Universal Careers; 14-day emt boot camp

[uc-emtparamedic]

From UC

Hi, My name is Jennifer Vasiliev from Universal Careers. I am here to explain some of the concerns people have about our program. Many of the things discussed are completely incorrect and based on misunderstandings/false assumptions.

Firstly, yes the course has an $8k tuition price tag but no one pays that. You do not pay $8k and than get a refund like the other poster suggested... that's just not how our program works. If you actually went through the whole course you would know how it works.

The way it works is, as long as you pass the felony check, you will qualify for financial help and you do not have to pay for the course. So the course is basically free as long as you have no felony. However, you do have to pay for a few things such as room, board, transportation, test fees, textbooks, felony check, etc..

Also we work very hard to make the EMT/Paramedic program as beneficial to everyone as possible, and we do everything we can to help get people employed so please do not comment on a program that you have not gone through yourself.

And because we are constantly optimizing our program for the better, please contact us directly at support@universalcareers.org for the latest fees, class schedules, and job placement services because whatever information listed here may be outdated. Our services may change once in a while but only for the better.

 

[Ridryder911]

We will continue to make such comments as long as we smell a scam. I will be contacting the NREMT to see if an investigation can be made from any and all of your applicants.

Admission of having a poor web site design and even admitting poor distibution of information is not excuse enough to clarify the mistake. Even your poor comment of stating.."Also we work very hard to make the EMT/Paramedic program as beneficial to everyone as possible, and we do everything we can to help get people employed so please do not comment on a program that you have not gone through yourself. .. is wrong as far as I can read, that you do not offer the Paramedic level.

Please quit making false claims, be responsible and proof read your advertisements and website information. Then and ony then we will as professionals take you seriously. Oh, by the way ... I don't have to attend a program to recognize fraud and potential problems.

R/r 911

 

[Cohn]

Firstly, yes the course has an $8k tuition price tag but no one pays that. You do not pay $8k and than get a refund like the other poster suggested... that's just not how our program works. If you actually went through the whole course you would know how it works.

The way it works is, as long as you pass the felony check, you will qualify for financial help and you do not have to pay for the course. So the course is basically free as long as you have no felony. However, you do have to pay for a few things such as room, board, transportation, test fees, textbooks, felony check, etc..

Wait so how does this "company" make money?


Oh wait I forgot its a scam... And all you need is the $100 that people pay that is nonrefundable to stay afloat. I wonder how much people fall for this a day?

 

[emt seeking first job]

I have a few questions:

Ms. Vasiliev:

1) which former USSR republic are you from ?

2) have any ofthe posters in this thread violated the law or the rules of the forum ?

3) do you have certification as an EMT b/p?

4) what will you do exactly to anyone who posts about your school ?

5) why does'nt your school list the instructors, have their photos, or list their cv's ?

6) why all the stock photos? it looks like a website for herbalife or amway....

7) 8K, tuition, not including room/board? What are students getting besides the emt training, they cant get for about 1k anywhere else?

8) have an alumni, working someplace post on this thread?

9) why do you throw out the word 'paramedic' so cavalierly on your website, when you only offer an emt-b class ?

10) why no photos of your classes and students training? Not that tough to do.....

11) Name all principals in your school, full names, any EMS CV ?

12) do you or anyone a your school have a criminal record ?

13) name another school in the US where students pay first and then get a grant/refund ?

14) People becoming emts have 8k to front like that, without family/credit cards/selling a kidney...?

15) why not post ayoutube video of your classes.....?

16) I am the stupedist person on this forum, with the least amount of EMS knowledge/experience....i saw your craigslist ad first, then your website, i came to this board to start a thread.....and there was one already running....how was it me of all people smelled bovine excretions.......?

17) why are we not allowed to question your school, this is the USA ?

18) why do scammers from the former CCCP think americans are so stupid.....?


I saw your type 25 years ago as a student travelling through Moscow, and I see it all over this country now.

19) the people that would fall for this scam/abuse are very vulnerable , and in this country we support and buildup the vulnerable, not exploit them....

20) there are new russians and old russians: the old ones when they came to the USA helped build something, Sikorsky, Pontiaff, Zwokin....the new ones (mostly) are here to suck society dry.....the same way the bolsheviks sucked russia dry their own system dried up within a century, so your type, this diaspora of deceit tries to suck the rest of the world dry


YOU ARE A SHAME TO ALL GOOD RUSSIAN PEOPLE TODAY AND YESTERDAY WHO COME HERE TO CONTRIBUTE.....


