# Future Paramedic here



## kelmor84 (Aug 10, 2013)

Well I wanted to introduce myself, I have just begun school to earn an associates degree in EMS and become a paramedic. I am really excited as it has taken me a very long time to settle on a career choice and after bouncing several options around for quite some time, this is the career I have chosen to be my life choice. 
I am also pretty nervous because I am married with two young children, one of which is just started preschool this year. I will be nearly 31 by the time I complete my schooling and earn my associates degree, and can begin to start my career. One common complaint I have seen from those who have entered into the EMS life is that relationships tend to crumble. Is this always true?

How do you all balance family and marriage as a paramedic? Can quality time with your family still be had with the hours being dedicated to work?

In any case, I look forward to joining you all in the very near future


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## Akulahawk (Aug 10, 2013)

kelmor84 said:


> Well I wanted to introduce myself, I have just begun school to earn an associates degree in EMS and become a paramedic. I am really excited as it has taken me a very long time to settle on a career choice and after bouncing several options around for quite some time, this is the career I have chosen to be my life choice.
> I am also pretty nervous because I am married with two young children, one of which is just started preschool this year. I will be nearly 31 by the time I complete my schooling and earn my associates degree, and can begin to start my career. One common complaint I have seen from those who have entered into the EMS life is that relationships tend to crumble. Is this always true?
> 
> How do you all balance family and marriage as a paramedic? Can quality time with your family still be had with the hours being dedicated to work?
> ...


The hardest part about being a Paramedic is finding a job that pays you what you need to take care of the family. The next hardest part of being a Paramedic is that you easily could be away from family about 1/3 of a month. Every month. You will probably have to work weekends, holidays, birthdays, anniversaries... Your family won't understand what you go through. They won't want to really listen to you decompress. On top of that, often your family will have to learn to get along without you there while you're at work. That can be a HUGE source of friction between spouses. 

Much of what we see is not normally seen by the rest of the public, nor much of what we do is seen by them either. Your family just won't understand this. This is one big reason why we talk shop among ourselves only. There are things I'll talk about with another Paramedic that I won't talk about at home or even to the general public. It's just the way it is.

Since you're starting off in this process, I would recommend not only taking the prerequisites for your Paramedic program/AS degree, you should seriously look at taking the typical RN/Allied Health prerequisites. You'll not only have a wider knowledge base, you'll be more able to change careers if you realize you need to or want to. In my case, I'd taken all but one of the prerequisites in a previous Bachelor's program. After a few years, I ended up going into nursing. Having that stuff done already made applying to programs that much easier/quicker. Just something to think about as you progress through your education. It may not add much additional (if any) time to complete your program if you do things right.

In any event, welcome aboard, I hope you find the profession fun and rewarding. It'll be pretty boring most of the time... and sometimes so exciting that you'll get excited about the call after you're done with it because you'll be too busy during the call.


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## kelmor84 (Aug 10, 2013)

Thank you for your honesty  
I like to know the pros and the cons. I would like to think I have a strong enough marriage to withstand anything that comes our way. One thing you did mention was more or less having a back up plan if the paramedic thing does not work out and I do! 
I actually have all my prerequisites needed ,aside from one which will be complete this semester, to apply for the associates program into diagnostic medical sonography, I just can't apply until the spring of 2015 as I will miss the deadline for this up coming year. The issue there is that they only accept 10 students every 18 months and that is 10 student vs anywhere from 60-100 students. It is very discouraging! The bachelor program is not as hard to get into, but after prerequistes and the full time program, I will be nearly 37 before I will be done, and I just don't want to wait that long to get my life settled. However, I figure if I complete my paramedic training, and it turns out not to be for me, well then I can continuously apply for the associate program every 18 months and I might get lucky


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## Handsome Robb (Aug 10, 2013)

I'm single and the minority at my agency. The majority of my coworkers are married with children. A few have married more than once but there are plenty that have never divorced. It takes work on both sides Akula laid it out better than I ever could.  

He brings up a very valid point about schedules and I think that's usually the deal breaker. As a new medic, depending on how your agency runs its schedule, 4x12s, 24/48, 48/96 so on and so forth you may be stuck working weekend nights for a long time. Might get off them fast if you're lucky or there's high turnover where you work so you climb the seniority ladder fast but I wouldn't bank on that. I got lucky and a ton of fire departments hired and I managed to jump ~20 spots in seniority in 4 months but that's not the norm. Now I work a day/swing 1030-2230 Wednesday-Saturday. Not the best schedule but far from the worst. We have a Friday-Monday 2000-0800...shoot me if I ever get stuck on that one.  

