Working three 24 shifts in a single week

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Gambit7

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Hey guys,

Just wondering, does anyone here work three 24 shifts in a week? It seems very possible with working a schedule like this:

24 on
24 off
24 on
24 off
24 on
48 off

Anybody do something like that? I'm really new to the EMS game, and wondering how people can make enough $$$ to support a family.

Thanks guys.
 
Gambit7 said:
Hey guys,

Just wondering, does anyone here work three 24 shifts in a week? It seems very possible with working a schedule like this:

24 on
24 off
24 on
24 off
24 on
48 off
Click to expand...

I hope your shifts are really slow before you try that. Otherwise, when you are off you will be rather unpleasant to be around after a few months. It also won't be great for your health.

Gambit7 said:
I'm really new to the EMS game, and wondering how people can make enough $$$ to support a family.
Click to expand...

Depends on how much you make and how much you want to spend.

But most EMS people I know today, as well as when I worked EMS had 2 or 3 jobs to try to have a decent quality of life for the family.

I have found for myself it really helps if at least one of those jobs is away from patients.

But the long and short of it is, most places in the US, you do not make enough money in EMS to support a family.

I saw one post here in the last few days that said medics were offered $11-12
an hour. My very first year as a medic I would have laughed at anyone who offered me that little.

Different times I guess.
 
Yea I was thinking that would only work if the shifts were slow ones where you could catch a nap or two. If it was fast paced I think I'd just die with a schedule like that.
 
I worked that exact schedule for 4 months at a station with a call volume ranging from 70 to 100 calls a month, so pretty slow. I hated everything and everyone. I started losing my hair because of my jacked up sleep schedule. Even if you have four days off a week, you're waking up and work or have to be at work the next day. It is abso-f**king-lutely terrible. Stay away from it, its not worth it. 24s should only be worked in a Kelly schedule configuration

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I worked 72 straight multiple times. A few times with the same partner the entire time. You get agitated with each other. But it can be done.

Just keep yourselves busy and sleep a lot
 
adamjh3 said:
I worked that exact schedule for 4 months at a station with a call volume ranging from 70 to 100 calls a month, so pretty slow. I hated everything and everyone. I started losing my hair because of my jacked up sleep schedule. Even if you have four days off a week, you're waking up and work or have to be at work the next day. It is abso-f**king-lutely terrible. Stay away from it, its not worth it. 24s should only be worked in a Kelly schedule configuration

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

The key to surviving any work one off one configuration is having days that you wake up at home two days in a row, at a normal wake up time, at least once in a week.

Since my husband stopped working overtime I can really see it. For this reason,I wouldn't work a 24/48 schedule either.
 
My shifts are 24/48, so I will work three 24's one week and only two the next week. That being said, I am on my 4th 24 hour shift this week.
 
Try and negotiate for 24/72s, that schedule rocks ;) :D

As far as that schedule, to reiterate what others have said, it's doable but it definitely takes a toll on you after a while.

They are probably going to offer you a lower hourly rate and say the scheduled OT makes up for it. It will likely just bring you to the area average. On the plus side, you won't be spending a lot because you'll be sleeping most of your day off ;)

Edit: Also consider any OT opportunities. Any OT shift you pick up will force you to work either a 48 or 72 (if that's even allowed, it blows), and your only 48hr break will be shot.
 
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I think there is a bit of a disconnect between what is possible and what is a good idea.

When you work all the time, family life suffers.

Job performance suffers.

interpersonal reactions with supervisors, etc, that you need to further your career suffers.

So when you get your pay cheque, your kids don't identifying with you, outright hate you, your wife leaving you, your friends never wanting to be around, and how you can't make new friends because you don't relate well with people, you may find that the money really wasn't worth it.

But if it is any small comfort, you can still call yourself a hero.

The worst thing about it is, you don't see how hard it is to really put up with you until something major happens like you get fired or find the house empty. Then you feel angry betrayed.

The next thing that goes through your head is "I did it all for them" but that is not what they wanted or needed. "They" probably tried to tell you several times too, but you were too tired or busy.

There is more to life than money and things.

The only question is what it costs to figure that out.
 
I worked a modified Detroit schedule which is on/off/on/off/on/4 days off.

It sucked. If you had a busy shift, those middle days were a throw away. I'd spend half the day sleeping. The 4 days off was really only 3 days, as you needed the first day to sleep and get back into a normal rhythm.

Then I went to a 48/96 and loved it. Busy enough to prevent boredom and enough down time to let you catch up on sleep. Obviously, we had shifts that were busy as hell, but it all worked out in the end.

And no matter what shift configuration you work, it's hard to support a family on EMS wages.
 
I would not do that schedule, with or without a family. We work 84 hours in a two week period. No OT till after 84 hours. No set schedule (which at times is nice, with trades its possible to get almost 2 weeks off without using vacation).

