ER Tech pay more than a medic???

[VentMedic]

Ok, $30/hr? a tech making more than a nurse in CA ?? mmmm sounds to me like someone has been pulling your leg. To be an ER tech in CA you not only need your EMT-B license but also a Certified Phlebotomist license, most techs start with a salary of $13.00 - $15.00/hr, and the responsibilities are the same as those an EMT-B has on the field plus those of a CNA, you will be doing most of the pt. care; by this I mean cleaning dirty pts, giving bed pans, changing diapers, helping people walk, making beds, taking vitals, getting specimes for tests, changing dressings, assisting physicians and nurses, among others.

What hospital is your friend working at??? Just curious.

Phlebotomy Cert and CNA are usually required and preferred for an ER Tech job.

In SF, $25 - $30/hr would probably not be too far off for ER Tech. RN new grads start around $40 - $45/hr at Kaiser and Sutter. Experienced RNs can make about $50 - $65 per hr but that is about $25 - $30/hr in the South. In SF, less then $75,000 yr is considered very low middle class or poverty level.

[firephil]

Been a long time since I lived in Northern Kalifornia, so I can't say for sure. But in the Bay Area, $30 dollars an hour is equivalent to about $15 dollars an hour in the South and Midwest because of taxes and cost of living in NorCal. Numbers are deceiving if you don't get the big picture.

This is very true! But I tell you the starting pay for a medic around here with AMR (highest paid around) is $22/hr.! and for those saying that you have to have a cna or a phelbotomist license, around here they don't ask for the CNA and give you 6mo. paid to get your phlebotomist.

Kaiser - Oakland is where he is working

A nurse in the bay area can make starting at around 75K and go all the way up to 200K. There are a lot of nurses who live in different states and fly in for two weeks and go home for two weeks because of the pay and cost of living here.

[VentMedic]

This is very true! But I tell you the starting pay for a medic around here with AMR (highest paid around) is $22/hr.! and for those saying that you have to have a cna or a phelbotomist license, around here they don't ask for the CNA and give you 6mo. paid to get your phlebotomist.

Kaiser - Oakland is where he is working

A nurse in the bay area can make starting at around 75K and go all the way up to 200K. There are a lot of nurses who live in different states and fly in for two weeks and go home for two weeks because of the pay and cost of living here.

Kaiser-Oakland is East Bay and not San Francisco for those not familiar with northern California. Wages drop about $10/hour just crossing the bridge.

The Kaiser Hospitals in that area will take EMT, CNA or MA certificates with the Phlebotomy certification for their entry level ER Tech positions which is pretty much the norm in other places. It is an easy transfer for CNAs already in the hospital system.

http://www.kaiserpermanentejobs.org/

I am one of those that have done the cross country journey and still do on occasion if I can arrange my days at my regular job in Florida. I see it as a very well paid vacation. The union strikes in that area are always a profitable time for those of us from the South to cash in on. They have the strikes so frequently that even the nurses on the picket lines don't know what they are striking for. Nurses from the South especially love it with the restricted by law nurse : patient ratio.