Does your wife work? In all honesty on a paramedic salary alone you'll be stretched thin to support a family. If your wife works though you should be alright. I know a few guys that their wife is the bread winner and their salary is the "play" money. 

Good luck!! This site helped me immensely through school. The guys and gals on here are awesome at helping you find answers rather than just giving them to you. It helps when you understand why you're doing something rather than "see X, do Y, expect Z, if not, try W".


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## kelmor84 (Aug 10, 2013)

Hi Robb, first and foremost, thank you for your answers. 
I am actually the wife of the family  
My husband is also in school but he is in computer science for IT. So I think between the two of us working we should make a decent living, not a grand lifestyle, but all we really want is to be comfortable.

Thank you again, and I do hope this site will help through school. I intend to stick around throughout my education. This is a journey I just started and can't wait to see it through.


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## Handsome Robb (Aug 10, 2013)

kelmor84 said:


> Hi Robb, first and foremost, thank you for your answers.
> I am actually the wife of the family
> My husband is also in school but he is in computer science for IT. So I think between the two of us working we should make a decent living, not a grand lifestyle, but all we really want is to be comfortable.
> 
> Thank you again, and I do hope this site will help through school. I intend to stick around throughout my education. This is a journey I just started and can't wait to see it through.



Whoops sorry about that!


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## kelmor84 (Aug 10, 2013)

haha! That's completely ok! I think there is more male paramedics than female so it was a fair assumption  No offense taken!


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## terrible one (Aug 10, 2013)

Where are you located? If you're in CA or FL good luck trying to make a livable wage at a private company. Your location has a major impact on employment as it varies (private, third service, FD, or hospital based) from each state to the next.


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## Fire51 (Aug 10, 2013)

I have been in EMS for 6 years but I am not yet a paramedic it is my dream to be one some day and I am working hard to make it happen. My father has been a paramedic for 20 years and in EMS for 30, his biggest problem is the money like everyone has said, another big thing is people don't understand what we do and don't want to hear about, he has also become more emotionally numb to things not really in a bad way just he doesn't show emotion as much as other people but it doesn't effect him on the job. He is a big reason I got into EMS because after all the things he has seen, done and gone through he has a passion for his job unlike I have ever seen, he loves doing patient care and could not imagine doing any thing else. So you will know if this is for you or not and you will make it happen if it is. Best of luck!


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## kelmor84 (Aug 11, 2013)

terrible one said:


> Where are you located? If you're in CA or FL good luck trying to make a livable wage at a private company. Your location has a major impact on employment as it varies (private, third service, FD, or hospital based) from each state to the next.



I am actually located in Oklahoma, which based from what I have researched, is one of the (if not _the_) lowest paying state for paramedics. It is kind of a bummer, but I am not going into this strictly for the sake of how much money I will earn. If I was concerned only with money, than I would continue trying to get my bachelors for Sonography. 
The research I have done as far as salary goes, tells me that this is a job that is very underpaid for what paramedics do, but it still earns a decent living. Not one that could support an entire family all by itself, but  I am not the only one working 
I am choosing this profession because I have had a life long dream of helping people. I have done medical assistant, and administrative work for doctors, and it wasn't hands on enough for me. I want to actually feel like I am contributing. 

The hardest thing right now, is that of my entire family, parents and siblings included, the only one who supports me is my husband. It is either they are worried I won't be able to handle it, or they think because I am a girl I am not capable, which really upsets me being that I come from a long line of police officers and many of which are women lol.


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## kelmor84 (Aug 11, 2013)

Fire51 said:


> I have been in EMS for 6 years but I am not yet a paramedic it is my dream to be one some day and I am working hard to make it happen. My father has been a paramedic for 20 years and in EMS for 30, his biggest problem is the money like everyone has said, another big thing is people don't understand what we do and don't want to hear about, he has also become more emotionally numb to things not really in a bad way just he doesn't show emotion as much as other people but it doesn't effect him on the job. He is a big reason I got into EMS because after all the things he has seen, done and gone through he has a passion for his job unlike I have ever seen, he loves doing patient care and could not imagine doing any thing else. So you will know if this is for you or not and you will make it happen if it is. Best of luck!



