medicgirl09 Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 I am currently a student at the local community collage and was trying to debate on what I want to do in life. seeing the lights flashing just makes me want to be there and be the first one to help who ever is in danger, but my biggest thing is what is that salary? Is it livable on or is it something you do just for a little bit tell you get your career going? someone please help me!!!
akflightmedic Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 I am currently a student at the local community collage and was trying to debate on what I want to do in life. seeing the lights flashing just makes me want to be there and be the first one to help who ever is in danger, but my biggest thing is what is that salary? Is it livable on or is it something you do just for a little bit tell you get your career going? someone please help me!!! If it wasn't a livable wage, we would have major shortages across the nation. However, we have a surplus in most areas and thousands upon thousands of EMS folks who are doing the job and continue to do the job every day. A livable wage is defined by you, the individual. Do you want bigger and better toys, do you want frequent vacations, do you want to own a home, do you want to have a savings account...that is all determined by you and how you choose to spend. People live and survive on "lesser" jobs every day.
FireMedicChick164 Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 don't go in to EMS to get rich....do it because you want to help people and you will be fine. Depends on where in the country you work and what type of entity you work for. I am a vollie so I work for free....love every second of it!!
Sloppy joe Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 Yes I want to do it to help people. I have been in healthcare sense I was 16 and I'm almost 20 now. If you are a vol. What do you do as your career?
tcripp Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 AK is right...if it weren't liveable, no one would do it. HOWEVER, you can't get in to this career for the money. You get in to it because you have the desire to make a difference. That's what will get you through the long shifts and sleepless nights. And, if you are in it for the right reasons...none of that makes any difference.
spenac Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 There is no one answer. Depends where you live. Some places pay less than minimum wage, yes it's legal how? They pay you a legal per hour then they use the laws that allow them not to pay certain hours as long as you had so many hours with no calls so you end up not being paid all hours at the station so when you include those free hours you are less than minimum wage. Some with limited OT will bring in $75000 a year with great benefits. Most are well below $50,000 for Paramedics and well below $35000 for basics. Many of both levels make less than $30000 a year even working lots of OT.
Just Plain Ruff Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 If you look at things from an altruistic level and do it strictly for the helping aspect which many of us do then you can live on being a paramedic or emt salary. For a goodly number of us we are by necessity having to work two jobs to make ends meet. I know that when I lost my job as a consultant, and I was making really good money, I dropped to 36000 per year. It was not a hard time to make ends meet until the additional medical bills came in and the mortgage went up. We budgeted specifically for the pre-medical bills and when they came due, the budget became un-workable so I was forced to get a 2nd paramedic job and when the mortgage went up and other bills went up such as the deferment of the student loan ending I had no choice but to return to consulting. so yes you can live on a paramedic salary. Is it easy, NOPE is it doable - yep If you are going into EMS with thousands of dollars in bills outstanding I would urge you to rethink that thought and get a job that pays better (if you can) and get the bills paid down. There is nothing like not having creditors calling you at work and home trying to get the dime that you were going to pay for food. It's just not fun. Trust me, I've been there.
P_Instructor Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 All above responses are correct. The idea of getting into the field initially is the desire to wanting to help when it's needed. For the monetary aspect, again it's what you put into it, what you do with it, and how you perceive it. One must add that pre-hospital EMS is a great stepping stone towards other professions within the medical field, usually all that pay more, ie. RN, PA, MD, DO, Radiology, Administration, .......... I've been in EMS over 32 years, and just eke'd by on salary, but it has led me to teaching EMS full time, and I still continue to provide my field services part-time. (Better salary and bennies.......no, not benzo's). It's still again how you look at it.
HERBIE1 Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 Well, sadly in this economy, salary is a legitimate concern. Obviously WHERE you work is a significant factor- the cost of living in a big city is a lot higher than in a rural area. Private provider, 3rd service, fire or hospital based- all things that impact whether or not you can afford to follow your heart and not your pocketbook. As was noted above, benefits are another HUGE factor. Starting out as a youngster, most people do not pay much attention to things like insurance, pensions/401K's, or IRA's, but they can be deal breakers. Around 30 years ago, I was pretty new, and had a "minor" medical problem. Started out as strep throat(used to be an annual thing for me), progressed to tonsillar abcesses. Ended up dehydrated, and spent a week in the hospital getting it I&D'd, IV antibiotics, and rehydrated, I did have insurance, but the plan was so lousy it cost me a small fortune out of pocket. Spent quite awhile paying that bill off- especially since I was probably making around $8/hr at the time.
Richard B the EMT Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 Started as an unpaid volunteer in 1973, and ran with the VAC until 1996, when the VAC "went under". Liked it so much, worked 10 years and 5 different proprietary, IFT services 1975 to 1985, and then went 25 years municipal EMS, specifically NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation EMS, and after the "merger", the FDNY EMS Command. I still look out the windows when I hear a siren approaching, as it could be a past partner of mine going by. My state "cert" is still good, even if I no longer can work in the box.
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