You realize people get pissed off by actions of scam outright or abuse and will work to expose it ?????????

 

[emt seeking first job]

Wait so how does this "company" make money?


Oh wait I forgot its a scam... And all you need is the $100 that people pay that is nonrefundable to stay afloat. I wonder how much people fall for this a day?

They claim you get a grant from the govt....?


But name to program that would give 8k for an emt-b class ?

In NYS, there is a program to pay $800 for an emt-b class....

 

[emt seeking first job]

A request to everyone reading this message:

I hereby request everyone reading this message to ask around about this school and Jennifer Vasilieva.

Ask everyone at your ambulance service or school. Place a notice on the bulletin board.

Post a question about it on other EMS and Public Safety Message Boards.

Contact your State DOH and Regional EMS authority.

Email everyone in EMS in your address book with questions and suspicions.

 

[emt seeking first job]

Lets get to the bottom of this:

edit

 

[uc-emtparamedic]

Some of you are misunderstanding what we do. We do not train students at our own facility. We promote medical programs and refer the students to EMT/paramedics schools that are state certified.

Some schools have a hard time getting students and thats where we are here to help. Also, many emt/paramedic schools does not help students find jobs once they complete their training (they mainly focus on helping students get their license/certification and leave it up to the students to find work) so our packages include everything from room, board, to job placement services.

Once again, students are not trained at our facility. They are sent to a EMT/paramedic schools that are state approved. We help them fill seats, provide packages that includes room, board and help the students get hired.

Any other questions please contact us directly at our email in the above post.

 

[EMS/LEO505]

If I join your program do I also win the Nigerian lottery and all I have to do is send you some ungodly amount of money for the cash to transfer in to my account? Hahaha, any one wanna call Chris Hannsen to catch this scammer?

 

[JPINFV]

Once again, students are not trained at our facility. They are sent to a EMT/paramedic schools that are state approved. We help them fill seats, provide packages that includes room, board and help the students get hired.

I think you need to find someone to rewrite your website from scratch then. Even the updated statement (which is only updated because Los Angeles LEMSA asked you to clarify this after I sent an inquiry to them) states that it is 'your' EMT program.

"With training facilities in Bloomington, Indiana and customer support headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, UC is a state-of-the-art provider of training for individuals interested in joining the health care field, "
- http://www.universalcareers.org/about_universal_careers.php

Additionally, you need to have your website team up the security. According to an admissions letter available on your website (which, hell, I'll post now anyways), "I am very pleased to inform you that you qualify for financial aid and that the faculty of Universal Career’s Medical Studies would like to make you a conditional offer of a place on our National EMT Certification program in the Universal Careers’ School of Medicine."

As a second year medical student, I would be interested in hearing about the "Universal Careers' School of Medicine."

http://www.universalcareers.org/images/pdf/universal_careers_enrollment_martina.pdf
File also uploaded.

The reason why there's outrage is because the program, and especially the website, fails the credibility test.

 

[EMS/LEO505]

That makes it look like more of a scam!!!! Lol, I'll check APDs records and see if they have anything pending here for this "wonderful" school

 

[emt seeking first job]

Can someone post a "Maxwell Smart" gif for me....don't know how...

1) Why on earth would anyone need a middleman to go to EMT or paramedic school ?

There are enough nationwide within commuting distance. The curriculum can be found within one hours travel of most everyone in the USA. This is not some specialty topic like theater or literature or physics.

Student success mainly is on the student in an EMT-b class.

All State authorized EMT schools are listed on each states DOH website.

2) With your EMT "placement" service....you are not placing actors, accountants, etc.

An EMT can only work at an authorized EMS agency, all of which, again, are listed on each states DOH website. Furthermore, candidates are selected on demeanor, personality, and knowledge of the EMT-b skills.

What is it that this "school" can do to "place" people that someone can not do by 1) taking an EMT class 2) studying hard 3) contacting EMS agencies on his or her states DOH website and 4) behaving well during the interview.

There are no hidden EMT jobs that only you know of. NONE !!!!

3) And where is this school you send people to? Name it. Does it have a website ?

4) Do you think people, especially those suited for public safety work, could not just register direct with this school, book their own transportation, lodging, etc. to achieve this.....


Ms. Vailieva, Try a better angle, maybe a modeling school or "hedge fund management training school"......

Public safety people smell the equestrienne excrement several thousand miles away.

 

[Shishkabob]

An EMT can only work at an authorized EMS agency, all of which, again, are listed on each states DOH website.

No.

 

[emt seeking first job]

Some schools have a hard time getting students and ....yadda yadda yadda

Any other questions please contact us directly at our email in the above post.

