# Still in school but completely worried about employment



## BriaWright01 (Sep 26, 2014)

Hello everyone, 

I'm new here and I am honestly looking for some advice. I am currently still in EMT school in the state of New York and I'm so excited to finish and move to Florida and start my career. I plan to get my NREMT certification but after that i have no clue what my next steps should be and what i should expect. PLEASE HELP!!!


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## Angel (Sep 26, 2014)

honestly you should probably finish school first. if you dont pass then youre just stressing yourself out over nothing.
that said, i know nothing about NY or FL reciprocity, but their website should be of some help.


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 26, 2014)

I find Florida website to be nothing but confussing it takes me in circles


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## TransportJockey (Sep 27, 2014)

Unless you have experience and want to be a firefighter Florida is a hard gig to get a job as a basic. Plus you'd have to take the FL state test, since I don't believe they offer 100% reciprocity with registry.


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## Aidan McArthur (Sep 28, 2014)

I have a friend that lives in Florida. He said don't come here looking for work as an EMT/Medic, it has the highest amount of EMT's/medics of any state.


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 28, 2014)

:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(


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## Aidan McArthur (Sep 28, 2014)

BriaWright01 said:


> :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(



As Angel said, I wouldn't worry about employment until you finish school and get certified. If you are moving to Florida for the sole purpose of finding work I wouldn't recommend it. But if you are moving there for other personal reasons, I don't want to discourage you. It's certainly not impossible to find work as an EMT in Florida, but it may not be the ideal state to move to. My friend moved to Jacksonville last year and got hired as a basic. If you can, I would check out some other cool places to move to. But if you have to move to Florida, I'm sure you'll find something.


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## Chewy20 (Sep 28, 2014)

Aidan McArthur said:


> I have a friend that lives in Florida. He said don't come here looking for work as an EMT/Medic, it has the highest amount of EMT's/medics of any state.


 
I would venture to say CA has more EMTs and Medics


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 28, 2014)

Aidan McArthur said:


> As Angel said, I wouldn't worry about employment until you finish school and get certified. If you are moving to Florida for the sole purpose of finding work I wouldn't recommend it. But if you are moving there for other personal reasons, I don't want to discourage you. It's certainly not impossible to find work as an EMT in Florida, but it may not be the ideal state to move to. My friend moved to Jacksonville last year and got hired as a basic. If you can, I would check out some other cool places to move to. But if you have to move to Florida, I'm sure you'll find something.


Thank you for the reassurance and yes i have to move to Florida for personal reasons not for the sole purpose of employment i am just hoping for the best, I plan to move to the Tampa Bay Area


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## TransportJockey (Sep 28, 2014)

BriaWright01 said:


> Thank you for the reassurance and yes i have to move to Florida for personal reasons not for the sole purpose of employment i am just hoping for the best, I plan to move to the Tampa Bay Area


Try sunstar in Pinellas if you're moving to that area. I have honestly considered applying there and TGH Airmed
I miss my home state


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## Aidan McArthur (Sep 28, 2014)

Chewy20 said:


> I would venture to say CA has more EMTs and Medics



After some research, You are indeed correct.

In 2012, there were 16,800 employed EMTs and paramedics, with projected annual job openings at 850.

In 2012, there were 9,510 employed EMTs and paramedics, with projected annual job openings at 470.

Source: http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2041.00#WagesEmployment

I am horrible at math and statistics, but I guess you could interpret this data as there are more people in California (~38 million compared to ~19 million in Florida), and therefore more of a demand for EMTs and paramedics.

My guess is that you will not have too much of an issue finding a job in Florida.


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## Aidan McArthur (Sep 28, 2014)

I forgot to put which state... 16,800 for California, 9,510 for Florida.


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 28, 2014)

Thanks for the research it gave me hope again honestly


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 28, 2014)

TransportJockey said:


> Try sunstar in Pinellas if you're moving to that area. I have honestly considered applying there and TGH Airmed
> I miss my home state


yea i was looking into sunstar never heard of tgh airmed but i will look it up


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## chaz90 (Sep 28, 2014)

TransportJockey said:


> Try sunstar in Pinellas if you're moving to that area. I have honestly considered applying there and TGH Airmed
> I miss my home state


I believe the OP is just finishing EMT school, so a flight service might not be his best bet...