That is wonderful to hear that you find your father's work inspirational and want to follow in his footsteps. I love to hear things like that. I definitely agree that this field of work is something you MUST be passionate about, and becoming emotionally numb is to be expected because of the things you must deal with. It is not a field that you can allow yourself to crumble in, and I think that anyone entering this field of work should be able to know how to turn that emotional switch off when necessary. It doesn't mean you will turn into a shell of a person  
Or at least, this is how I view it from the outside, I could be completely off base! But I am trying to think and understand this field of work as realistically as possible, since I am aiming to one day be a paramedic myself


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## Akulahawk (Aug 11, 2013)

kelmor84 said:


> I am actually located in Oklahoma, which based from what I have researched, is one of the (if not _the_) lowest paying state for paramedics. It is kind of a bummer, but I am not going into this strictly for the sake of how much money I will earn. If I was concerned only with money, than I would continue trying to get my bachelors for Sonography.
> The research I have done as far as salary goes, tells me that this is a job that is very underpaid for what paramedics do, but it still earns a decent living. Not one that could support an entire family all by itself, but  I am not the only one working
> I am choosing this profession because I have had a life long dream of helping people. I have done medical assistant, and administrative work for doctors, and it wasn't hands on enough for me. I want to actually feel like I am contributing.
> 
> The hardest thing right now, is that of my entire family, parents and siblings included, the only one who supports me is my husband. It is either they are worried I won't be able to handle it, or they think because I am a girl I am not capable, which really upsets me being that I come from a long line of police officers and many of which are women lol.


Personally, I would suggest that even though paramedic is something that you really, really want to do, I would suggest that you continue your studies to be a Sonographer. The reason I suggest this is that it would give you an additional line of work if you are unable to find a position as a paramedic. The other possibility with this is that you can work primarily as a Sonographer and also work on the side as a paramedic.

It is wonderful that you are not the only one working, having two incomes (or more) is something that will certainly help you down the road. My suggestion is that you should take a very close look at your incomes together and separate and try to be able to live on a single income. That way should something happen, you would not be up a creek because you would be unable to afford your standard of living, instead you would simply be able to continue on as normal.

The fact that you have done medical assisting in the past will help you in that you should have some idea of the medical terminology that you will encounter in the field, during transport, etc. As far as not being able to handle things as a paramedic, I really would not worry too much about that. I think you will find that most of us would be more concerned about your ability to lift things and move things around physically than we would be of your ability to think and manage scenes as a paramedic. If push came to shove, we could probably figure out ways to manage the physical side of things but we cannot teach you how to think and manage a scene effectively. That is something that you have to do on your own.

Good luck, and most importantly, have fun!


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## terrible one (Aug 11, 2013)

Not trying to be disrespectful but everyone says they don't do this for the money. That is until they actually start working and dealing with the stresses of work. So while money may not be a huge concern at the moment I suggest you place some importance on wages, benefits, and retirement.


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## medicdan (Aug 11, 2013)

terrible one said:


> Not trying to be disrespectful but everyone says they don't do this for the money. That is until they actually start working and dealing with the stresses of work. So while money may not be a huge concern at the moment I suggest you place some importance on wages, benefits, and retirement.



We don't do it to get rich, but many expect to make an living wage, which is difficult in many places.


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## terrible one (Aug 11, 2013)

Exactly.
A living wage is very broad and can mean different salaries to different people. Which is why I suggest researching areas of employment and not settling for low wages.


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## Wheel (Aug 11, 2013)

terrible one said:


> Exactly.
> A living wage is very broad and can mean different salaries to different people. Which is why I suggest researching areas of employment and not settling for low wages.



I'm in the process of moving closer to the wife's family, and this is something I researched thoroughly before going. Subsequently, I'll be making around ten thousand more and two thousand more than that when I'm cleared to be a crew chief. There are places where you can make decent money (nothing outrageous) if you are willing to move a little.


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## kelmor84 (Aug 30, 2013)

Just giving everyone an update, I have started school for the EMT program and so far things are going very smoothly and I am enjoying it. I still intend to continue on towards becoming a paramedic once I have completed this course. I will say that the instructors are fantastic, and very real. One thing I noticed right away is that they all have a morbid sense of humor, and I kind of expected it as it is probably something that comes with being in this field. In any case, it works out fine for me because I already have a dark sense of humor so it allows me to appreciate what they say that much more! 
We will start signing up for our clinicals fairly soon, and hands on experience is always best, so we shall see how that goes soon.
Just thought I would let you guys know!


