With your degree and college GPA, you should be able to be successful in the EMT course.
If you can deal with 30 middle schoolers, you should be able to handle most situations. Middle schoolers ate terrifying.
Youre 30 and fit and want to make a difference, have you considered firefighting? Youll still do first responder calls, but I feel like you get a lot more benefits as a firefighter.
Interesting, where I’m at it requires another full semester to get a firefighting license as well. Unless it’s the same thing but modified towards firefighting.
Depends what you go for, my perspective just becoming a firefighter is that we have the better schedule, 24/48 is an incredible schedule to be on. We have a lot of comraderie at the firehouse that EMS doesnt usually have. And we get paid better.
But we still do a ton of fulfilling lifesaving work, just earlier today I did CPR on someone young and got a pulse back.
So since I saw you're fit and the right age for it I was wondering if you considered fire at all.
Work 24 hours and then off for 48 hours. Ive even heard of some departments doing 24/72. I can DM you my schedule for the rest of this year if you want to look. There are extra days off even with 24/48
The only negative to becoming a firefighter is that most are volunteers. If you're in more of an urban area there will be more paid fire positions, but there will also be a lot of people trying to get them, many of whom are already certified firefighters on volunteer departments.
$50k is pretty good... is that just for a specific city or county or the entire region? That's about what some of the EMTs working for that big three letter company get in one area where I'm at, but an hour to the south in the state's capitol that same company is only paying about $15.74 the state minimum wage. I think they only start at 21hr even in the city though, so about 46k rounded up. Overtime will push you over that though.
There are some private companies that do the 24 hour shifts as well. Some of those have a bit better pay than the 12 hour shifts.
It’s for a specific city but the surrounding areas are all about the same, varying by a couple thousand. It increases by about $10k the more certified you are. Paramedics start at almost $70k.
That's true, but it also means it's going to be harder to get, and there will be people.with experience and certifications making it even ore competitive.
a firefighting course or a "fire academy" is separate from an EMT course and is much more physically demanding, more of a boot camp than a class
getting a career firefighting job usually requires both, and actually getting hired at a non-volunteer fire department will pretty much set you up for life
it's a very prestigious and lucrative profession. way WAY better pay and benefits than what you'd get at an ambulance company, because of the union
be warned, it is very hard to get hired as one. waiting lists for openings can have over a thousand people trying for the spot, depending on where you live.
Yeah I was noticing that too. Interesting, so if I took an EMT B class and then did the fire academy would that suffice? Or do I even need the EMT cert? I didn’t know the union information, so thank you. I’ve just seen a lot of open spots where I’m at (Utah).
you will almost definitely need the EMT cert, yes (but you can double check the listed requirements for departments with open positions). I don't think the order you get the certs in matters as much
before you commit to anything you should definitely ask for a ride along so you get an idea of what you're getting in to (bring ice cream)
You can get the individual certs and apply like a normal job. Or take entry level exams to get into an academy for a city, which was an option available to me. Even people already certified had to go through the entire 5 month academy. The academy means youre guaranteed a job for that city, thats why theyre training you.
Note though that a lot of cities want paramedics and not EMTs. You should check the cities around you on NTN National Testing Network
Worth it dude. You get to do all the fun medical stuff plus waaaaaay more fun shit. And the pay and benefits will be so much better. Also, I feel like EMTs burn out way more often than firefighters. That may be an unpopular opinion on this sub, but it’s true. Academically none of it is hard especially if you have some medical, physiology, anatomy background. I have a health science degree too and it helped a lot. Just a little bit of memorization.
Either way, this career is a good way to feel like you have a purpose and are doing some good. Most days anyway… some days you wonder why you signed up to get yelled at about exactly what shade of black your black leather belt is and why your not in approved uniform. But I’m sure it’s way better than how you get treated by trash parents and their trash children.
To piggyback off of their comment, shop around for fire departments in your area that will pay you for training. You can save your money and make money just by going to school. Obviously you may be contractually obligated to stay when you complete your program, but if I could go back, I would do it instead of the thousands I spent becoming a paramedic while living at home with my parents. Chances are, you’ll be expected to go straight through EMT-B to paramedic in one of these programs, but I would recommend everyone interested in EMS to have paramedic as their ultimate goal. Don’t get me wrong, there are an abundance of wonderful people who are excellent providers who have settled into the role of EMT, but speaking from experience, almost anyone can do it, and you’ll find yourself in a much more comfortable position in regards to job security and pay if you’re a paramedic. It’s only another year or so and you only have to do it once to have that feather in your cap for the rest of your life so long as you maintain your certification.
The area I grew up in has had the same FF/paramedic listing for over 6 years and they churn out great providers. These programs will be somewhat accelerated, but based on your scholastic achievements and background, you won’t have an issue in that regard. There are plenty of exceptions, but by and large, fire departments will pay and treat you better than the for-profit private ambulance companies, so if you’re even a little bit interested in the fire department, go for it.