Having a comfortable life is doable in ems. I work one ambulance job as my families primary source of income. My wife stays home with our son. A moderate sized house, nothing fancy. No fancy cars. Budget yourself and decide whats important. We pay all our bills on time, eat out occasionally. I do not eat out at work. Bring my own food or we make lunch/dinner as a crew and all chip in $2 or $2.50. For luxuries (date nights, I'm big into mountain biking, my wife enjoys fancy cooking and all the pricey equipment thats needed to do it) I teach AHA CPR and first aid courses. Dont use a credit card except in absolute emergencys. You have to make sacrfices, but it is doable.
Market yourself and find the job you deserve. You may have to move. Research diffrent areas and services in areas you'd consider living in and network

Sorry for any spelling or grammar errors, my phone hates me today.
 
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Wow. Thanks for responding everyone.

I guess I need to step back and figure out how to make the income I need for my family - it's gonna be hard to match my IT job income if I left this job.
 
Gambit7 said:
Wow. Thanks for responding everyone.

I guess I need to step back and figure out how to make the income I need for my family - it's gonna be hard to match my IT job income if I left this job.
Click to expand...

Well like others have said, if you can deal with a simple lifestyle the wage is doable. I'm in the process of walking away from an IT job with decent pay to go the medic route knowing I will be taking a big pay cut. It's worth it to me though since I feel no sense of accomplishment and don't enjoy what I do.

I'd rather be poor doing something where I provide a valuable service to people and feel good about my job then work a job I absolutely hate just because it pays well.
 
24/24/24/24 sucks. Don't do it.


Hell, I even didn't like 24/48s, because you were either recuperating from your last shift, or preparing for the next one, and chances are you couldn't sleep through the night at work.


I currently do 16s. Tues/Thurs/Sat. I like it because I never have to work 2 days in a row, unless I want to pick up OT on one of my 4 days off, AND I still get to sleep, uninterrupted, in my own bed, where some BS abdominal pain for 3 weeks wont call 911 at 3am wanting a taxi ride. You may think working 3 16s would be worse than 24/48, but I find it much better. Still get 4 days a week off.



Seeing as how you're in DFW, and seeing that schedule, I bet it's an IFT company, and I bet I can guess which one. Go get your medic and get a better offer at a different agency.
 
BandageBrigade said:
Dont use a credit card except in absolute emergencys.
Click to expand...

Actually, an emergency is the last thing you want to use a credit card on, as you should have cash saved for such an occasion. Nothing wrong with using a credit card, as long as you never pay a cent in interest (meaning you pay the bill in full every month)


I use a credit card for nearly every purchase because I get cash back, I get much better fraud protection than a debit card does, plus I get warranty coverage, return coverage and other perks. I just never spend more than I would have in cash anyhow, and debt is never an issue. I pay my CC bill nearly daily, treating it like a debit card.
 
From earlier reply:
"..dispatch schedule of eight hour shifts. Two days, three swings, four mids, three off; four swings, three mids, two off. I lasted ten months".
Our (1977) USAF FD (not very busy usually): 24 on, 24 off, with a steady Kelly Day each week (mine accommodated my EMT class, Tuesdays I believe). I worked 8 her DAY shifts for civilian ambulance on my off days after getting EMT.

Search "Schedules"
 
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Gambit7 said:
Wow. Thanks for responding everyone.

I guess I need to step back and figure out how to make the income I need for my family - it's gonna be hard to match my IT job income if I left this job.
Click to expand...

Linuss said:
Actually, an emergency is the last thing you want to use a credit card on, as you should have cash saved for such an occasion. Nothing wrong with using a credit card, as long as you never pay a cent in interest (meaning you pay the bill in full every month)


I use a credit card for nearly every purchase because I get cash back, I get much better fraud protection than a debit card does, plus I get warranty coverage, return coverage and other perks. I just never spend more than I would have in cash anyhow, and debt is never an issue. I pay my CC bill nearly daily, treating it like a debit card.
Click to expand...

Ah, I did not make myself clear. Like that yes, as long as it is pay off monthly. Emergencys is a fine time to use a cc. My jeep brakes down middle of nowhere? CC. I don't carry large amounts of cash, and don't use a debit for large transfers either(its actually limited to prevent large fraudulent purchases) Had it stolen before. What a hassle.

My advice was more for a person who is not good with finances, such as someone who does not think you can make a living on ems.
 
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most places around here are 24/48 with a Kelley day. It works out well at most stations. At some of the busier stations (read: 17,000 runs a year) they will move guys to some of the quieter stations halfway through the day.

A friend of mine in St. Louis had his department move to a 48/96 schedule and love it for a few months. Then the tornado hit, and that was a long 48 hours...

The only people I've seen work a 24on 24off schedule and like it are the guys at the airport. Since they pretty much never do anything as they are no longer mutual aid with the city, they can handle the rigor of that schedule. I do believe that they are not allowed to sleep until the last scheduled flight comes in, so there are some days that they can only sleep from 2am-5am, but I'm sure they take some naps during the day...
 
Welcome to EMS

Man those schedules suck even more when on the 24 hrs off you are on 2nd call. I've done that for years. If your in this for the money, you picked the carrer.

Talk to the old timers and see how they maximize their incomes.

Use the O.T. and Call back pay as much as possible. There were years I earned $102,000 a year and then there were those years I earned $50,000 it just depends on how hard you wish to work.

My biggest regret is how long I was away from my family. Balance is the name of the game.
 
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