# LA County Medic Wages NOV 2017



## BabyMedicinLA (Nov 10, 2017)

Hey all, 
I am a new Medic looking to move to Los Angeles from AZ .  I was wondering what the hourly wages are in LA County? I have only seen two wildy different rates so far.  30 an hour at Ambulnz, and 13.11 an hour at Mccormick.. Are either of these accurate?


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## toyskater86 (Nov 10, 2017)

This is true for ambulnz... not sure for McCormick but since it’s bls 911 they’ve been known to pay minimum wage or close to it.


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## wtferick (Nov 12, 2017)

I'd try for lynch Ambulance. Surprise the Kern Cult has not shown up yet.


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## gonefishing (Nov 13, 2017)

McCormick is paying $14 an hour straight pay for 24 hour shifts. Plus your more of an emt with a monitor seeing as county fire are the primary medics.   Kern County you'll make more get matched for experience and be the medic in control with a vast protocol.  A great place is San Juan ambulance.  Beach life with great pay.


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## CALEMT (Nov 16, 2017)

gonefishing said:


> A great place is San Juan ambulance. Beach life with great pay.



Or San Luis Ambulance


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## gonefishing (Nov 16, 2017)

CALEMT said:


> Or San Luis Ambulance


That's what I ment lol


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## CALEMT (Nov 16, 2017)

gonefishing said:


> That's what I ment lol



Haha that would explain why I was thinking "WTF is he saying".


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## NPO (Nov 18, 2017)

BabyMedicinLA said:


> Hey all,
> I am a new Medic looking to move to Los Angeles from AZ .  I was wondering what the hourly wages are in LA County? I have only seen two wildy different rates so far.  30 an hour at Ambulnz, and 13.11 an hour at Mccormick.. Are either of these accurate?


There is no easy answer. It varies wildly. You can make as low as minimum wage, or as much as, well whatever the highest paid fire department makes.

You should note, that unless you work for a fire department and are a firefighter, you cannot be a paramedic and run 911 calls. That is to say, only the fire department is an ALS 911 provider. 

Care and McCormick both have a few paramedics on staff, but they are, for all practical purposes, prohibited from practicing at an ALS level while on a 911 call. They mostly exist for transfers.

For example, don't expect to initiate transcutaneous pacing or CPAP while working as a non-FD paramedic in LA county; the ambulance companies are not permitted to do those types of 'advanced' procedures. No I'm not joking. Private companies have a smaller scope of practice than the fire departments; scary.

There is one notable exception. Sierra Madre FD. They are the only FD I know of that hires paramedics, without requiring them to be firefighters. 

However they only hire part time, and pay only $12.50/hr. It's generally understood that those applying for the position hope to one day escape the box and attain a golden seat inside the big red truck.


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## Jdog (Nov 19, 2017)

NPO said:


> For example, don't expect to initiate transcutaneous pacing or CPAP while working as a non-FD paramedic in LA county; the ambulance companies are not permitted to do those types of 'advanced' procedures. No I'm not joking. Private companies have a smaller scope of practice than the fire departments; scary.



Over at Lynch Ambulance in Orange County, medics can do all of that. Full cardiac monitoring, pacing, pumps, ACLS drugs, CPAP, etc. All within the Orange County IFT-ALS scope.


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## NPO (Nov 19, 2017)

Jdog said:


> Over at Lynch Ambulance in Orange County, medics can do all of that. Full cardiac monitoring, pacing, pumps, ACLS drugs, CPAP, etc. All within the Orange County IFT-ALS scope.


Congratulations. But as this thread is not about Orange County, your point is moot.


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## Woodtownemt (Nov 19, 2017)

All input is good input. No reason to be spicy. Some one made mention of Kern county and did not receive such slack for that. I don’t see why OC should. I’m sure the more the OP sees what LA Co has to offer the more they will branch out. Given that OC can be closer to LA depending where you are then Kern. I don’t see the harm for the OC medics to chime in. Just my two cents. Good luck with the hunt.


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## NPO (Nov 19, 2017)

Woodtownemt said:


> All input is good input. No reason to be spicy. Some one made mention of Kern county and did not receive such slack for that. I don’t see why OC should. I’m sure the more the OP sees what LA Co has to offer the more they will branch out. Given that OC can be closer to LA depending where you are then Kern. I don’t see the harm for the OC medics to chime in. Just my two cents. Good luck with the hunt.


No one "mentioned" Kern county other than the surprise that the Kern cult hadn't chimed in. 

The biggest issue I take with his OC comment is the omission. OC is just about every bit as bad as LACo, except they let them do the most basic of ALS skills lol. Hopefully the OP can find a good solution, or isn't tied to the LACo area specifically. Ventura County isn't far, is beautiful and has decent protocols. Also, Kern County. (okay, now I mentioned it, lol) inland empire is another option.


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## Woodtownemt (Nov 19, 2017)

gonefishing said:


> McCormick is paying $14 an hour straight pay for 24 hour shifts. Plus your more of an emt with a monitor seeing as county fire are the primary medics.   Kern County you'll make more get matched for experience and be the medic in control with a vast protocol.  A great place is San Juan ambulance.  Beach life with great pay.