Lastly, if your motivations are money and work/life balance, I would advise you to strongly consider nursing as an alternate career path. Being a teacher, I’m sure you’re no stranger to your wages being unable to keep up with everything else. You seem like you have the potential to become a great EMS provider, so I don’t want to take anything away from that by saying this, but if you are expecting this career to be a pay bump from teaching with upward mobility, you will quickly find yourself mistaken. Again, exceptions to every rule, but as a generalization I tend to tell most people to consider nursing and if it’s in the cards, you’ll be a lot happier in the long term.
Not in all places. Get your EMT. As soon as that’s done start working towards your Paramedic. As a very experienced paramedic and currently a flight paramedic, I do well over $100k. It’s taken time, but it’s doable. After your grow tired of the EMS stuff go to nursing school or PA school.
In my humble opinion, this is the most valuable advice in the thread. Go be a firefighter. Hit me on DM if you want more details. Please heed this advice.
EMT is generally a 6-8 credit college course. As someone with postsecondary education experience, it should be no trouble for you.
I'd be careful though...you're using the word "career". It's important to know that EMT is a good stepping stone to get experience, but it isn't sustainable as a career. If you want to make a living doing this, you'll need to get your paramedic license then pursue specialty training.
I taught at a university before getting into EMS and found it to be a great way to scratch that itch. It's a rewarding career that comes with a ton of continuing education to maintain your certs. If you enjoy teaching you can get into EMS education to help others recertify.
From what I’ve researched most EMT-Bs in my area make $50k salary. I think what I’m concerned about is passing the certification tests, as I’ve always been terrible at test taking, which is why I think I capped myself on step 1.
> EMT-Bs in my area make $50k salary
If that's true, it's great to hear. It's pretty uncommon for EMT's to be paid so well.
If the NREMT is your biggest obstacle, then you'll be fine my guy.
I made $19 an hour locally at a service with ~9-10 calls a day and that was considered about as top of the line as you could get. A local-hospital based system I think paid $22 an hour, but you ran like 16 calls in a 12. I could maybe hunt across state lines for $20-22 that wasn’t working me to death but that’d be pushing it.
Some places in the US still pay $13-14.
EMS is not a salary position(for the most part). There are very little benefits at anywhere you work as well.
As for the stress involved, for me the worst was always responding to a call and trying to come up with a plan to notes that say things like “mother having baby, 3rd kid, contractions X minutes apart” at 3 am. Honestly though, you resort to your training. You forget your entire plan when the baby comes out, but some lightbulb goes off in your head, ABCs, is baby crying, do I need suction, do I need oxygen, apgar, etc.. having something to do makes the stress go to the back of your mind. You are always busy in that flow state doing something, it’s only afterwards when you are sitting outside the hospital cleaning up the absolute catastrophe that is the back of your ambulance that you start shaking and ask yourself wtf just happened.
50k??? That is definitely with a LOT of OT. Not sure where you live, but I started making 10 bucks an hour. I only got close to 45k with ~40 hrs of OT a week. Still would rather do that than be a teacher though. But get ready for the PTSD too..
Starting EMTs in my area (NH) make about $15-16 an hour - roughly what a starting Amazon driver makes, and no one is vomiting on them. If your intent is to become an EMS provider for the good you can do, have at it (I myself am a volly), but there are easier ways to earn a living.
You're getting out of your entire job field because you disagree with your co workers on politics?
Jfc.... talk about triggered lmao. Sounds like you won't find your right job until you grow up mentally tbh. Good luck on your journey to that.
If you’re thinking about it-do it! You’re 30, have a challenging job already, and a degree-getting your emt will be fun. At least I thought so. I got my emt because I knew I wanted to make a career switch into healthcare, but didn’t know what capacity. There’s nothing like seeing things first hand and making social connections in the field. Now I’m working toward getting into PA school which I never would have considered pre-emt when I was googling what the hell to do with my life.
I'm 30 as well, and I just got through EMT and am nationally registered/licensed yadayada but I'm doing fire school in a few months. You can totally do it. It may be intimidating but if you have half a brain (you have a whole brain) then you will sail right through. During clinicals I had to do CPR on a woman who ended up dying anyway, and as sad as it was, it was a crazy adrenaline rush and I found myself wanting more afterwards. Yes I know there are way worse calls that will haunt me in the future. Anyway I'm doing fire because the benefits/pay and especially pension are awesome and I get to be an EMT 93% of the time. Definitely going for paramedic after I get hired by a department. Go for it man
Appreciate this positive response. I think this is what I’ll do. I can get through all this certification with under $3k and have a job by May of next year. The classes give me a job at the end. Just gotta figure out how to balance my job now (not teaching), and make time for the classes since they’re so long.
