chedfredson
Forum Ride Along
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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.
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.