# EMT pay



## MrEMT63 (May 18, 2010)

I know most ambulance companies pay about the same, but if you know the starting pay for ANY company in Los Angeles please post it here. Many people know 'About' how much a company pay's but I am only interested in numbers. Thanks.


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## adamjh3 (May 18, 2010)

The best way to get actual numbers is to call up the company and ask.


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## MrEMT63 (May 18, 2010)

I know that but I am trying to see who is offering the best pay and start there so I don't waste my time or the time of an ambulance company HR person if I am not going to even apply there.


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## usafmedic45 (May 18, 2010)

MrEMT63 said:


> I know that but I am trying to see who is offering the best pay and start there so I don't waste my time or the time of an ambulance company HR person if I am not going to even apply there.


If you aren't going to follow advice, I doubt people are going to exactly line up to do your work for you.


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## adamjh3 (May 18, 2010)

MrEMT63 said:


> I know that but I am trying to see who is offering the best pay and start there so I don't waste my time or the time of an ambulance company HR person if I am not going to even apply there.



You're wasting more of your time by asking on here. Where you'll get maybe 2 responses with numbers, which may or may not be reliable. It'll take about 20 seconds from the time they set down their coffee cup until they hang up to give you an idea on base pay.


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## MrEMT63 (May 18, 2010)

Last time I checked "Doing my footwork" meant asking other people in the profession questions that I do not know the answer to before I take the next step of contacting a company. It is the same as asking, "What do you think about working at XYZ ambulance?" In this instance the question happens to be about pay. Last time I checked there were over 35 different ambulance companies in LA county. Sitting down and calling every one of them is not as quick or easy as you make it sound. Many of them will not quote a number until they speak with you and look at your resume so they can make an offer based not on any professional standard but on what they feel you will take. Speaking with EMT's who work for them now or recently sometimes gives a person a more clear answer. 

Besides, I did not ask anybody to call them for me. I asked if anybody knows the pay. That is not asking for anybody to do my footwork for me. But Thank You for the advice and have a pleasant evening.


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## usafmedic45 (May 18, 2010)

> It is the same as asking, "What do you think about working at XYZ ambulance?" In this instance the question happens to be about pay.



OK....if that's what you think that comes across as....



> You're wasting more of your time by asking on here. Where you'll get maybe 2 responses with numbers, which may or may not be reliable. It'll take about 20 seconds from the time they set down their coffee cup until they hang up to give you an idea on base pay.



What he said.


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## terrible one (May 18, 2010)

The reason your getting those responses on here is because the same questions get brought up over and over on this forum. 
How about calling to see if they are hiring? Just because someone on here told you how much they pay doesn't mean you'll be getting a job.


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## adamjh3 (May 18, 2010)

terrible one said:


> The reason your getting those responses on here is because the same questions get brought up over and over on this forum.
> How about calling to see if they are hiring? Just because someone on here told you how much they pay doesn't mean you'll be getting a job.



The pay will be very close to minimum wage. Maybe a little bit more from the more reputable companies. 

EMT-B's are a dime a dozen right now, the market, especially here in Southern California is absolutley flooded with EMTs looking for work. Apply everywhere, and take the first offer you get. One cannot be selective in this field until you prove your worth.


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## Cawolf86 (May 18, 2010)

I work at an IFT company named American Profressional Ambulance; they start new people at $12/hr.


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## MusicMedic (May 18, 2010)

I get paid $9.50/hr doing IFT's at Ambuserve- itll do while i find a better job or get into Medic school (which ever comes first) 

in Southern CA, you really dont have the luxury of comparing wages unless you have a PERFECT driving record and you have experience, even then its not guaranteed.  

take what you can, or else youll have a very very very hard time being an EMT


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## MrEMT63 (May 20, 2010)

MusicMedic and cawolf86, Thank you!


