requirements for the EMT program to see if that is is the case.

School, yes. State certification? No.

 

[BandageBrigade]

Where in iowa are you at? If you are somewhat near me I could give you salary info and shift schedules for the area. Also maybe a ridealong contact. Pm me if you want