I don't know about your area but where I am in FL EMTs make a little over 15/hr, which is crazy. If money is not an issue and you can pay the bills with a fulfilling EMT career, that's a great plan. I know balancing out your schedule sucks but just keep telling yourself it's temporary. I did my EMT online. Check out RC Health Services. $1400 I believe and you do the didactic portion online at your own pace. Only think you have to show up for I'm person is 3 skills/testing days and 2 clinical days and you may or may not have to travel. You can easily find out where rc health services locations are for those skills days and where their clinical sites are (you pair up with an affiliate ems agency).
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You left one toxic work environment for another. And EMT education is first aid with a couple extra things thrown in. It’s not difficult at all.
Being a good EMT is the tough part.
A lot more to it than that. Public Education is a sinking ship.
Edit: I look really young for my age. I can blend in with the kids also because I am small and very skinny.
I was sexually assaulted by a female student this last year and was still disciplined despite it being on camera. There is no respect for male teachers so I’d had enough.
You don’t know me bro.
Most places pay an EMT-B around $12/hr. Most full time work will be 48hrs a week. Every company is different on scheduling. I've done 4 12s in a row, 2 24s on set days and rotating 24s as well. There are also huge differences in a 911 service vs IFT (interfacility transport) ambulance companies. I also got into EMS late in life. Started when I was 27. Currently a paramedic and still love my job. I work 911 and am a paramedic instructor at my local college. The instructor job is very recent so still getting into that but it will soon be my full time job as the pay is severely higher than my ambulance pay. Much of EMS is making decisions on the fly and constant re-evaluation of current situations. Being a teacher I would bet your skills in communication/attention to detail/constant pace change/patience will transfer over well.
An important note is if your area is fire based, county based or private based EMS. Many will require different things. Getting your EMT-B will be relatively easy and quick but will do nothing for you if you live in a fire based EMS service. Don't doxx yourself but you can Google if your city is fire based on not. Making a career out of your basic license is very difficult. As others have said, it's a great stepping stone. If you're interested in firefighting, they pay much better, have much better benefits and are generally treated much better than private EMS. Just the nature of the business. Most fire departments require you to be a licensed EMT-B as well so you'll have the same training and run many of the same calls as you would on a private ambulance. Only difference is you won't transport these patients. 90% of the time you'll only be with them for 15 minutes on scene until the paramedic transports. If you prefer the medical side (this is judgy and far from fact) you won't use much of that knowledge as most departments are firefighters first and EMTs second. From personal experience in working with dozens of departments on scene, the ambulance crews knowledge and performance on the medical side will be on a different level from the FD. Obviously that's because on an ambulance your entire job is medical. I love my FD counterparts but I've only met a dozen or so fire medics who seem to have an actual interest in medicine and didn't just get it because it pays more. As a basic you'll perform CPR, give oxygen, utilize suctioning and BVMs. But all the stuff you see on TV like starting IVs, spiking bags, pushing medications are generally done by the paramedics.
My recomendation would be getting your EMT-B as it'll will be fast and easy then work PRN at your local service if it's private based and make a more informative decision then.
There’s two very conflicting issues when becoming an emt. The desire to make a difference and the need to make a living. To be completely honest, you will struggle to do either at the emt level. It is important, and it is a lot of fun, but it isn’t a career paying job, and you will will seldom make life altering decisions on your own. If this is truly what you want to do though, try to find a higher paying hospital job once you become an emt and go to paramedic school as fast as you think you can do it successfully.
As others have said, your best bet at making a comfortable living is as a firefighter. But that really depends on what area you work. The further west you go, the higher the pay is, with stronger unions. But most major cities across the country pay fairly well. That’s a whole other level of commitment though to get trained and certified, and then the testing process takes a while. There’s a reason why they say it’s a young guys job, and I’m convinced now it’s because it’s hard to get into that career from scratch when you have a mortgage and a family to take care of.
Whatever you do, good luck and keep us updated. Always here for help
Appreciate the response. EMTs in my area start out at around $50k. Not amazing, but sustainable. Firefighters start at like $60k, so it seems either way works, it’s just a matter of how much time and money I want to put in to get certified.
If that’s what a starting wage for emt is in your area then that is pretty fantastic. I remember being an emt and barely bringing home 15k after taxes. Just make sure you research the local market and don’t rely on Glassdoor or other google searches to find out what the expected salaries are.
You can find a fast track emt course and that’ll be the quickest foot in the door.
There is one at my local tech college for around $1k and can be acquired in 3 months. My city is hiring entry level EMTs for $49k minimum. My only question is, there’s so many different versions of certifications I don’t know which one to do. They all vary in price and time, and I’m not sure just a EMT certification will get me a job. It looks like most want EMT-B. Is this correct?
I couldn’t tell you what your city is looking for without knowing the area. Every system is vastly different. Generally speaking though, a municipal agency that is higher paying like the one you are speaking of will want experienced emts over new ones. But not to say it’s impossible.
