# What do you look for when selecting an EMS job?



## DrParasite (Jan 8, 2012)

shift length? (8 hr, 12 hr, 24 hr shifts)

job type (IFT, 911/EMS, SCT)?

pay rate?  retirement system and benefits?

availability overtime?

Non-ambulance jobs within the agency (Dispatch, Rescue, education/training, special operations, emergency management/preparedness, etc)

quality of equipment/ambulances provided by agency

coverage area (rural, suburban or urban)

progressive protocols, ability to deviate from cookbook medicine

that's all I can think of so far, so what do you look for in a job, when thinking about where you want to apply for an EMS job/career?

and what is the most important thing you look for?


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## NomadicMedic (Jan 8, 2012)

DrParasite said:


> shift length? (8 hr, 12 hr, 24 hr shifts)
> 
> job type (IFT, 911/EMS, SCT)?
> 
> ...



I looked at *all* of those things, and more. I think it's important that you make a list of desirable features when you’re looking to make a job change. 

From personal experience, I decided to find a service where I would have a career, rather than just an EMS job. The non-negotiable items for me included: No SSM, no BLS interfacility, a strong retirement package… preferably a government pension, better than average wages, a focus on education, a clearly defined promotional ladder, progressive protocols and a shift schedule that fit with my life. I didn’t particularly want to work for a fire based EMS agency, nor did I want to work for a private.

I found all of that at Sussex County EMS.


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## Fish (Jan 8, 2012)

Should of added, third service, private, hosp. based, or private. Because that is big consideration for me.



I look for third services


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## DesertMedic66 (Jan 8, 2012)

Any ambulance company that would hire a 19 year old with no job experience. And I literally mean any. 

I'm in Cali so we don't really have the option to "shop around".


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## psyanotic (Jan 8, 2012)

I didn't see my favorite option, sooooo I picked transport type. I would have picked "job availability" if it was an option. I feel like I would pretty much take anything offered to me if I was unemployed and really looking for work. It's always great to have those options though.


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## 46Young (Jan 8, 2012)

What's important will change depending on where you are in your life and career.

When I was starting out, I would take any available position, to build a resume. This was to assist in landing a position in a hospital based 911 EMS hospital, which provided a good salary and medical benefits. Everything else was secondary to these items. 

As time went on, I got married and began having children. Retirement and job stability in an all 911 system became more important. For this reason, I excluded any and all non municipal services as a long term career option. 

Now, since I didn't live in Texas or Washington State, and my wife was not willing to move to either state, fire based EMS was the only way I'd consider being an EMS "lifer." I chose an amployer with exceptional pay, benefits, retirement, fairly progressive protocols (compared to NYC where I'm from), top of the line equipment and apparatus, and good job security.

At some point, if you're looking to do EMS full time for the long term, you'll need to find a place with the best retirement and benefits at some point, wherever that may be, or retire poor.

The good thing is, in my area, if I ever wanted to drop my ALS cert with the county, I could still work per diem as a medic for several surrounding counties, and I can also work per diem IFT, which I do at the present. I don't plan on dropping my ALS cert with the county, but if my ALS status prohibits me from advancing in other areas of the department, I can drop it for a while and then get reinstated as ALS after I get into the position that I want.

That's the benefit of a fire based system. Many in EMS burn out 7-10 years in. Some people talk about leaving EMS and then maybe getting back in later. I can do that if I want, and still keep my job and tenure. It's being pigeonholed into "field provider" for life that burns out a lot of people. Too bad more places don't have their own education department or run their own paramedic schools. It would be a good way to get potential burnouts off the road.


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## Fish (Jan 8, 2012)

I know on average EMS does not get paid well around the country, and that we say that we are not in this for the money. Which is true, but at some point you must retire and I think a good retirement and benefits are important. You want to know you are ok financially once you hang up your hat and retire.


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## 46Young (Jan 8, 2012)

Fish said:


> I know on average EMS does not get paid well around the country, and that we say that we are not in this for the money. Which is true, but at some point you must retire and I think a good retirement and benefits are important. You want to know you are ok financially once you hang up your hat and retire.



