Working in USA

[austim]

Hello,

I'm a paramedic from Australia and my wife is in the process of obtaining a Green Card to work in the US. I have been told that I will be eligable to obtain an Green Card under her nursing sponsorship.

The question I wish to ask is: Would I be better to work for the city as an EMT/Paramedic or a private ambulance company? What are the pro's and con's. And which are the better area's to work in the East where it snows.

Regards

Tim

[chbare]

Austim, it all depends. Where I live and work, people like to work for the city fire/EMS services. Many of the city services offer an insurance package, retirement, and other benefits.

Take care,

chbare.

[Dustdevil]

Depending upon where you live, you will probably have no choice. Most communities have only one EMS provider. It may be a city agency. It may be a county agency. It may be a hospital. It may be a fire department. It may be a police department. It may be a private company. It may be a non-profit organisation. Whatever it is, that is what you are stuck with, take it or leave it. If you don't want to work for something different, you're going to have to either travel or move.

There are pros and cons to all of the above types of systems. And there are pros and cons to both the city and the country too. Here, working out in the country does not necessarily mean you aren't busy or that you don't get a chance to keep your skills sharp. It usually means the opposite, so don't fall into the trap of believing that a big city will always you better experience. It usually doesn't.

Your wife's nursing licence is definitely the ticket in. No problem. And she can get a job just about anywhere. You, on the other hand, cannot get a job just anywhere because you may or may not be qualified in all states, and because you probably won't be looking for a job in a fire department, which dominates many of the major metropolitan cities.

Tell us where you are looking at and maybe some of us can help you find out about the area.

[Janmarie3]

I work for a private ambulance company and the only thing I can think of that would be a pitfall for you in a private agency is that most of them are volunteer based and without county support it is almost impossible for a private company to pay you ALS wages. We count on grant money and whatever we can get from insurance companies. And there is only one of us who is paid a salary, the rest are volunteer and only compensated for extra volunteer time. You should probably do the research, visit with county, fire, private ems services, etc and see what they have to offer you and then make your decission.

[hfdff422]

Your license will likely not transfer, so check into that. It is possible that you will have to take an approved course to even be allowed to test. Do some careful checking with the state EMS entity prior to your move, as each state is different.

[JakeEMTP]

I agree with the above poster. Hopefully the state you are moving to wouldn't be so anal and let you take a refresher course and then challenge the exam. I have been through the same scenerio as you. It will be a minimum of 3 mths before you will receive work authorization, so you might as well take the refresher course. The Nat'l registry doesn't require a SSN to write their exam. However, you wont be able to view your results on-line without it. Snail mail will be the way to receive them without a SSN.