EMT pay salary

[sacemt]

basically take how ever much a year you think a fast food fryer makes a year and substract double that from $0 and walah but fear not for you truelly will love your job,i know i do,as the shirt,sticker, etc says ems the hardest job youll ever love. the pay sucks,most of the time the hours suck,alot of times the patients are rude as hell but guess what youl love what you do,is it worth it, that all is up to you.

[Don1977]

basically take how ever much a year you think a fast food fryer makes a year and substract double that from $0 and walah but fear not for you truelly will love your job,i know i do,as the shirt,sticker, etc says ems the hardest job youll ever love. the pay sucks,most of the time the hours suck,alot of times the patients are rude as hell but guess what youl love what you do,is it worth it, that all is up to you.

I make more then a McDonald's employee....

I personally enjoy my four 10 hour shifts and the pay could be better, but Ill take it, I don't get that many rude patients either, on occasion, can't please them all

[spenac]

I work very rural EMS. Great thing is I work 2 days a week and have my full time hours. If I chose to work more it is overtime. So having full time pay, great benefits, and 4-5 days off a week is not bad.

But that said in a busy service the 48+ hour shifts would be unsafe.

And as others mentioned the $20 an hour I make here is worth a lot more than $40 an hour in New York or San Fran as cost of living is so much better here. So you have to factor everything in to decide if pay is worth it.

But pay is not the only thing. Are you a great student willing to spend tons of hours beyond class time studying? Are you physically fit? Does vomit, diarrhea, blood etc bother you? Be realistic and honest with yourself.

[asecrest]

Im with what EMTDon said.... must be an Illinois average... I am still searching for a job, but don't expect to make much, hence why I am applying for paramedic school.

[flamingemt2011]

The others have failed you as they have only quoted their hourly rate, not their yearly salary. The statements about EMTs having a hard time finding jobs is true. But what the others failed to mention is that you usually have built in overtime in your normal schedule, and then overtime or the ability to work a second job (especially if you work a 24/48 schedule -- work one 24 hour shift, off for 48). So let's compare the fast food worker to EMT:

Fast food $8/hour x 40 hours x 52 weeks = 16,640 per year

EMT 24/48 (averages 56 hours/week -- works 48,48, then 72, then repeat; average of 16 hours/week of overtime). So the EMT makes the same 16640 for the 40 hours/week x 52 weeks, but then makes $12/hour x 16 hours x 52 = another 9984/year, grand total = 26,624.

Realize that the EMT still has 4-5 days off per week to work another job to add to that income. Now in all fairness I must say that the 24/48 schedule is dying a slow death as it is too brutal for most, but in rural/slow areas it will probably last for several more years.

This is a great job, especially for a young person.

[fiznat]

Where I worked, EMTs made around $14-$18, paramedics $20-26ish. As a full time paramedic pulling a moderate amount of overtime, my gross annual income usually landed around the mid to low 70k range. This is in Connecticut. I realize these numbers are a lot higher than other parts of the country, but the cost of living is high as well so there is some degree of adjustment to be made.

[EMTDenny]

Yeah I heard from a lot of people that EMS workers don't get paid as much as they deserve to. Around here in NY I think we get started with/between 11-14 (EMT) I know that's not a lot. I am actually a pharmacy tech and I make 18.50 an hour. (why am I doing EMT?) Well because I want to help out people who need help. I want to get that feeling of accomplishment when someone says Thank you when I save a life. (and well i want to become a paramedic) Right now I am doing this part time and perdium and also volunteering. A lot of people complain that the work is hard for the little pay we get (but why still do it?) because most of us probably and hopefully still do it because we love to help out.

This is my opinion and I am sure someone will disagree , so please, go right ahead.