Maybe because there is a market imbalance of schools versus people seeking the training.

And no, everybody, if anybody has any questions ASK THEM ON THIS BOARD, so everyone can see them and see YOUR response.

I am using every resource I have, including personal contacts in the Patriarchal Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Federation Consulate Offices, and the Russian Federation UN Mission to shed some light on who YOU are and who you are doing this with.

Many Russian people, fresh off the boat and here for many generations are sick of this c-r-a-p and what people like you do.

 

[emt seeking first job]

No.

Perhaps I stand corrected, but it was my understanding Linus, that all EMS agencies, at least in New York State, are listed on the DOH website.

That an EMT works under medical direction and those lone EMT jobs standing by on movie sets on construction sites are illegal.

 

[Shishkabob]

All EMS agencies *might* be on DOH/ DSHS websites, I don't know, I haven't been inclined to go through all 50 states + territories.



But an EMT is not relegated to JUST EMS agencies.

Hospital tech, doctors office, camps, amusement parks, etc etc etc etc

 

[emt seeking first job]

All EMS agencies *might* be on DOH/ DSHS websites, I don't know, I haven't been inclined to go through all 50 states + territories.



But an EMT is not relegated to JUST EMS agencies.

Hospital tech, doctors office, camps, amusement parks, etc etc etc etc

Being a hospital tech does not require an EMT-b cert, does it ? It is a related field that people with EMT-b certs can fill, but so could a CNA with a phlebotomy cert, or a "medical assistant"....

The position of Emergency Medical Technician is for EMS agencies. People with that training when as an ER tech or a medical assistant in a doctors office are not employed as EMTs and may have those jobs without an EMTb cert?

Am I wrong?

And I thought those camp and amusement park jobs are limited to CPR and first aid, that you can not function as a full EMT ?

Am I wrong on that ?

 

[emt seeking first job]

But Linus,

There is something suspicious about this "program" regardless, IMHO....

 

[medic417]

What they are doing is becoming like a sports agent. Basically robbing you to do what you could do w/o them. The sad fact is most people that get excited about the lights and sirens as shown on TV or are in desperate financial straits do not know how to get into ems. Along comes the agent and they help you file all the paperwork and other items you could have done w/o them then charge you an extreme fee for doing really very little.

 

[akflightmedic]

I spent an hour reviewing the website and it screams SCAM!

Whoever wrote it uses words and sentence structure not common for the average American. I am not basing this on the above posts by the woman with a foreign sounding name, but if you take the time and read all the little snippets, the descriptive words, it just is not American-speak.

I copied this from the website: "Our former clients work in a wide ranging variety of emergency medical service jobs. Our large client database gives us an “in” with a large number of employers in this field, after all; most of them were former students.
We only employ first rate, top quality, high caliber staff and instructors. Their portfolios speak for themselves."

This school was established in 2005 and in those 5 short years, they have managed to train "Most" of the current employers who are now looking to hire the next batch of students??? Sorry, I call bullschitt.

Also, the site mentions the portfolios...well, where are they? You should be proud, you should have these on display and they should be easily verifiable. I can pull up any number of legitimate schools (even other online schools) and very quickly see pictures and resumes of the instructors.

I read through all the testimonials from former students as well. Again, the language choice by these 14 day wonders simply do not sound realistic. We all know the job market and we know the salary for EMTs, yet every single one of them have had life transforming jobs and now they no longer live paycheck to paycheck and their kids are going to have such great lives because Mommy is now employed...it was absolutely ridiculous the stuff I read.

Then I started looking through the job postings. As most of you know, I keep my nose to the ground and if there is a job posted online, I usually see it. I review about 9 different job sites almost daily because I like helping people out (maybe I need to charge). Anyways, as you read through the jobs, there is nothing on there you could not find yourself from any search engine.

In addition to that, the jobs listed were not EMT jobs, they were for Intermediates, Paramedics, Home Health Aides, PAs...they just throw a whole bunch of crap in there to make it look promising. Also, the monster salary of "up to 54K a year" which is one of the large banners cleverly states EMTs/Paramedics can make up to this amount...some poor schmuck is gonna think his EMT patch is gonna make him those wages with minimal effort.

Finally, I printed off the acceptance letter/contract and reviewed it carefully for the legal mumbo jumbo.

Here is what I found and want answers or explanations to:

Page 1 Para 1: UC is "associated with eight of the most prestigious doctors in the country"

Can you please name these 8 and tell me what the association is? Who says they are the 8 most prestigious and why? And what does association with them have to do with the program?