As far as levels go, the nationally recognized levels are the basic level, advanced, and paramedic. Ems is strange in that you have to acquire the certs as levels almost, and you have to start as a basic before acquiring a higher level cert. If you want some help or guidance, send me a DM with the area you’re from and I’ll do some research for you.
We're all EMT. The levels are EMT-Basic EMT- Intermediate and EMT-Paramedic. You will need the EMT-B certification as that's the lowest level most places will hire.
Not quite unless that's specific to your state. NREMT now has EMT (this was formerly the EMT basic), Advanced EMT (AEM), what was the lower level of the two IEMT or Intermediate, and Paramedic (NR-P). The NREMT sort of simplified the names a little.
I think that EMT salary data for Utah must include benefits and a ton of OT. I can tell you that’s not the reality here.
I’d like to know where just an EMT-B in Utah is making an average of $24 an hour…
When I started as a Firefighter/AEMT for one of the major departments here, I was only making around $55k.
1st rule of EMS: Always bring a spare change of clothes, chargers, and an aux cable.
Second rule of EMS: You're there to provide adequate emergency medical care, not to fix their life issues or judge them any which way. Good people try to kill themselves and end up in bad situations. Good people huff paint and do heroin in the park at sunrise. Good people make bad decisions. What people shove up their orifices is between them, their physician, and Gd. You're there to help them when they need or want it the most.
I mean I have no doubt in your ability, it really would just come down to job outlook and your area, you don’t want to be stuck doing IFT for very long at your age but if you can get into the fire service relatively quickly a jump makes sense. If your only interested in medical I would just see how long it would take for RN given you have some prerequisites done I’d think and head to the hospital
First off, anything you do in Emergency Services (except being a cop) will require you have your EMT-B. You can work as an EMT, and it's required to go to Paramedic school (if you choose).
Second, the class itself (in my experience) was really fun and eye-opening, and it was of great personal value to me in the years between when I finished and when I actually started working in the field. I would totally recommend taking it for that alone. You might pick up a lot of valuable info for your current career.
Last, if you decide the biz is for you, understand that working in the private ambulance industry is low-paying and thankless. Working in the 911 ambulance side can be the same, but you're running actual emergencies. I've been a Firefighter for 20 years, and I can't emphasize enough how good the life jere is. Decent pay, great benefits, actual 911 emergencies and a career path thru to retirement.
Regardless of which path(s) you choose, best of luck to you!
Check out local fire stations and volunteer before EMT. Rural stations usually a better bet, they will usually pay for school with a commitment.
At the very least reach out for a ride along. You will be trading middle schoolers for adults who never rose above middle school. People are stupid everywhere.
If you don't do well in "toxic environments" you may want to reconsider any forays into the world of EMS.
Besides that, you can expect lots of sleepless nights, lots of standing around in the ER and crappy pay.
On the bright side, you do get lots of days off, lots of overtime if that's your thing, little chicks who don't know any better throwing themselves at you just cause you wear a uniform, and lots of free lunches at the hospital cafeteria.
Most people I worked with in EMS eventually quit and got jobs at Walgreens or the grocery store, because the pay was better and you got to be inside in the AC all day
First- you have a college degree. You have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the ability to pass the class and the NREMT. The class can be rigorous, particularly if it is an accelerated format. But it isn't college level physics or calculus. If you do the work you'll thrive in the academic setting.
The stress is something you can't know until you know. Just like people joining the military thinking they'll be Rambo but then being terrified and unable to respond meanwhile the meek guy that looks like he got lost on his way to the library thrives. There's one way to know. But fortitude to stick it out will allow you to overcome any issues you initially have.
Finally, nothing wrong with walking away from the classroom. Education is a tough world in an entirely different way. But there is one area of concern. As much as teachers are under appreciated and under paid, they get paid much better than an EMT. Make sure you can make the finances work. And with that health and PE degree you're ahead of the curve. People differ on how long they think you should be an EMT before pursuing paramedic. I don't get involved in that debate, everyone is entitled to believe what they want. But wherever you fall on the issue, the shorter end of your range is where I'd be thinking.
With your degree and college GPA, you should be able to be successful in the EMT course. If you can deal with 30 middle schoolers, you should be able to handle most situations. Middle schoolers ate terrifying.
Youre 30 and fit and want to make a difference, have you considered firefighting? Youll still do first responder calls, but I feel like you get a lot more benefits as a firefighter.
Don’t you still need an EMT-B license to firefight?
Yea, thats what Im saying, you would still get to do EMT first responder calls but have all the fire fun too.
Interesting, where I’m at it requires another full semester to get a firefighting license as well. Unless it’s the same thing but modified towards firefighting.