As far as not doing it for the money, that may be true for many of us in the beginning. But as time goes on, the priorities change, like you say. 

At some point, it does become about the money. I think that many people look at a half dozen or so things they could see themselves doing for the long term, and then choosing the option that pays well. I think this reality contributes to the attrition in EMS. At some point along the way, we go from living with our parents, to assuming debt, then looking to move out, then thinking about marriage, possibly buying a house, and affording children.

Edit: What did it for me was seeing how so many of my poor, elderly patients lived. That was the turning point in my way of thinking. I simply didn't want to end up like these poor souls, with lousy nutrition, sometimes no heat, A/C, or electricity, alternating which meds they buy each month due to cost, living in rough areas due to the need for rent controlled apartments, etc.


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## KyleG (Jan 8, 2012)

I would also like to add company reputation, I don't want to have a company on a resume for a future job that did some shady stuff that puts me in a bad light.


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## NomadicMedic (Jan 8, 2012)

KyleG said:


> I would also like to add company reputation, I don't want to have a company on a resume for a future job that did some shady stuff that puts me in a bad light.



Then you should stay away from most private ambulance companies.


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## KyleG (Jan 8, 2012)

n7lxi said:


> Then you should stay away from most private ambulance companies.


Wish I can out here in SoCal EMT's can only do private. :lol:


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## Fish (Jan 8, 2012)

n7lxi said:


> Then you should stay away from most private ambulance companies.



Even more so in the area he is applying, about half of them


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## Shishkabob (Jan 8, 2012)

Job type:  911 mainly for me, as I like the challenge it presents (on legit calls), and the fact that you're always in a different locale.  I'd prefer all 911, but understand that every non-fire job in my area that does 911 also does transports.  I'd also like to do SCT/CCT at some point, which my agency does.

I got that.



Pay rate:  It's not all about the money, but money sure helps.  $40k+ starting is good money, especially in your early 20's.   Also have benefits, which I believe are extremely important.  I get PTO and sick days, but also have several days that I can call off, paid, no questions asked.  Agency also provides life insurance and disability.  I wish insurance were paid for by the agency, but can't get it all.  Premiums are small, anyhow.

Wish we also got a pension plan, but we're provided something akin to a 401k... but then again, the agency matches contributions 1.5x up to 7.5%, which is fantastic.  


I got that.



Quality of equipment/ambulances:  The more money the agency puts in to equipping their crews, the more you can tell they actually care about their crews, and giving them the tools they need to do their job safely and well.

I got that.



Progressive protocols:  I like agencies that are at the forefront of EMS, coming out with new ideas that end up being picked up nationally.  I can't be with an agency that thinks it's still the 1970s and you need to call in for everything.

I got that.





Everything is important, just some more than others.


Shift length, while not one of my top things, is still something I look at, as I prefer 12hr shifts the most.  8 would be great... if I still only had to work 4 days a week AND made the same yearly money 

Overtime is not an issue at my agency, though unlike my last agency, this one doesn't consistently force you to work OT if you don't want to.  They're there if you want, not if you don't.

Non ambulance jobs, my agency has plenty, from clinical to safety to dispatch to office work.  However, at this point in my career, I'm perfectly content with the field.

Coverage area:  I loved rural medicine.  You had a lot more autonomy and freedom in what you did, but also had a lot more self reliance on just you, since it IS just you as it can take 30 minutes for a backup Paramedic.  However, you don't necessarily get the experience that someone in my stage of my career needs, which urban medicine provides.

But I sure to love driving 15 minutes to work than nearly 2 hours...


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## FourLoko (Jan 8, 2012)

In this economy in this state: Are they hiring?

I know this site is filled with super EMTs and Medics but you can't be picky here.


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## NomadicMedic (Jan 8, 2012)

FourLoko said:


> In this economy in this state: Are they hiring?
> 
> I know this site is filled with super EMTs and Medics but you can't be picky here.



Really? I could afford to be picky. I was offered 4 positions, and turned them all down to work where I am now.


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## Shishkabob (Jan 8, 2012)

n7lxi said:


> Really? I could afford to be picky. I was offered 4 positions, and turned them all down to work where I am now.



