Starting pay

[Spiridon]

Generally my town in south Georgia has low wages for all jobs compared to most places. I talked to a paramedic last night, and he told me that EMT intermediate starting pay is 8.50/hr and paramedic is 10.50/hr.
What is the starting pay in other parts of the country?

 

[Shishkabob]

In reality, pay in other parts of the county does not matter because every area has it's own standard of living cost, and as such, pay is based off that.



Here in Texas (low standard of living cost) starting pay for an EMT is $10.00+

 

[Ridryder911]

One cannot evaluate pay as it is very closely related to the costs of living. I get amused reading of where firefighters acclaim $100,000 a year but fail to describe the costs of living is eight to ten times higher as well. It usually always equals out.

R/r 911

 

[medichopeful]

In reality, pay in other parts of the county does not matter because every area has it's own standard of living cost, and as such, pay is based off that.

What do they do, figure out the living costs so they don't pay you a penny more than they need to?

 

[Hockey]

Around here Basics get from min wage $7.40 to $10 (where I'll be heading next hopefully)

I's get $9-11

Paramedics get from $8.50 to $16

 

[aandjmayne]

in Baton ROuge, LA you get 11.90/hr starting as a basic with acadian and if you go with ems in med com you get 16/hr.

 

[Shishkabob]

What do they do, figure out the living costs so they don't pay you a penny more than they need to?

An employer in Podunk, AR is not going to pay you nearly as much to flip burgers then at the same place in NYC.


Which is why I'm surprised I'm paid 'so much' here in DFW with a very low cost of living, even though it's on the lower end of the norm.

 

[Spiridon]

I'm a CAD operator for an architectural firm. The pay is decent and insurance is included. I'll be 37 next month, and maybe somewhat foolishly I'm considering a career change. Starting out at those wages would be a huge pay cut. The paramedic I talked to said that there are always openings for prn positions. Do any of you work part-time and/or on call in addition to a full time job? If so, does this work well for you?

 

[WolfmanHarris]

The rate of pay in Ontario for BLS is between $25 and $38/hr depending on service and cost of living. As a part-timer I get 4% vacation pay and 10% pay in lieu of benefits bringing my wage before taxes to $35/hr. (plus shift premium for nights/weekends, cleaning allowance, etc)

I don't have exact numbers but income tax accounts for about 20% of my pay, then there's my pension deductions and employment insurance which brings that up approximately 28% of gross.

I'm not sure the best way to compare cost of living, other then to say that medics in Ontario are firmly in the middle class and generally live quite comfortably on these wages (House, cars, some have cottages, boats or motorcycles) and are able to raise a family somewhat less comfortably on a single income. I did find a tool online a while back that compares cost of living around the USA. I'll see if I can find it again.

Edit: Found it.

http://www.bestplaces.net/COL/

To illustrate the points already made, I compared Fargo ND (first city that came to mind that wasn't NYC or Chicago), to LA. Someone making 50k/yr in Fargo needs to make 97k/yr in LA.

 

[46Young]

What do they do, figure out the living costs so they don't pay you a penny more than they need to?

Supply and demand. If no one is applying for positions at your company, and rival providers are paying more, you'll need to keep up. If the market is saturated, they can pay welfare wages.

 

[46Young]

http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/community/ems_salary_benefits_042607.shtml Area 911 hospitals pay EMT's 15-22/hr, medics 24-33/hr. Privates pay BLS 10/hr, medics 19-22/hr.

There are cost of living calculators online that can give you a rough estimate of what you'll need to make to equal the standard of living where you're coming from.

 

[MMiz]

I'm a CAD operator for an architectural firm. The pay is decent and insurance is included. I'll be 37 next month, and maybe somewhat foolishly I'm considering a career change. Starting out at those wages would be a huge pay cut. The paramedic I talked to said that there are always openings for prn positions. Do any of you work part-time and/or on call in addition to a full time job? If so, does this work well for you?

I worked part-time as an EMT. They would page out shifts that needed to be covered, and if I wanted to work it I'd call to cover the shift. Sometimes I worked five days a week, when in reality I usually worked twice a month. It allowed me to be an EMT while getting a college degree and working a more lucrative job.