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 28, 2014)

chaz90 said:


> I believe the OP is just finishing EMT school, so a flight service might not be his best bet...


Her  but thank you for your opinion


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## chaz90 (Sep 28, 2014)

BriaWright01 said:


> Her


My apologies Bria. 50/50 guess only works 50% of the time. Go figure


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 28, 2014)

BriaWright01 said:


> Her





chaz90 said:


> My apologies Bria. 50/50 guess only works 50% of the time. Go figure


lol its okay no stress


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 28, 2014)

@chaz90  what do you recommend I do


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## TransportJockey (Sep 28, 2014)

BriaWright01 said:


> yea i was looking into sunstar never heard of tgh airmed but i will look it up


Airmed is something you can't do for a while lol. I meant those are my choices. Sunstar is good and amr has operations in the area. Check with them


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## chaz90 (Sep 28, 2014)

BriaWright01 said:


> @chaz90  what do you recommend I do


My opinion isn't going to be worth much in this case. I've barely even been to Florida (once as a kid to visit Disney World) and I know absolutely nothing about Florida EMS. 

That being said, other's advice seems to be good. Florida isn't known as the best state for EMS employment, but if you need to move there for something else the job will have to be secondary. 

Like anywhere else in EMS, recognize that "paying your dues" is often necessary. Your first job as a young, brand new EMT won't likely be as a well paid municipal EMT. Apply for all local private services. Your first job will likely be IFT only and possibly exclusively BLS. Keep in mind that these experiences are not to be discounted and can give you valuable experience talking to patients and performing assessments while at least keeping a steady paycheck coming.

Good luck, and welcome to EMS.


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 28, 2014)

chaz90 said:


> My opinion isn't going to be worth much in this case. I've barely even been to Florida (once as a kid to visit Disney World) and I know absolutely nothing about Florida EMS.
> 
> That being said, other's advice seems to be good. Florida isn't known as the best state for EMS employment, but if you need to move there for something else the job will have to be secondary.
> 
> ...


THANK YOU


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 28, 2014)

TransportJockey said:


> Airmed is something you can't do for a while lol. I meant those are my choices. Sunstar is good and amr has operations in the area. Check with them


any other places you think i should look into where employment is concerned in florida being that your from the area


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## Aidan McArthur (Sep 28, 2014)

BriaWright01 said:


> any other places you think i should look into where employment is concerned in florida being that your from the area



Where I live, in Los Angeles, a fairly common thing to do right out of school is being an ER Tech. Some hospitals don't even require a certification, just proof that you finished the class. 75% sure it will count towards your hours required to attend paramedic school as well. And personally I think it's better experience than running IFT's.

Anyways, I don't know if Tampa Bay has EMT ER Tech's, but if they do you could apply to some hospitals around there.


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## TransportJockey (Sep 28, 2014)

BriaWright01 said:


> any other places you think i should look into where employment is concerned in florida being that your from the area


Drive by an ER ambulance bay and make note of the services there. Then apply for any and all that you see. As a new provider it'd better to just get on with someone


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## TransportJockey (Sep 28, 2014)

Aidan McArthur said:


> Where I live, in Los Angeles, a fairly common thing to do right out of school is being an ER Tech. Some hospitals don't even require a certification, just proof that you finished the class. 75% sure it will count towards your hours required to attend paramedic school as well. And personally I think it's better experience than running IFT's.
> 
> Anyways, I don't know if Tampa Bay has EMT ER Tech's, but if they do you could apply to some hospitals around there.


A lot of places don't have hour requirements to do paramedic schools luckily. And out there from what I gather ER tech jobs are for those with experience


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## Aidan McArthur (Sep 28, 2014)

TransportJockey said:


> A lot of places don't have hour requirements to do paramedic schools luckily. And out there from what I gather ER tech jobs are for those with experience



Really?? Where I live you need 6 months of EMT work experience to attend paramedic school D:


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## TransportJockey (Sep 28, 2014)

Aidan McArthur said:


> Really?? Where I live you need 6 months of EMT work experience to attend paramedic school D:


Nowhere in nm has that. Very few places in Texas. It's seems to be mainly concentrated in California


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## gotbeerz001 (Sep 28, 2014)

Aidan McArthur said:


> After some research, You are indeed correct.
> 
> In 2012, there were 16,800 employed EMTs and paramedics, with projected annual job openings at 850.
> 
> In 2012, there were 9,510 employed EMTs and paramedics, with projected annual job openings at 470.