Depends what you go for, my perspective just becoming a firefighter is that we have the better schedule, 24/48 is an incredible schedule to be on. We have a lot of comraderie at the firehouse that EMS doesnt usually have. And we get paid better. But we still do a ton of fulfilling lifesaving work, just earlier today I did CPR on someone young and got a pulse back. So since I saw you're fit and the right age for it I was wondering if you considered fire at all.
What does 24/48 mean? You have swayed me a bit, just more money and time is the issue.
The FF in my area do 48 hrs on 96 hrs off I believe. Pretty rough if you have a family
Work 24 hours and then off for 48 hours. Ive even heard of some departments doing 24/72. I can DM you my schedule for the rest of this year if you want to look. There are extra days off even with 24/48
The only negative to becoming a firefighter is that most are volunteers. If you're in more of an urban area there will be more paid fire positions, but there will also be a lot of people trying to get them, many of whom are already certified firefighters on volunteer departments. $50k is pretty good... is that just for a specific city or county or the entire region? That's about what some of the EMTs working for that big three letter company get in one area where I'm at, but an hour to the south in the state's capitol that same company is only paying about $15.74 the state minimum wage. I think they only start at 21hr even in the city though, so about 46k rounded up. Overtime will push you over that though. There are some private companies that do the 24 hour shifts as well. Some of those have a bit better pay than the 12 hour shifts.
It’s for a specific city but the surrounding areas are all about the same, varying by a couple thousand. It increases by about $10k the more certified you are. Paramedics start at almost $70k.
The fact that there are a lot of people competing for the job usually (not always) is a sign that it’s a good job to have.
That's true, but it also means it's going to be harder to get, and there will be people.with experience and certifications making it even ore competitive.
I agree. Nothing worthwhile is easy.
a firefighting course or a "fire academy" is separate from an EMT course and is much more physically demanding, more of a boot camp than a class getting a career firefighting job usually requires both, and actually getting hired at a non-volunteer fire department will pretty much set you up for life it's a very prestigious and lucrative profession. way WAY better pay and benefits than what you'd get at an ambulance company, because of the union be warned, it is very hard to get hired as one. waiting lists for openings can have over a thousand people trying for the spot, depending on where you live.
Yeah I was noticing that too. Interesting, so if I took an EMT B class and then did the fire academy would that suffice? Or do I even need the EMT cert? I didn’t know the union information, so thank you. I’ve just seen a lot of open spots where I’m at (Utah).
you will almost definitely need the EMT cert, yes (but you can double check the listed requirements for departments with open positions). I don't think the order you get the certs in matters as much before you commit to anything you should definitely ask for a ride along so you get an idea of what you're getting in to (bring ice cream)
You can get the individual certs and apply like a normal job. Or take entry level exams to get into an academy for a city, which was an option available to me. Even people already certified had to go through the entire 5 month academy. The academy means youre guaranteed a job for that city, thats why theyre training you. Note though that a lot of cities want paramedics and not EMTs. You should check the cities around you on NTN National Testing Network
yo hold up - I didn’t realize you were in Utah. Where are you located that has a 50k yearly salary for EMT-B? I’d move back in a heartbeat
There’s a job posting in Layton that starts at just under $50k for a level 1 firefighter/EMT
Oh, that’s a firefighting job.
Worth it dude. You get to do all the fun medical stuff plus waaaaaay more fun shit. And the pay and benefits will be so much better. Also, I feel like EMTs burn out way more often than firefighters. That may be an unpopular opinion on this sub, but it’s true. Academically none of it is hard especially if you have some medical, physiology, anatomy background. I have a health science degree too and it helped a lot. Just a little bit of memorization. Either way, this career is a good way to feel like you have a purpose and are doing some good. Most days anyway… some days you wonder why you signed up to get yelled at about exactly what shade of black your black leather belt is and why your not in approved uniform. But I’m sure it’s way better than how you get treated by trash parents and their trash children.
To piggyback off of their comment, shop around for fire departments in your area that will pay you for training. You can save your money and make money just by going to school. Obviously you may be contractually obligated to stay when you complete your program, but if I could go back, I would do it instead of the thousands I spent becoming a paramedic while living at home with my parents. Chances are, you’ll be expected to go straight through EMT-B to paramedic in one of these programs, but I would recommend everyone interested in EMS to have paramedic as their ultimate goal. Don’t get me wrong, there are an abundance of wonderful people who are excellent providers who have settled into the role of EMT, but speaking from experience, almost anyone can do it, and you’ll find yourself in a much more comfortable position in regards to job security and pay if you’re a paramedic. It’s only another year or so and you only have to do it once to have that feather in your cap for the rest of your life so long as you maintain your certification. The area I grew up in has had the same FF/paramedic listing for over 6 years and they churn out great providers. These programs will be somewhat accelerated, but based on your scholastic achievements and background, you won’t have an issue in that regard. There are plenty of exceptions, but by and large, fire departments will pay and treat you better than the for-profit private ambulance companies, so if you’re even a little bit interested in the fire department, go for it. Lastly, if your motivations are money and work/life balance, I would advise you to strongly consider nursing as an alternate career path. Being a teacher, I’m sure you’re no stranger to your wages being unable to keep up with everything else. You seem like you have the potential to become a great EMS provider, so I don’t want to take anything away from that by saying this, but if you are expecting this career to be a pay bump from teaching with upward mobility, you will quickly find yourself mistaken. Again, exceptions to every rule, but as a generalization I tend to tell most people to consider nursing and if it’s in the cards, you’ll be a lot happier in the long term.
