# Career advice



## KRP (Jun 18, 2004)

Hi,

    I am about 1/2 done with Paramedic school. I live in Denver Colorado. I have had to choose a part time program so that I could afford to keep my day time IT job and support my family. EMS is not the highest paying profession, so a concern of mine is making enough money as a Paramedic to keep everything going. Fire medics seem to fare well, but how competitive is it to get on with a dept? I also heard from fellow students that the private organizaion have a huge descepency in pay from state to state.  A paramedic for AMR in Denver starts at around ($12-$15 hr) I think?  I heard in other regions like Seatle, AMR pays them a lot more? I would also like to move to a warmer climate. I am thinking either CA, Fl, or HI. I am a 36 yr old male in decent physical shape w/ passable background (driving record , no criminal etc.) I am hoping that my Paramedic cert along with being able to pass the other fire dept requirments will be enough to land me a job as a Fire medic? Fire medics generally make considerable more money...I think? Anyway if anyone has some advice for me, then plz coment. 

Kevin


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## Chimpie (Jun 18, 2004)

Yes, becoming a paramedic alone will put above many of the rest of the applicants.  Obtaining a Firefighter I & II certificates as well will make you very attractive in the job market.

Here in Florida you must have at least FF I & II and your EMT cert. before you can even apply to most fire departments.  Being a paramedic is even better.

Good luck and welcome to the group!

Chimp


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## SafetyPro2 (Jun 18, 2004)

Being a Paramedic is definitely an advanatage for getting on with a FD in California as well. Many departments are only hiring FF/Paramedics these days because then they don't have to pay for your training. Most if not all of the Southern California departments are the primary EMS responder, and most all are ALS. All FFs in the area are at least EMT-1 (Basic), and most fire academies include the EMT training as part of their curriculum.

Most FDs will require you to have completed or be attending a California academy as well prior to applying. There are a variety of different academy formats ranging from full-time weekday to weekend only.

Starting salaries generally range from $34-45K a year depending on the department.


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## KRP (Jun 18, 2004)

Thanks for the info. In Denver most of the major fire departments have a strict recruiting process that doesn't necessary give candidates with EMT-P a huge advantage. Basically a candidate takes a written, CPAT, and finally an oral board interview. The oral board interview is basically scoring how well you answer their questions. At the end of the interview they might ask if you have anything to add and at that point you can mention that you are a Paramedic. Other then that, having a Paramedic isn't a big consideration. The smaller deptments however pull from a list that a 3rd part organization called DRCOG maintains. The list basically has all the candidates qualifications. I heard that most of the Paramedics from the prior class that got listed on the DRCOG list are now working for one of the smaller fire departments. 

I thinks San Diego has a similiar system? I think a 3 rd party agency compiles lists of candidates and then local FD pull from the list. I also think the SD agency requires that you be a paramedic b/f adding you to the list? This might be the way to go for me?


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## SafetyPro2 (Jun 18, 2004)

Not sure about SD's hiring, but their ambulances are run by Rural/Metro through a partnership called the San Diego Medical Services Enterprise. According to the department's website, each station has one FF/Paramedic, with the rest being FF/EMTs. The Rural/Metro ambulances are staffed with one Paramedic and one EMT.


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## KRP (Jun 18, 2004)

Chris,

    I think I was getting San Diego confussed with San Diego North County. Maybe the city of San Diego is handled by Rural Metro and the Northern Counties such as Carlsbad, Encinitas,Vista, Escondido are handled another. He is a link that got me thinking SD uses a system such as DRCOG.

http://www.palomar.edu/fire/pdfs/ff%20regi...0req%202004.pdf

I wouldn't mind checking out the possibilities of working for Rural/Metro in San Diego. So they are basically a private company that has a contract with the city....right? From what you are saying they also respond to fires? We have Rural Metro here in Denver.  In Denver they are strictly EMS I think. Any way thanks again. If you have that link handy plz e-mail me with it. 

kevinpiazzisi@hotmail.com


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## MMiz (Jun 18, 2004)

In Oakland County Michigan, they're getting a couple hundred applying FF/Medics for every available FF position.

The only place around here that hires FF/Basics is Detroit, and I'm not sure I'd want to work around there.

The compnay I work for pays medics around $12-$15, and if you work 40 hour week, 8 of those hours are automatically overtime.  AMR has the higest starting pay around here for EMTs, paying around $10 an hour.  Starting pay for EMT-Basic around here is from $8.50-$10.00/hour.

I think most EMTs make their money on over-time hours.  q


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## SafetyPro2 (Jun 19, 2004)

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is a typical municipal fire department run through the city. Rural/Metro only handles the ambulance service for the department. My understanding of how it works is that if an EMS call comes in, Fire-Rescue responds with an engine which has one FF/Paramedic and three FF/EMTs. If transport is necessary, a Rural/Metro ambulance then responds with an additional Paramedic and EMT. The only difference from a typical municipal FD/private ambulance company relationship is that the FD and R/M have formed a partnership known as the San Diego Medical Services Enterprise where they interact on a more formal basis than simply having a transport contract and there's some degree of "profit sharing" between the two.

R/M does have a fire suppression branch as well. They typically staff airport ARFF departments and industrial (refinery, etc.) fire brigades, but they were under contract with at least one or two cities in Arizona last I'd heard, taking the place of a traditional municipal fire department.


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## mycrofft (Jan 19, 2012)

Search from where you are, as well as research costs of living. The adequate pay in Fresno would leave you in poverty in San Francisco or Telluride.

Civil service can be good except for cutbacks caused by spates of scapegoating public employees. However, they tend to be union (good) , well-benefited, and while not as high paying as they might be, they are usually ok and the other aspects make it worthwhile.


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## Mountain Res-Q (Jan 19, 2012)

Seriously, this thread is 7 1/2 years old...  kinda outta date...  little late for career advice...


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## mycrofft (Jan 19, 2012)

Oh, well, then....
Hey, OP, how'd it turn out!?:blush:


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