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## unleashedfury (Aug 30, 2013)

Honestly I'll give you my situation. 

I am also a paramedic student. I am a single father of 2 boys. I get alot of babysitting help from my parents which is cool. but it wasn't EMS that killed my relationships. It was other factors 

To have a family and a significant other while maintaining a EMS career can be difficult but if you have a strong relationship. It shouldn't be a problem. But the other half has to be understanding. that we still gotta work weekends holidays, OT as needed and shift work. so some places you'll work a rotating schedule EOWEO (every other weekend off) others its a 24/48 or similar scheduling. Your not always gonna get done at the end of the shift. 730 rolls around and you get that last minute call taht keeps you over a half hour. Etc. you may end up working nights. which I know is trying on my relationship as my GF gets real uncomforatble about being home alone at night. But gotta pay the bills right? If your willing to drive depending on where you are located sometimes you can pony up some extra dough. I live not to far from the state capital so when I finish school it would be better for me to drive the hour to the burg. vs. staying local and making next to nothing. 

As far as furthering your education.... An education is priceless, and if in a few years you decide that the whole EMS field isn't for you. Theres another option to focus on.


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## bellatwain (Sep 18, 2013)

Good luck to you and I hope I can be one of those people you can help.


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## Asclepius911 (Oct 12, 2013)

You have stumbled into a pseudo career, paramedic is not a complete career in itself, and every year I see that it's taking a turn to the worst. Every year I see younger paramedics, some with no work experience fresh out of highschool, not taking the job seriously since they are trying to get into fire, and as the numbers grows there is less positions available. Every year I see that new medics are getting payed less. In Cali. there is no job security as a paramedic, I've worked in companies that layed off 9 paramedics from one day to another without giving us any notice. Can paramedic be declared as a real career when I know many of them have other jobs, or receive welfare to survive? Sadly the only way to make this a career is if you get into fire fighting, work in cruise ship, oil station in the ocean, or flight paramedic. Other than that, it is known as another "stepping stone." Don't take me wrong, I like what I do, I've worked in almost every field out there and I find my job interesting and rewarding. However, I can't help to think of it as "community service." It's good experience if you plan to continue your career in the medical field. This is why most medics (Non FF) are going into RT, RN, PA, or MD.


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## chaz90 (Oct 12, 2013)

Asclepius911 said:


> You have stumbled into a pseudo career, paramedic is not a complete career in itself, and every year I see that it's taking a turn to the worst. Every year I see younger paramedics, some with no work experience fresh out of highschool, not taking the job seriously since they are trying to get into fire, and as the numbers grows there is less positions available. Every year I see that new medics are getting payed less. In Cali. there is no job security as a paramedic, I've worked in companies that layed off 9 paramedics from one day to another without giving us any notice. Can paramedic be declared as a real career when I know many of them have other jobs, or receive welfare to survive? Sadly the only way to make this a career is if you get into fire fighting, work in cruise ship, oil station in the ocean, or flight paramedic. Other than that, it is known as another "stepping stone." Don't take me wrong, I like what I do, I've worked in almost every field out there and I find my job interesting and rewarding. However, I can't help to think of it as "community service." It's good experience if you plan to continue your career in the medical field. This is why most medics (Non FF) are going into RT, RN, PA, or MD.



This is all completely situation and location dependent. Believe me, I know there are many places like what you describe here, but it's not one size fits all. I know I sometimes sound like a broken record, but there are career oriented single role EMS services out there! My service (and both others in the state) have single role career paramedics with fair wages, manageable call volume, quality equipment, and reasonable management. There are opportunities for advancement, and continuing education is emphasized. Many of my co-workers have worked here for close to 20 years without having another job. Most don't aspire to work as a firefighter since fire is all volunteer in the state. Don't get me wrong. We certainly have medics leave to work as RNs, PAs, or go into education. The difference in my mind is that you certainly do have the option to make paramedicine a true career in this system. I know not all places are like this, but don't make the opposite mistake from me and assume all EMS services are temp jobs either.