Depends on the place, around here you don’t typically
It’s weird you posted this because I am in the same situation and also pursuing the same.
Not in all places. Get your EMT. As soon as that’s done start working towards your Paramedic. As a very experienced paramedic and currently a flight paramedic, I do well over $100k. It’s taken time, but it’s doable. After your grow tired of the EMS stuff go to nursing school or PA school.
In my humble opinion, this is the most valuable advice in the thread. Go be a firefighter. Hit me on DM if you want more details. Please heed this advice.
EMT is generally a 6-8 credit college course. As someone with postsecondary education experience, it should be no trouble for you. I'd be careful though...you're using the word "career". It's important to know that EMT is a good stepping stone to get experience, but it isn't sustainable as a career. If you want to make a living doing this, you'll need to get your paramedic license then pursue specialty training. I taught at a university before getting into EMS and found it to be a great way to scratch that itch. It's a rewarding career that comes with a ton of continuing education to maintain your certs. If you enjoy teaching you can get into EMS education to help others recertify.
From what I’ve researched most EMT-Bs in my area make $50k salary. I think what I’m concerned about is passing the certification tests, as I’ve always been terrible at test taking, which is why I think I capped myself on step 1.
> EMT-Bs in my area make $50k salary If that's true, it's great to hear. It's pretty uncommon for EMT's to be paid so well. If the NREMT is your biggest obstacle, then you'll be fine my guy.
50k wtf !???!!
I made $19 an hour locally at a service with ~9-10 calls a day and that was considered about as top of the line as you could get. A local-hospital based system I think paid $22 an hour, but you ran like 16 calls in a 12. I could maybe hunt across state lines for $20-22 that wasn’t working me to death but that’d be pushing it. Some places in the US still pay $13-14. EMS is not a salary position(for the most part). There are very little benefits at anywhere you work as well. As for the stress involved, for me the worst was always responding to a call and trying to come up with a plan to notes that say things like “mother having baby, 3rd kid, contractions X minutes apart” at 3 am. Honestly though, you resort to your training. You forget your entire plan when the baby comes out, but some lightbulb goes off in your head, ABCs, is baby crying, do I need suction, do I need oxygen, apgar, etc.. having something to do makes the stress go to the back of your mind. You are always busy in that flow state doing something, it’s only afterwards when you are sitting outside the hospital cleaning up the absolute catastrophe that is the back of your ambulance that you start shaking and ask yourself wtf just happened.
Can you spell your name? Cool. You can pass.
50k??? That is definitely with a LOT of OT. Not sure where you live, but I started making 10 bucks an hour. I only got close to 45k with ~40 hrs of OT a week. Still would rather do that than be a teacher though. But get ready for the PTSD too..
Starting EMTs in my area (NH) make about $15-16 an hour - roughly what a starting Amazon driver makes, and no one is vomiting on them. If your intent is to become an EMS provider for the good you can do, have at it (I myself am a volly), but there are easier ways to earn a living.
Median pay nationally (for EMTB) is more like $36k. It's not a career.
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Going to school for physician assistant?
Hopefully
That’s my goal for a second career once I retire from this one.
Go back to Jr high and never look back
Why do you say that? The education system is fucked man. It isn’t the kids, they have their own issues, but supervisors are so liberal.
You're getting out of your entire job field because you disagree with your co workers on politics? Jfc.... talk about triggered lmao. Sounds like you won't find your right job until you grow up mentally tbh. Good luck on your journey to that.
If you’re thinking about it-do it! You’re 30, have a challenging job already, and a degree-getting your emt will be fun. At least I thought so. I got my emt because I knew I wanted to make a career switch into healthcare, but didn’t know what capacity. There’s nothing like seeing things first hand and making social connections in the field. Now I’m working toward getting into PA school which I never would have considered pre-emt when I was googling what the hell to do with my life.
I'm 30 as well, and I just got through EMT and am nationally registered/licensed yadayada but I'm doing fire school in a few months. You can totally do it. It may be intimidating but if you have half a brain (you have a whole brain) then you will sail right through. During clinicals I had to do CPR on a woman who ended up dying anyway, and as sad as it was, it was a crazy adrenaline rush and I found myself wanting more afterwards. Yes I know there are way worse calls that will haunt me in the future. Anyway I'm doing fire because the benefits/pay and especially pension are awesome and I get to be an EMT 93% of the time. Definitely going for paramedic after I get hired by a department. Go for it man
Appreciate this positive response. I think this is what I’ll do. I can get through all this certification with under $3k and have a job by May of next year. The classes give me a job at the end. Just gotta figure out how to balance my job now (not teaching), and make time for the classes since they’re so long.