Granted. I just think seeing what the OC “has to offer” in regards to ALS protocols painted a better picture of what LA Co medics have or not have in their tool box. We all know these counties to be wastelands when it comes to medics being medics lol. Just want the OP to get a decent prospective of they are getting themselves into. Ha I knew Kern County had to be named dropped for good measures. Cheers. Hope everyone on shift has a smooth night.


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## FoleyArtist (Nov 20, 2017)

Woodtownemt said:


> Granted. I just think seeing what the OC “has to offer” in regards to ALS protocols painted a better picture of what LA Co medics have or not have in their tool box. We all know these counties to be wastelands when it comes to medics being medics lol. Just want the OP to get a decent prospective of they are getting themselves into. Ha I knew Kern County had to be named dropped for good measures. Cheers. Hope everyone on shift has a smooth night.





Jdog said:


> Over at Lynch Ambulance in Orange County, medics can do all of that. Full cardiac monitoring, pacing, pumps, ACLS drugs, CPAP, etc. All within the Orange County IFT-ALS scope.



In regards  to WAGES. I too have heard the amount for ambulanz but have no personal confirmations by friends or colleagues in ems. PRN and Liberty probably second best paying. Liberty allows you to do doubles if you're into system status posting for 16+ hours (anticipating with holdovers) and I've heard from various colleagues that doubles supplemented their base pay nicely. (ex. extra $5k.month at 2 doubles a week). They all have sign on bonuses and all have strings attached. I don't want to contribute to the private oc/la medic shaming you can find it in abundance throughout this forum. But for various reason we do what we do or work where we work for various reason til we get to where we are going since private ems in socal is largely transient and its just a holding pattern for the next thing. albeit the few or maybe 1 exception to the rule of a career private medic company (hope this appeases the cult).

for perspective and to add to @Jdog 's post. OC IFT-ALS operates on all standing orders. IFT-als does not make base contact.. Lynch pays less than LA co. has sign on bonus for medics which is also less than la co incentives. But I think the trade off is whats often not discussed. time off has never been refused. shift trades are rather relaxed and often approved. manageable call volume, minimal to no hold overs. per diem, part time, full time positions. get a good ratio of ER calls and IFT's. Lynch medics have had to cardio vert, cpap, and start IO's on the extreme end but for the most part are utilizing all the most common als skills you would use working for a private 911 als company daily.


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## VentMonkey (Nov 20, 2017)

@ProbieMedic TBCH all places have their goods, and bads, even Hall. The whole “it’s so much greener over here” is what you make it out to be; just ask @gonefishing.

Again, can you make a career here? Yeah, you can. Are things perfect up here, or even remarkably better? Currently, not so much. I still think out of the majority of companies in the Central Valley it’s one of the top 5 most sustainable. 

I have thought about moving back home countless times for countless reasons, and LYNCH would most likely be where I would end up if I couldn’t set myself up with a HEMS job down south. Protocols really don’t make the medic, and our protocols are ok for what they are, but many of our medics still don’t know how to utilize them to their fullest potential. 

We have ****ty medics here just like anywhere, and I agree with the played out ALS IFT shaming comment, who really cares?


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## NPO (Nov 20, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> We have ****ty medics here just like anywhere, and I agree with the played out ALS IFT shaming comment, who really cares?



It's not about ALS IFT protocols, it's about job satisfaction. I suppose if you really do enjoy the OC or LA ALS IFT gig, then good, they're generally better paying than the 911 jobs. I've just never met anyone who was satisfied in that job. 

As a whole, there's nothing wrong with ALS IFT. I've gained much of my best experience from IFTs. It's how it's been historically implemented in SoCal that tends to be the problem.

But I digress, we are off topic.
Hopefully the OP can weigh in, haven't heard back from him yet.


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## VentMonkey (Nov 20, 2017)

NPO said:


> It's not about ALS IFT protocols, it's about job satisfaction. I suppose if you really do enjoy the OC or LA ALS IFT gig, then good, they're generally better paying than the 911 jobs. I've just never met anyone who was satisfied in that job.


Good point, but again how many of your former co-workers seemed “satisfied”? People always want more, bigger, better, newer, etc., etc...

My point being, sure there’s job satisfaction, but as a whole once you’ve found satisfaction outside of the workplace everything else seems to matter that much less in, and around the job itself. In essence it’s become just that- a job.

I’ll spin the topic back towards the OP, and FWIW there is no more “Cult”, so what’s that tell ya?


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## FoleyArtist (Nov 20, 2017)

NPO said:


> It's not about ALS IFT protocols, it's about job satisfaction. I suppose if you really do enjoy the OC or LA ALS IFT gig, then good, they're generally better paying than the 911 jobs. I've just never met anyone who was satisfied in that job.
> 
> As a whole, there's nothing wrong with ALS IFT. I've gained much of my best experience from IFTs. It's how it's been historically implemented in SoCal that tends to be the problem.
> 
> ...