 

[46Young]

I'm a CAD operator for an architectural firm. The pay is decent and insurance is included. I'll be 37 next month, and maybe somewhat foolishly I'm considering a career change. Starting out at those wages would be a huge pay cut. The paramedic I talked to said that there are always openings for prn positions. Do any of you work part-time and/or on call in addition to a full time job? If so, does this work well for you?

It is common for those in this business to have side jobs at other agencies. Reasons include more money and to have a foot in the door somewhere else should the FT job be lost.

Do the prn positions pay well? In NY, an EMT can be paid from 10-22/hr. In NOVA it's around 10/hr only.

 

[46Young]

In regards to hourly rate, it is of prime importance to know what a full work week entails. Is it 36, 40, 42, 48, 56, 72? Are there periods at night where you're paid on call only? Is it a fire based job with FLSA?

Transcare in NY considers a 36 hr week(3 12's) a full week. This is to allow up to 4 hours/wk of late calls without having to pay time and a half.

Does the agency work a 24/48? This is one version of a 56 hour workweek, where the last 16 hours will be OT. Both straight time and OT will work out to your quoted yearly salary. Are there any kelly days to drop down your hours?

I'm a firemedic subject to FLSA laws. My schedule is XOXOXOOOO, which is a variant of the 24/48. All 56 hours are straight time, and work out to my quoted yearly salary. This is actually preferable to the 40 at ST and 16 OT for your regular schedule. My hourly rate is actually higher than if it were calculated for 40 ST/16 OT. When I work OT shifts, my time and a half is at a higher rate for this reason.

When I worked at NSLIJ we had a 40 hour workweek, but were paid 37.5 hours. 1/2 hr lunch time per each 8 hours is taken for 2.5 hours weekly. If we worked straight through the entire shift without a break, the lunch time would be given back at time and a half.

In NY it is standard for the 911 industry to have 10% night differential assigned to tour 3 and tour 1 shifts. These are the late afternoon-evening shift, and the overnight shift.

At an agency that does a 24/48 working per diem won't pay well as the hourly rate is set low to allow for the built in OT for full timers.

Take all of these points into consideration when receiving a salary quote. DO YOUR RESEARCH. I can't stress this enough. PM me if any of this is confusing to you.

 

[dslprod]

in central ca. where i live BLS pay is about 9.50 and medics range from $12 - $14 hourly im sure amr pays way more.

unfortunately i never got hired as an EMT but i did get a job at the local hospital as a dialysis tech, talk about a curve ball. the pay is a lot better too but as long as its something in healthcare im pretty content.

 

[medichopeful]

An employer in Podunk, AR is not going to pay you nearly as much to flip burgers then at the same place in NYC.


Which is why I'm surprised I'm paid 'so much' here in DFW with a very low cost of living, even though it's on the lower end of the norm.

Supply and demand. If no one is applying for positions at your company, and rival providers are paying more, you'll need to keep up. If the market is saturated, they can pay welfare wages.

Hehe I know, I was just kidding around. All I have heard was that EMS doesn't pay well, so I thought I would throw in my $.02. (Bad choice of words, I know)

 

[spisco85]

Basics start between 12-13$ for probationary times which then increases to 14-21$ depending on service and experience level.

Medics start between 19-23$

 

[medic417]

Paramedics $20/hour. Annual pay about $60000. Cost of living cheap.

 

[46Young]

Paramedics $20/hour. Annual pay about $60000. Cost of living cheap.

I would assume the 60,000 includes OT shifts, since every .50/hr equals a little over 1,000/yr(40 hr workweek). 20/hr equals 41600/yr based on a 40 hour workweek. Maybe a little more with paid holidays.

 

[VFFforpeople]

One cannot evaluate pay as it is very closely related to the costs of living. I get amused reading of where firefighters acclaim $100,000 a year but fail to describe the costs of living is eight to ten times higher as well. It usually always equals out.

R/r 911

Agreed. Smart Firefighters (I know I set up for any and all jokes). Will commute some ways to have cheaper cost of living, and still make a decent amount. My old chief drives 4 1/2 hours, and only spends about 7-8k a year in fuel. Just depends on how you want to go about it. To each his own.