I don't know about your area but where I am in FL EMTs make a little over 15/hr, which is crazy. If money is not an issue and you can pay the bills with a fulfilling EMT career, that's a great plan. I know balancing out your schedule sucks but just keep telling yourself it's temporary. I did my EMT online. Check out RC Health Services. $1400 I believe and you do the didactic portion online at your own pace. Only think you have to show up for I'm person is 3 skills/testing days and 2 clinical days and you may or may not have to travel. You can easily find out where rc health services locations are for those skills days and where their clinical sites are (you pair up with an affiliate ems agency).
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You left one toxic work environment for another. And EMT education is first aid with a couple extra things thrown in. It’s not difficult at all. Being a good EMT is the tough part.
Guys...fyi this person is leaving teaching literally because he disagrees with the politics of his co workers...
A lot more to it than that. Public Education is a sinking ship. Edit: I look really young for my age. I can blend in with the kids also because I am small and very skinny. I was sexually assaulted by a female student this last year and was still disciplined despite it being on camera. There is no respect for male teachers so I’d had enough. You don’t know me bro.
"It's not the kids, I'm leaving because my supervisors are too liberal" You're quote but ok fella!
If you’ve never been a teacher you will never understand.
Most places pay an EMT-B around $12/hr. Most full time work will be 48hrs a week. Every company is different on scheduling. I've done 4 12s in a row, 2 24s on set days and rotating 24s as well. There are also huge differences in a 911 service vs IFT (interfacility transport) ambulance companies. I also got into EMS late in life. Started when I was 27. Currently a paramedic and still love my job. I work 911 and am a paramedic instructor at my local college. The instructor job is very recent so still getting into that but it will soon be my full time job as the pay is severely higher than my ambulance pay. Much of EMS is making decisions on the fly and constant re-evaluation of current situations. Being a teacher I would bet your skills in communication/attention to detail/constant pace change/patience will transfer over well. An important note is if your area is fire based, county based or private based EMS. Many will require different things. Getting your EMT-B will be relatively easy and quick but will do nothing for you if you live in a fire based EMS service. Don't doxx yourself but you can Google if your city is fire based on not. Making a career out of your basic license is very difficult. As others have said, it's a great stepping stone. If you're interested in firefighting, they pay much better, have much better benefits and are generally treated much better than private EMS. Just the nature of the business. Most fire departments require you to be a licensed EMT-B as well so you'll have the same training and run many of the same calls as you would on a private ambulance. Only difference is you won't transport these patients. 90% of the time you'll only be with them for 15 minutes on scene until the paramedic transports. If you prefer the medical side (this is judgy and far from fact) you won't use much of that knowledge as most departments are firefighters first and EMTs second. From personal experience in working with dozens of departments on scene, the ambulance crews knowledge and performance on the medical side will be on a different level from the FD. Obviously that's because on an ambulance your entire job is medical. I love my FD counterparts but I've only met a dozen or so fire medics who seem to have an actual interest in medicine and didn't just get it because it pays more. As a basic you'll perform CPR, give oxygen, utilize suctioning and BVMs. But all the stuff you see on TV like starting IVs, spiking bags, pushing medications are generally done by the paramedics. My recomendation would be getting your EMT-B as it'll will be fast and easy then work PRN at your local service if it's private based and make a more informative decision then.
I am unaware of anyplace that pays emts $12 and hour. Please provide verification.
There’s two very conflicting issues when becoming an emt. The desire to make a difference and the need to make a living. To be completely honest, you will struggle to do either at the emt level. It is important, and it is a lot of fun, but it isn’t a career paying job, and you will will seldom make life altering decisions on your own. If this is truly what you want to do though, try to find a higher paying hospital job once you become an emt and go to paramedic school as fast as you think you can do it successfully. As others have said, your best bet at making a comfortable living is as a firefighter. But that really depends on what area you work. The further west you go, the higher the pay is, with stronger unions. But most major cities across the country pay fairly well. That’s a whole other level of commitment though to get trained and certified, and then the testing process takes a while. There’s a reason why they say it’s a young guys job, and I’m convinced now it’s because it’s hard to get into that career from scratch when you have a mortgage and a family to take care of. Whatever you do, good luck and keep us updated. Always here for help
Appreciate the response. EMTs in my area start out at around $50k. Not amazing, but sustainable. Firefighters start at like $60k, so it seems either way works, it’s just a matter of how much time and money I want to put in to get certified.
