Prospective EMT in ohio, need advice

[ohioman91]

Hello all,

I'm a 21 year old whos planning to attend EMT-B classes at Tri-C and am looking for some advice/words of wisdom as to the state of the job market in Ohio. After reading some of these other threads about EMT's in ohio, I feel like I might be making a mistake.


Thanks.

 

[Veneficus]

Jobs in Ohio suck for EMTs. The market is saturated.

You would be looking at a minimum wage, no benefits, really poor working conditions, interfacility transport job.

There is no emergency work outside of local fire departments, which are either cutting back or have 2000 applicants per position.

I graduated from tri-cs paramedic program and know the instructors very well.

If you want a career or even a job in EMS, the best you can do is go to paramedic school as soon as possible and move out of state.

 

[ohioman91]

Is that just for EMT's or paramedics aswell?

 

[ohioman91]

Alright well, Veneficus, thanks for the reply. I tried searching the boards for threads that would answer my question, but was unable to find more than 2 or 3 that had any useful information.


Would I fare decently as a paramedic ?

 

[Veneficus]

No, you would not.

Unless you get a job on an FD, which is extremely difficult, you are looking to be employed by the very same agencies that give such a poor deal to basics.

Having said that, many hospitals in the Cleveland area will hire experienced paramedics. So after a year or so working for these dewey, cheatum, and howe, transport companies you have the potential as a paramedic to get employed by a hospital which will exponentiate your pay and benefits.

The other benefit to being a paramedic is the ability to seek employment outside of Ohio, which is actually your best bet.

 

[ohioman91]

I don't have the option to leave Ohio until it's time for grad school which is quite a ways off from now. I don't mind interfacility transport, etc.. aslong as they pay money (Not looking for phat stacks or anything of the sort here..).

I'll be aggressively seeking jobs as an EMT-B while I work on my medic (knowing that it will be nearly impossible to find anything.), and if worst comes to worse, I can volunteer and get some experience that way. Any obvious flaws in my plan that I don't see?


Thanks alot for your help/advice

 

[Veneficus]

You have to travel a considerable distance outside the city to volunteer.

All of the volunteer departments I am aware of require you to live in the jurisdiction or very close to the boarder so you will be able to respond from home in reasonable time.

You will be lucky to pay basic necessities of life as an IFT basic without working 10+ hours of overtime a week. Which probably won't be hard because the IFT companies in Cleveland all require you to stay past your shift until it is convenient for them to bring you back to base.

What and where else are you studying that you are looking at grad school?

 

[ohioman91]

You have to travel a considerable distance outside the city to volunteer.

All of the volunteer departments I am aware of require you to live in the jurisdiction or very close to the boarder so you will be able to respond from home in reasonable time.

You will be lucky to pay basic necessities of life as an IFT basic without working 10+ hours of overtime a week. Which probably won't be hard because the IFT companies in Cleveland all require you to stay past your shift until it is convenient for them to bring you back to base.

What and where else are you studying that you are looking at grad school?

My goal is to eventually go to an osteopathic medical school, but I'm not one of those people that does EMS simply to list in their application (Why I hesitated mentioning it.) My mom's friend is a paramedic and loves it, and I researched a bit and decided to give it a go aswell. I don't live In Cleveland exactly, but I currently stay in Sheffield Lake, OH. There's a volunteer department one town over I believe.

 

[Marty Mcfly]

I highly suggest you get your paramedic and move away from the cleveland area. I work for a private ambulance company in cleveland, I am also working on my paramedic card. The pay is extremely bad, you rarely see any kind of "emergency", it is all IFT calls or discharges going back to nursing homes, or taking patients to appointments, VERY VERY VERY boring work. You cannot make plans after work because every time you do, you get a trip 1 minute before you are supposed to get off, usually taking someone back to a nursing home 45 miles away from the hospital. Every private company is exactly the same, your superiors only care about signatures and insurance information, they DO NOT care about patient care. I feel more like a taxi driver than working on an ambulance, except I dont get tips.

If you're looking to get on a well paid FD in this area, forget it. Getting on an FD up here is like winning the mega millions, and if you're lucky enough to get selected, theres always that strong chance that after your probationary period they will lay you off. Even getting on a volunteer dept is difficult because you must live within a certain amount of miles from the station.

Good Luck!