This just shows that at either location, there is approximately 5% attrition/growth. 

The ideal data would be qualified applicants compared to the job openings.


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 29, 2014)

Im doing my cvo soon will that boost my chances of employment


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## tconti12 (Sep 30, 2014)

Well in Tampa there are 3 private companies that hire emts. Transcare, americare, and amr. If you are a little north of Tampa then there is medfleet in New port Richey, rural metro of Sumter county, and nature coast ems. Both rural metro and nature coast ems are als with an emt as a driver, just like sunstar. You can apply to a hospital as an er tech but it's really hard to get hired without experience. Busch Gardens also hires emts but you need at least one year of experience.


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 30, 2014)

tcontii2 said:


> Well in Tampa there are 3 private companies that hire emts. Transcare, americare, and amr. If you are a little north of Tampa then there is medfleet in New port Richey, rural metro of Sumter county, and nature coast ems. Both rural metro and nature coast ems are als with an emt as a driver, just like sunstar. You can apply to a hospital as an er tech but it's really hard to get hired without experience. Busch Gardens also hires emts but you need at least one year of experience.


Ill be residing in the tempel terrace area but thank you so so so so much I will look into those places I do recall seeing busch gardens hiring for a emt as well as lego land...do you think the cvo certification serves much purpose?


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## TransportJockey (Sep 30, 2014)

What is CVO?


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## Aidan McArthur (Sep 30, 2014)

TransportJockey said:


> What is CVO?



I'm guessing this:
http://www.ncqa.org/Programs/Certification/CredentialsVerificationOrganizationCVO.aspx

I also googled "emt cvo" and saw a *small* number of ambulance companies, one of them located in Miami, that require CVO or a similiar certification.


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## BriaWright01 (Sep 30, 2014)

Im just doing the cvo certification because it can be used nation wide and its always bettwr in my eyes to be over prepared than under prepared


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## BloodSweatGlitter (Oct 1, 2014)

BriaWright01 said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I'm new here and I am honestly looking for some advice. I am currently still in EMT school in the state of New York and I'm so excited to finish and move to Florida and start my career. I plan to get my NREMT certification but after that i have no clue what my next steps should be and what i should expect. PLEASE HELP!!!


Heads up, I did my basic course in Virginia and then moved back to Florida once I got my cert. I took the nremt exam as apart of Virginia certification in June and passed. I went to apply for my Florida certification and they made me retake national registry exam in July- AGAIN. The FL website sucks, but I called NREMT and they were very helpful explaining everything.


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## BriaWright01 (Oct 1, 2014)

BloodSweatGlitter said:


> Heads up, I did my basic course in Virginia and then moved back to Florida once I got my cert. I took the nremt exam as apart of Virginia certification in June and passed. I went to apply for my Florida certification and they made me retake national registry exam in July- AGAIN. The FL website sucks, but I called NREMT and they were very helpful explaining everything.


thank you so much that helps a lot so in other words you think i should wait and take my nremt there


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## BloodSweatGlitter (Oct 1, 2014)

BriaWright01 said:


> thank you so much that helps a lot so in other words you think i should wait and take my nremt there


You might not have a choice if the state of New York uses the nremt exam for state certification, which was my problem in Virginia. And about finding work, I got my fl cert this August and found a job September (over a week ago) and I'm in the Jacksonville area.


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## BriaWright01 (Oct 1, 2014)

New York doesnt use nermt i was just gonna take that exam so that i could be a step ahead and receive employment asap upon moving.


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## BloodSweatGlitter (Oct 1, 2014)

BriaWright01 said:


> New York doesnt use nermt i was just gonna take that exam so that i could be a step ahead and receive employment asap upon moving.


Then wait until you submit your florida application for certification and they will process it and send you a letter approving you to take the exam. It will save you from taking the same test twice!


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## BriaWright01 (Oct 1, 2014)

Thanks hun, I will also call nremt just to ask a few questions i have thanks again


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