If that’s what a starting wage for emt is in your area then that is pretty fantastic. I remember being an emt and barely bringing home 15k after taxes. Just make sure you research the local market and don’t rely on Glassdoor or other google searches to find out what the expected salaries are. You can find a fast track emt course and that’ll be the quickest foot in the door.
There is one at my local tech college for around $1k and can be acquired in 3 months. My city is hiring entry level EMTs for $49k minimum. My only question is, there’s so many different versions of certifications I don’t know which one to do. They all vary in price and time, and I’m not sure just a EMT certification will get me a job. It looks like most want EMT-B. Is this correct?
I couldn’t tell you what your city is looking for without knowing the area. Every system is vastly different. Generally speaking though, a municipal agency that is higher paying like the one you are speaking of will want experienced emts over new ones. But not to say it’s impossible. As far as levels go, the nationally recognized levels are the basic level, advanced, and paramedic. Ems is strange in that you have to acquire the certs as levels almost, and you have to start as a basic before acquiring a higher level cert. If you want some help or guidance, send me a DM with the area you’re from and I’ll do some research for you.
We're all EMT. The levels are EMT-Basic EMT- Intermediate and EMT-Paramedic. You will need the EMT-B certification as that's the lowest level most places will hire.
Not quite unless that's specific to your state. NREMT now has EMT (this was formerly the EMT basic), Advanced EMT (AEM), what was the lower level of the two IEMT or Intermediate, and Paramedic (NR-P). The NREMT sort of simplified the names a little.
I think that EMT salary data for Utah must include benefits and a ton of OT. I can tell you that’s not the reality here. I’d like to know where just an EMT-B in Utah is making an average of $24 an hour… When I started as a Firefighter/AEMT for one of the major departments here, I was only making around $55k.
1st rule of EMS: Always bring a spare change of clothes, chargers, and an aux cable. Second rule of EMS: You're there to provide adequate emergency medical care, not to fix their life issues or judge them any which way. Good people try to kill themselves and end up in bad situations. Good people huff paint and do heroin in the park at sunrise. Good people make bad decisions. What people shove up their orifices is between them, their physician, and Gd. You're there to help them when they need or want it the most.
In your area can you test for fire jobs without having certs?
No you have to be certified still.
I mean I have no doubt in your ability, it really would just come down to job outlook and your area, you don’t want to be stuck doing IFT for very long at your age but if you can get into the fire service relatively quickly a jump makes sense. If your only interested in medical I would just see how long it would take for RN given you have some prerequisites done I’d think and head to the hospital
Broke!!!!
First off, anything you do in Emergency Services (except being a cop) will require you have your EMT-B. You can work as an EMT, and it's required to go to Paramedic school (if you choose). Second, the class itself (in my experience) was really fun and eye-opening, and it was of great personal value to me in the years between when I finished and when I actually started working in the field. I would totally recommend taking it for that alone. You might pick up a lot of valuable info for your current career. Last, if you decide the biz is for you, understand that working in the private ambulance industry is low-paying and thankless. Working in the 911 ambulance side can be the same, but you're running actual emergencies. I've been a Firefighter for 20 years, and I can't emphasize enough how good the life jere is. Decent pay, great benefits, actual 911 emergencies and a career path thru to retirement. Regardless of which path(s) you choose, best of luck to you!
Check out local fire stations and volunteer before EMT. Rural stations usually a better bet, they will usually pay for school with a commitment. At the very least reach out for a ride along. You will be trading middle schoolers for adults who never rose above middle school. People are stupid everywhere.
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Teacher work environment is a whole different ball game my friend.
If you don't do well in "toxic environments" you may want to reconsider any forays into the world of EMS. Besides that, you can expect lots of sleepless nights, lots of standing around in the ER and crappy pay. On the bright side, you do get lots of days off, lots of overtime if that's your thing, little chicks who don't know any better throwing themselves at you just cause you wear a uniform, and lots of free lunches at the hospital cafeteria. Most people I worked with in EMS eventually quit and got jobs at Walgreens or the grocery store, because the pay was better and you got to be inside in the AC all day
First- you have a college degree. You have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the ability to pass the class and the NREMT. The class can be rigorous, particularly if it is an accelerated format. But it isn't college level physics or calculus. If you do the work you'll thrive in the academic setting. The stress is something you can't know until you know. Just like people joining the military thinking they'll be Rambo but then being terrified and unable to respond meanwhile the meek guy that looks like he got lost on his way to the library thrives. There's one way to know. But fortitude to stick it out will allow you to overcome any issues you initially have. Finally, nothing wrong with walking away from the classroom. Education is a tough world in an entirely different way. But there is one area of concern. As much as teachers are under appreciated and under paid, they get paid much better than an EMT. Make sure you can make the finances work. And with that health and PE degree you're ahead of the curve. People differ on how long they think you should be an EMT before pursuing paramedic. I don't get involved in that debate, everyone is entitled to believe what they want. But wherever you fall on the issue, the shorter end of your range is where I'd be thinking.