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## armywifeemt (May 21, 2010)

MusicMedic said:


> I get paid $9.50/hr doing IFT's at Ambuserve- itll do while i find a better job or get into Medic school (which ever comes first)
> 
> in Southern CA, you really dont have the luxury of comparing wages unless you have a PERFECT driving record and you have experience, even then its not guaranteed.
> 
> take what you can, or else youll have a very very very hard time being an EMT



OOhhHH!!! I am moving to CA in a month and a half, and I have a perfect driving record *AND* experience. 

Does that mean I get to be picky?


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## TraprMike (May 21, 2010)

*local service/volly EMT*

I get paid 2 bux an hr oncall and 25 bux per run.. past few months I got a check for $500 !! good part time job.


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## Trauma Chaser (May 22, 2010)

Just answer his question....no need to be nasty about it. When I was first looking for a job I would call and ask how much they pay and I would get an answer like "it depends on your experience" then id say,  "no experience." Then they would say, "well it depends on your education". Then I'd say "emt-b". Then they would say' "well you need to come in and fill out an application we don't give that info out over the phone." People are jack asses and know your trying to see who pays more so they don't like telling you what they pay. Don't expect to make a lot. It's actually freakin rediculous the amount emt-b's get paid!!! Dispatchers often make more than emt's...crazy right!!?? Depending where you work there are people at walmart, mcdonalds, and best buy that make more. It's hard to believe that there are people who train and go to school to save lives and do not get paid crap. Something is wrong with this country!!


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## nemedic (May 22, 2010)

Trauma Chaser said:


> Dispatchers often make more than emt's...crazy right!!??



While I agree with you, it is generally an issue of supply and demand. How many EMTs does your service employ/how many apps are coming in from the tons of basics being churned out of the various training places? Now compare that with the amount of dispatchers/apps specifically to dispatch (and not counting the ones that only try thinking or planning that dispatch is just a foot in the door to eventually get on an ambo). Plus, it seems most of the people get into the profession to be on an ambo, not sit at a desk. Not knocking the dispatchers, but wouldn't want that as a FT gig. While I might dispatch for about 40% of my time, I'd never do full time dispatch.


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## adamjh3 (May 22, 2010)

Trauma Chaser said:


> Just answer his question....no need to be nasty about it. When I was first looking for a job I would call and ask how much they pay and I would get an answer like "it depends on your experience" then id say,  "no experience." Then they would say, "well it depends on your education". Then I'd say "emt-b". Then they would say' "well you need to come in and fill out an application we don't give that info out over the phone." People are jack asses and know your trying to see who pays more so they don't like telling you what they pay. Don't expect to make a lot. It's actually freakin rediculous the amount emt-b's get paid!!! Dispatchers often make more than emt's...crazy right!!?? Depending where you work there are people at walmart, mcdonalds, and best buy that make more. It's hard to believe that there are people who train and go to school to save lives and do not get paid crap. Something is wrong with this country!!



I think I spent more time in supervisor school at my current company than I did in EMT-b class. Considering the amount of time we spend... killing time -for lack of a better term - combined with the horrendous lack of education we receive It's not surprising what we get paid to do (or not do, in some cases).


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## TransportJockey (May 22, 2010)

EMT-Bs aren't worth paying more. They're a dime a dozen and they have no education


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## Sandog (May 22, 2010)

jtpaintball70 said:


> EMT-Bs aren't worth paying more. They're a dime a dozen and they have no education



That is making a rather generalized statement. I have two semesters of general chemistry,one semester of organic chem and molecular biology to name but a few. By the time I took A&P it was child's play as I had a strong background in bio-science. It was not until after 3 years of biological science that I realized working in a biology lab was not for me, so I decided to go into the EMS field. I start my First responder course this June. I just hope I am worth more than 1/12 a dime my plan is to either pursue EMS and go the EMT-P path or apply for a BSN at SDSU. My biggest worry is my age, I am almost 50 and suspect this will complicate things. At any rate, and my point is that you should not presume an EMT-B lacks education.