Page 1 Para 2: What is this School of Medicine that is constantly referred to? I do not understand the rest of this paragraph...me flying to Indiana for the skills portion is contingent upon me achieving CPR, National Cert, State cert and an online GPA of 3.0???

How am I supposed to have these things if I have not flown out and done the skills portion? To me, this indicates you want me to be fully licensed and then you are flying me somewhere for a ride along and hospital observation time...thanks I can arrange that on my own. If this is not the case, then your wording sucks and needs to be corrected.

Page 2: Fees...your list of fees looks like a bad mortgage broker's deal, maybe you took their lessons.

Registration fee-High but expected

Books- Do you give the option of them finding their own...100 can be lower (which book is it?

Uniform Rental- Charge 25 bucks for what--a shirt? And they do not even own it at the end. Do they really need to be in a uniform for 2 weeks? Especially when you advise them to bring enough clothes for two weeks and money for laundry. Or is this the shirt they wear twice? Once on the ambo and once in the ER, 8 hours each time.

CPR/Live scan- Fees are high but is expected.

Service Charge- $55? What service? No unexplained fees please...

Student Tuition recovery fund- $10 What the hell is this?

Textbook Shipping and handling- $20 bucks...are you serious? Couple dollars at most via US mail

Room/Board/Breakfast/Kitchen- You need to post pictures of where I will stay and the address so I can ensure my safety or health. You also clearly state later on that breakfast consists of bread and dry cereal only. This charge seems VERY LOW for 2 weeks worth of housing...hope the rats do not eat much.

Resume writing- 600 bucks!! I really need to get in this market if people are paying that for an EMT job which typically involves NO resume to get. You fill out an online application or paper application and that is it. Seriously, do employers really NEED to see a resume for an EMT position? We have had this discussion before on this site...WHAT A SCAM!

Job Placement Assistance- $1500!!! Another SCAM...your ads are from online search engines, you really have no more capability of getting someone in a job in their own town than they do by going in themselves.

Do you give them the right to refuse the resume writing and job placement help or is it a take it or leave it deal? Screams scam to me...

Admin tuition...ok higher than any local college but you need to charge.

Out of state prep fee- 100 bucks!! What are you prepping for...this is just another bogus fee.

Pelham Training Center- High fees again

Travel Credit- 300 bucks how is it a credit if you are charging for it??? And what is a travel credit????

Ok, now that I have dissected the bogus fees...let us look at the terms carefully.

Please note that EVERYTHING is NON REFUNDABLE.

Also, this is important: Their job placement assistance ENDS 30 days after your 14 days of training. There is no guarantee of a job and you have to ask yourself, how could a company in California possibly help you get a paid EMT job in Cheraw, South Carolina (pick any place).

Ahhh Page 3...They allow you to take the test as many times as you want until you achieve a GPA of 3.0

Page 4: YOU buy your plane ticket to Indiana. They also make it sound so easy...after 14 days, get your national and get your state license. They do not mention the hoops you need to jump through or the fees you need to pay to individual states for this...that is all your cost and time.

Also remember this: Your job assistance ends 30 days after your 14 days of training. How many of you think you will have a state license before that 30 day period ends? no state license = no job!

I want to see the menu for this catered food, I want to see instructor's resumes/credentials, how do you assure "national certification in all 50 states" like page 4 says?

Page 5: Contradicts Page 4...you said catered meals and then you tell me only breakfast is provided but I can cook if I want in the hotel room or I can eat at local restaurants. Please explain?

Then you end with the job placement service which is offered AFTER I get my state license. Yeh, no thanks, I am a big boy and I can apply myself to local departments...please let me save the 1500 bucks you charge so I may use it for fuel driving around.

Page 6: Top 9 reasons...

#9 There are 210K jobs...how many of them are vacant?
#8 "most stable job offered by the state" how many of you work for the state?
#7 Read it and laugh "so many call 911 for help"...thats the reason
#6 Brag about dumbing down the profession...you also mention Paramedic.
#5 work anywhere I want eh? Just call local FD or hospital...umm how about the state licensing board...you are not even referring people to the right place...idiots!
#4 Yes there are job choices, but to make it sound so easy...poor form!
#3 No you dont have everything already set up...I have to do the state part.
#2 Start work right away? Really? How many EMT grads are still looking for jobs months later??
#1 Wow I get a free airport shuttle...who ever heard of such generosity??? The rest is just repetitive BS.

Yes I wrote a lot but I am pissed off. This is total BS and I do not want anyone to fall for it.