He means California as an EMT-B, not the rest of the US as a Paramedic


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## NomadicMedic (Jan 8, 2012)

Linuss said:


> He means California as an EMT-B, not the rest of the US as a Paramedic



Ohhhh. Gotcha. Cali sounds like the worst possible place in America to try and get an EMS job.


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## Fish (Jan 8, 2012)

n7lxi said:


> Ohhhh. Gotcha. Cali sounds like the worst possible place in America to try and get an EMS job.



Or an affordable house, or a road with out traffic, or a neighborhood without crime, or a city with a school system that is not over crowded.


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## 18G (Jan 9, 2012)

Salary and benefits is first. Need to pay the bills and have a somewhat decent quality of life for the kiddos and myself.


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## NomadicMedic (Jan 9, 2012)

18G said:


> Salary and benefits is first. Need to pay the bills and have a somewhat decent quality of life for the kiddos and myself.



But that only goes so far. Great salary but lousy shifts and crummy equipment won't do.

It really is a balancing act to find the right situation for what each person feels is important.


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## 46Young (Jan 9, 2012)

One other thing, as far as non ambulance jobs in the agency, I'd get hooked up with hospital based EMS if I didn't plan to be a field provider for life, but planned to stay in the medical field. It's much easier to move into a different position in a hospital system than to apply to different employers as an outsider.


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## DrParasite (Jan 9, 2012)

For me, I would only work 12 hours shifts.  24s would be nice if we were given a station, sleeping quarters, and if it's slow enough to get sleep.  

911 is my preference, IFTs bore me to death.  unstable CCT is ok, but taking people from one hospital to another hospital with a prescheduled procedure is as boring as IFTs.

Good pay is definitely a big thing, as without good pay, I can't pay my bills.  Pension and benefits are more important (if you get a job with a pension), because it means you don't need to work till you die, you can retire from the job. I also would love a job where I would only need to work 40 hrs at one job to live comfortabl

OT (especially OT that isn't only given last minute) is always a plus.  If I'm working 3 days a week, or 24s, picking up an extra shift can help with the paychecks.  Forced overtime is definitely  a negative, especially if it's due to poor scheduling (sick outs happen, complain yes, but they can't be avoided).

Non-ambulance jobs is a big one for me.  Very few people can do this job for 30+ years.  your body just can't handle it.  and often when you start a new job, you start at the bottom of the pay scale.  being able to transfer within the agency means you keep your pay, your seniority, and you don't have to start over.  

Quality of equipment is important, but I will use what ever my agency gives me.  so if they give me subpar equipment and subpar protocols, I will be forced to provide subpar care.  But I am still doing the best I can.

And I love urban EMS.  been doing it as my FT job for the bulk of my paid career.  yes it's busy, yes it's a lot of taxi driving, but the people tend to back each other up.  More comradeship in urban EMS than in the suburbs.  And you have a lot of patient contacts, and the urban cities tend to have a lot of really sick people.  I work in the suburbs part time, but there is nothing like a busy city truck with a great partner.

But the four most important things for me would be salary and benefits, non-ambulance jobs, service type and coverage area.  If I were to relocated, I would need those four things to be in my favor before I even considered accepting a position there.


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## 46Young (Jan 9, 2012)

DrParasite said:


> And I love urban EMS.  been doing it as my FT job for the bulk of my paid career.  yes it's busy, yes it's a lot of taxi driving, but the people tend to back each other up.  More comradeship in urban EMS than in the suburbs.  And you have a lot of patient contacts, and the urban cities tend to have a lot of really sick people.  I work in the suburbs part time, but there is nothing like a busy city truck with a great partner.
> 
> But the four most important things for me would be salary and benefits, non-ambulance jobs, service type and coverage area.  If I were to relocated, I would need those four things to be in my favor before I even considered accepting a position there.



+1 on both accounts.


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## Woodtownemt (Jan 10, 2012)

Well said. Wish ca offered those benefits outside of fire:glare:


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## medic417 (Jan 10, 2012)

Pay checks that don't bounce.:rofl:

Control of work schedule. Quality staff . No protocols.


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