VentMonkey said:


> @ProbieMedic TBCH all places have their goods, and bads, even Hall. The whole “it’s so much greener over here” is what you make it out to be; just ask @gonefishing.
> 
> Again, can you make a career here? Yeah, you can. Are things perfect up here, or even remarkably better? Currently, not so much. I still think out of the majority of companies in the Central Valley it’s one of the top 5 most sustainable.
> 
> ...



That's all I was trying to suggest. Job satisfaction and making the most of what you have. I tried not to digress too much in the imperfections and what should've could've been done. @NPO I wasn't trying to sell protocols I was trying to inform of the greater opportunities to "be a medic, play a medic, do medic stuff"  whatever slang you'd like to interject. But it was in relation to job satisfaction which I forget is subjective to each individual; such as some could care less about usage of skills and protocols and more about wages and opportunities for OT, vice versa, etc.


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## BabyMedicinLA (Nov 20, 2017)

ProbieMedic said:


> In regards  to WAGES. I too have heard the amount for ambulanz but have no personal confirmations by friends or colleagues in ems. PRN and Liberty probably second best paying. Liberty allows you to do doubles if you're into system status posting for 16+ hours (anticipating with holdovers) and I've heard from various colleagues that doubles supplemented their base pay nicely. (ex. extra $5k.month at 2 doubles a week). They all have sign on bonuses and all have strings attached. I don't want to contribute to the private oc/la medic shaming you can find it in abundance throughout this forum. But for various reason we do what we do or work where we work for various reason til we get to where we are going since private ems in socal is largely transient and its just a holding pattern for the next thing. albeit the few or maybe 1 exception to the rule of a career private medic company (hope this appeases the cult).
> 
> for perspective and to add to @Jdog 's post. OC IFT-ALS operates on all standing orders. IFT-als does not make base contact.. Lynch pays less than LA co. has sign on bonus for medics which is also less than la co incentives. But I think the trade off is whats often not discussed. time off has never been refused. shift trades are rather relaxed and often approved. manageable call volume, minimal to no hold overs. per diem, part time, full time positions. get a good ratio of ER calls and IFT's. Lynch medics have had to cardio vert, cpap, and start IO's on the extreme end but for the most part are utilizing all the most common als skills you would use working for a private 911 als company daily.




So as a follow on.  I applied at Ambulnz (the name still makes me cringe) they do in fact pay 30 an hour.  Which was surprising to me.  Regarding Kern, unfortunately with my family situation it's too far.  For the time being with a wife and kiddos I am stuck close to home.


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## NPO (Nov 20, 2017)

BabyMedicinLA said:


> So as a follow on.  I applied at Ambulnz (the name still makes me cringe) they do in fact pay 30 an hour.  Which was surprising to me.  Regarding Kern, unfortunately with my family situation it's too far.  For the time being with a wife and kiddos I am stuck close to home.


May the Force be with you.

You're going to need it...


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## wtferick (Nov 21, 2017)

Barstow ain't to far...


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## RocketMedic (Nov 21, 2017)

FirstFlight in Pecos, Texas does 7on/7off. You could literally _fly to El Paso_, be a medic in a hyper-aggressive 911 setting for a week at a time, then go home. 

Or you could stick your stuff in a U-haul and move.


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## TransportJockey (Nov 22, 2017)

RocketMedic said:


> FirstFlight in Pecos, Texas does 7on/7off. You could literally _fly to El Paso_, be a medic in a hyper-aggressive 911 setting for a week at a time, then go home.
> 
> Or you could stick your stuff in a U-haul and move.


I don't know if many Californian medics would be up to the task of even being intermediates there


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## VentMonkey (Nov 22, 2017)

TransportJockey said:


> I don't know if many Californian medics would be up to the task of even being intermediates there


It would be a lateral move for most, so no.


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Nov 23, 2017)

@BabyMedicinLA come out to Liberty, the red headed step child of Kern co. Work 72s and 96s to make the commute worth it, decent pay, good equipment, and pretty ok management as of now. Same Kern protocols, first in ALS 911, 80/20 911 vs transfers, and plenty of rural calls with long transport times.


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## VentMonkey (Nov 23, 2017)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> @BabyMedicinLA come out to Liberty, the red headed step child of Kern co. Work 72s and 96s to make the commute worth it, decent pay, good equipment, and pretty ok management as of now. Same Kern protocols, first in ALS 911, 80/20 911 vs transfers, and plenty of rural *fly* *outs* with long transport times.


Fixed it. Now _THAT’S_ my shameless Hall plug.


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Nov 23, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> Fixed it. Now _THAT’S_ my shameless Hall plug.



Ill time out your pilot once a shift if you can beat those weak-*** 45min ETAs...


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## VentMonkey (Nov 23, 2017)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> Ill time out your pilot once a shift if you can beat those weak-*** 45min ETAs...


Lol, TBCH the word “rendezvous” seems lost with many of the outlying areas from our perspective. This concept knows no company, or agency boundaries.


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