wannabe emt seeks advice

[soontobEMT]

well let me give you a little info to start off.

i'm 17 years old, dropped out of high school about 6 mos. ago. i get my GED in october and will be 18 in december.

i'm planning on going to a local junior college to get my certification for EMT-b in January but was wondering if after i get my certification it will be a challenge getting hired because of the whole GED thing. i realize i should have stayed in school but that's water under the bridge now. so im here seeking advice from fellow emts in a similar situation or if you have any helping info it would be greatly appreciated

[hatelilpeepees]

Your problem will not be the GED, it will be your age. Very few insurance companies will underwrite an 18 year old to drive an emergency vehicle. Keep your driving record spotless, go on to EMTI or Paramedic school.

[soontobEMT]

but an emti or paramedic school takes time.is it even possible to get on a crew being only 18 with no exp. whatsoever???

[paramedicmike]

Not likely. Go to college and try again after you're done school.

I remember how much it sucks to have people tell you "wait until you're older". But you're moving into a world where insurance premiums matter. Insuring an 18 year old is just too financially risky for just about any employer in this business.

Go to college. Get a degree. Then come back and try again.

Good luck.

[soontobEMT]

Ok this may be a very stupid question,but I feel the need to ask anyways. Do I have to be able to drive or can I strictly be in the back?

[HotelCo]

18 year olds are hired around here at IFT companies. It all depends where you are.

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[paramedicmike]

Ok this may be a very stupid question,but I feel the need to ask anyways. Do I have to be able to drive or can I strictly be in the back?

Well, from an employers perspective, what good is an applicant if he or she can only do half the job? If I'm looking at someone who can do the whole job and someone who can do half the job, then I'm going to hire the person who can do the whole job.

[Richard B the EMT]

. Do I have to be able to drive or can I strictly be in the back?

Probably depends on the service you work for, or who your partner is. I worked with one partner, who I admit was the better diagnostician, always had me drive (I love driving, so no issue there).

There is an issue, however. Depending on call type, either a BLS or ALS ambulance, and in quite a few cases, both, get dispatched. If both Paramedics jump into the back of one of those ambulances, one of the EMTs now becomes the Paramedic vehicle's operator. This EMT will be the one usually riding "shotgun" on the BLS ambulance, as the one driving the BLS ambulance will stay in that status on that ambulance.

[DwayneEMTP]

Ok this may be a very stupid question,but I feel the need to ask anyways. Do I have to be able to drive or can I strictly be in the back?

Yeah man, you have to drive, you have to clean up puke, you have to deal with shit...everyone in an ambulance pulls their weight to their level...

As stated, it will be really tough for you. You might be able to get on with a volly dept or such, but, yeah, as said by others, it won't be easy.

Now, the good news is that I intended to make my whole post about your spelling/grammar/capitalization/ being at about the 4th grade level, but within a few posts you've corrected it yourself...and that's cool as hell.

You're looking for the quick and easy way into the back of the ambulance...and there should be no quick or easy way to get back there. In fact, from the presentation of your original post it made me angry that you even asked...But there may be hope for you yet. Unfortunately you're already trying to quit, just like you did in high school. You don't want to have to jump through all of the same hoops, don't want to have to pay the same dues as everyone else...you have got, got, got to change that attitude or your future as a failure might as well be written in stone.

Decide that you want to pursue a career instead of just try an be some asshole with a hardon running lights and sirens...take the 'right' way, which also maybe the the longer way..but you'll be glad later that you did...

Dwayne

Edited July 4, 2011 by DwayneEMTP

[soontobEMT]

I appreciate the insight, but I don't believe you know where I'm coming from. The short amount of time it takes to get certified is not at all what draws me towards this career path. I'm interested in helping people and even saving lives. I wouldn't care if I got paid less tgan minimum wage and it took 5 years to get certified, this is what I want to do with my life and I'm absolutely sure of it.So no matter how you believe my attide about my future is, know that I wont stop until I'm an EMT.I DON'T CARE WHAT IT TAKES.