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## Asclepius911 (Oct 12, 2013)

It would be great if it were like that everywhere, but paramedics is still in an evolving stage in which it's striving to become a career. They recently began an AS and bachelors in paramedics. This might be signs that paramedics possibly may be changing in the far future,  currently it makes no sense since to become a paramedic all you need is a P card. I know others that only have an (with no college) HS/GED, and others that have bachelors that are medics and we all get payed the same.


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## NomadicMedic (Oct 12, 2013)

I don't understand why you're going on and on about this. It was very clearly explained that it is NOT the same in every state. And yes, paramedicine is a young profession, but it's continuing to evolve. As Chaz mentioned, Delaware paramedics are all county employees, there are no bottom feeder private paramedic services here. In my county, education is a huge priority. Degreed paramedics are compensated with a salary increase, there is a excellent tuition reimbursement/assistance program and non degreed medics are encouraged to pursue a degree as education is one of the requirements for merit increases. 

If you search, you'll find excellent paramedic systems that pay well, encourage education and expect the medics to be more than just meat in the seat with a P card. You may just have to move to work for one of them. 

Or, stay where you are and settle for low wages and system status management. 

We all know that California is a wasteland for most medics unless you land that coveted fire job, but it's not that way everywhere. Research is your friend.


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## SandpitMedic (Oct 13, 2013)

"A wasteland"

Lol. Jeeze.

What an adjective.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Oct 13, 2013)

DEmedic said:


> I don't understand why you're going on and on about this. It was very clearly explained that it is NOT the same in every state. And yes, paramedicine is a young profession, but it's continuing to evolve. As Chaz mentioned, Delaware paramedics are all county employees, there are no bottom feeder private paramedic services here. In my county, education is a huge priority. Degreed paramedics are compensated with a salary increase, there is a excellent tuition reimbursement/assistance program and non degreed medics are encouraged to pursue a degree as education is one of the requirements for merit increases.
> 
> If you search, you'll find excellent paramedic systems that pay well, encourage education and expect the medics to be more than just meat in the seat with a P card. You may just have to move to work for one of them.
> 
> ...


+1 to pretty much everything you said. Its certainly not the majority, but if you go the extra mile its out there.


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## SandpitMedic (Oct 13, 2013)

It is incredibly hard to find, especially with a private. It's just hard to find, like a private ambulance with a PA microphone that hasn't been cut off. Too many clowns in this "profession." 

I'm not taking either side on the matter though. 

I'm simply stating that you have to really want to find that "career" medic role and you have to be extremely flexible in most cases. There are those fortunate enough to live in areas without privates and without over saturation, but the days of having your P card and being the goose that lays the golden eggs are long over. 

I've usually thought of it as just a skill set, and less of a life long career on its own. Obviously, this is my opinion only. In communion with other skill sets such as flight, firefighting, tacticool training, maritime ops, etc. it can make a great deal of difference in acquiring said careers. 

Just in general, sitting in a truck, getting constantly beat up, eating the typical garbage, having interrupted sleep schedules, lifting and over working your tired body, and working 60+ hours per week for minimal wages is not what I would call a career gig. It is taxing on the body, and the mind, but for little to gain in your personal life. You can't debate the "calling" some feel for this work. You can't adequately explain how rewarding it feels to get that true save. In the larger picture though, I agree, this "career" is still in its toddler years. It can barely walk and talk while mommy and daddy do everything for it. That would be the private companies and govt types who outsource to those private companies. So long as it remains primarily a private industry, as opposed to almost every other emergency service- we will be second rate.

It is evidenced by the wages. I make a decent living, but I certainly couldn't support a family and own a home and a jet ski and a this and a that. We still aren't yet held to the same esteem as our counter parts in the FDs and PDs... Why do those guys get local discounts but I don't in my ambulance? "Sorry, only firemen get half off"...
Don't mistake me for someone who does this for perks, but c'mon- perks are nice. But it is just another among a host of exhibits of how private EMS is viewed as a majority. 

I digress. It is a great, cool, rewarding job. But there has to be an endgame to your plan if you want to be a paramedic. Either relocate to a system with single role medics who are govt employees or treated equally, or use your P card in combo with another career.


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## SandpitMedic (Oct 13, 2013)

Oh, and stay in school.


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## Asclepius911 (Oct 13, 2013)

And to you sir I tip my hat, last I saw a PA, an EMT thought it would be funny to say "*****hhhhh" to one of his friend that was coming in to station for EOS. Next week all Mic. for PAs were cut off.


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