Flight medic salary and is it worth it?

[fireflymedic]

I think the decision is it worth it is up to each individual. What is acceptable risk to me may not be to others. On the flip side, what is acceptable to them may not be to me. I ask myself this question frequently as I am often in unsafe situations long before it is realized and we are blindly dispatched to unsafe scenes and not told they are such. I've been shot at, nearly beat up, had multiple other things happen. I know of more close friends which have died or were injured on the ground due to ambulance wrecks or assaults in the last three years than the last three years of friends I had that were flying. Do I still want to fly? Yes I do because it is something I know I want for multiple reasons (and I know I'd look really cool in that big helmet lol !) but on the flip side, if at any time I felt the risk was too great I'd walk away or push for change just as I am with the ground services. Our safety is our responsibility, no one else's and the companies will only push as hard as we will let them. As far as salary, the ground CCT medics here and the flight guys make roughly around the same a year approx 40 - 50 thousand. Average medic in this area makes between 28-36 thousand and basics around 20-24 thousand. That's for the average service (fire based being at higher end of the spectrum). Be safe !

[air.stump]

I fly for the military so, my salary is locked in until I am promoted.

In the northern part of the state, flight medics get paid anywhere from 36k to 52k. It depends on who you work for.

Our helos are maintained at standards that exceed most civilian standards but, we still have mishaps and that's here in the states. I can only imagine whats happening in the sandbox.

I can take the easy way out of why I do it and say I was assigned here but.... I came from a ground unit and now can't imagine going back to one. This is probley one of the best jobs I have had in awhile. It seems to "fit" me better than anything else I have done. The flight part, that is.

I am now trying to find a place in the civilian sector for when I get off of orders.

[FormerEMSLT297]

Thats why I went with a LE based flight service,,, I'm pulling tween 90-$100K per year.

Federal governemnt, can't beat it,,, 10% night diff After 1800, 25% for Sundays, Double time for holidays,,,,, OT for special events,,,,, I have a great gig, but I am in the minority, and i know it.

[Infernobridge]

I think it is worth it. First let me say that I work 24 hour shifts and only 92 of those a year. Benefits are the same as the pilots and nurses. The benefits are pretty good. I have a 1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 5 off. This five day off stretch allows me to pick up shifts with a 911/transfer service. So I make 6 figures a year.

[Arctickat]

My flight crews get 1460 hours per year in 12 hour shifts. 14 days on/28 off. Hourly rate works out to about $54.00 per hour for medics, 48 for basics.

[scubanurse]

I want to be a flight nurse so bad somedays...

[rock_shoes]

14 hours ago, scubanurse said:

I want to be a flight nurse so bad somedays...

What's stopping you? If it truly is a passion it's certainly achievable with a tad more education and your current credentials. If you go rotary I highly recommend twin engine, two pilot operations that blind the pilots to patient condition information while they make flight decisions. Your odds of returning home at the end of the shift are significantly better.

[chbare]

I thought it was worth it back in the day. Of course my motives were pretentious and derived from a "type-A personality" that wanted to be better than everyone else.  When I left flying, my list of friends and colleagues was shorter and I had recurrent nightmares of crashing. To this day, I have anxiety when it comes to flying. Not sure if it was worth it in retrospect but I'm sure individual mileage will vary. 

[scubanurse]

I don't think I'm experienced enough.  I've been in the ER for a few years and am cross trained to the ICU, have my CEN, but I just don't have confidence in my knowledge to do flights.

[paramedicmike]

Then there's this.  They were extraordinarily lucky.  These events usually wind up like this one.  Or this.  Or this.  I could go on with dozens of these events.

Don't get me wrong.  I flew and I miss it every day.  It was probably the most satisfying professional endeavor in which I've been engaged.  However, in the US there are a lot of problems with air medical transport as an industry.  Crashes are the most public face of the air medical industry.  There are certainly enough of them.  The industry is loathe to self regulate.

There was a really good investigative reporting piece on the Frisco, CO crash that I can't seem to find a link to at the moment.  I'll post it when I can find it.

Ultimately, yes.  It's really freaking cool to fly in a helicopter when you go to work.  That being said it is a hot in the summer, cold in the winter, dirty job that is much more dangerous than many people realize.  Whether it is worth the risk is an individual decision.  Anyone considering the transition should not make the decision lightly.