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## TransportJockey (May 22, 2010)

Sandog said:


> That is making a rather generalized statement. I have two semesters of general chemistry,one semester of organic chem and molecular biology to name but a few. By the time I took A&P it was child's play as I had a strong background in bio-science. It was not until after 3 years of biological science that I realized working in a biology lab was not for me, so I decided to go into the EMS field. I start my First responder course this June. I just hope I am worth more than 1/12 a dime my plan is to either pursue EMS and go the EMT-P path or apply for a BSN at SDSU. My biggest worry is my age, I am almost 50 and suspect this will complicate things. At any rate, and my point is that you should not presume an EMT-B lacks education.



I apologize to you then. It is a generalized statement, and you are not your average EMT-B.


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## armin88 (May 22, 2010)

MrEMT63 said:


> I know most ambulance companies pay about the same, but if you know the starting pay for ANY company in Los Angeles please post it here. Many people know 'About' how much a company pay's but I am only interested in numbers. Thanks.



Depends on how big or small the ems company is.I used to work for a large ems company and made $9.00 an hour.


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## JPINFV (May 22, 2010)

Sandog said:


> At any rate, and my point is that you should not presume an EMT-B lacks education.



When summing up education levels, it's not an assumption that EMT-Bs lack education since betting that the average EMT-B has an extensive post-secondary education is like betting on 00 in roulette.


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## joeshmoe (May 22, 2010)

JPINFV said:


> When summing up education levels, it's not an assumption that EMT-Bs lack education since betting that the average EMT-B has an extensive post-secondary education is like betting on 00 in roulette.



The same could probably be said of most paramedics.


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## JPINFV (May 22, 2010)

joeshmoe said:


> The same could probably be said of most paramedics.



Never said it wasn't. If fact, stick around long enough and you'll most likely see another multi-page thread beating the education dead horse.


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## TransportJockey (May 22, 2010)

JPINFV said:


> Never said it wasn't. If fact, stick around long enough and you'll most likely see another multi-page thread beating the education dead horse.



Long enough as in a week or so? That's about how long it usually takes for one of us to start beating that horse again


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## Trauma Chaser (May 23, 2010)

doube post


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## Trauma Chaser (May 23, 2010)

jtpaintball70 said:


> EMT-Bs aren't worth paying more. They're a dime a dozen and they have no education



Some would say the same about EMT-I's. Before I got on the fire department I use to work for a private company and they paid there EMT-I's the same as their EMT-B's because on an ALS unit they basically do the same thing. It's not fair to knock B's like that either. Anybody who saves lives for a living deserves to make a decent paycheck. Most of the people I work with are B's and they are better than some paramedics on the private owned companies. I know how much better you think you are because you are an advanced medic, I felt the same way when I was going through school. The fact is after working as an EMT-B for a while you pick up and learn advanced techniques. The only difference between some B's and P's are that one can perform and operate legally under their scope of practice and one can not. I know this isn't always true and believe me I know their are some retarded B's out there lol!!! However for the ones that do work hard I treat them with as much respect as I would treat any other paramedic. You have to start somewhere and it's not anymore easier being an EMT-B than being a paramedic.


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## LucidResq (May 23, 2010)

Trauma Chaser said:


> Some would say the same about EMT-I's. .


I would say the same about EMT-Is, and medics in our country. Most EMS professionals have very little education considering what they do and the interventions they are permitted. 



Trauma Chaser said:


> Anybody who saves lives for a living deserves to make a decent paycheck.


We are not in the business of saving lives. We are in the business of assessing, transporting and providing stabilizing care for people who believe they are having an emergency. Occasionally, their definition of "emergency" will follow ours, and we may indeed help save a life. However, most of our patients would be fine with no treatment, a visit to their PCP in the morning, or some ibuprofen. 

I would further argue that someone who calls 911 expecting a medical professional to come help them deserves more than a 18 year old High School graduate who's taken a 120 hour first aid class and nothing more. 

I do agree that EMTs and Medics deserve better wages, but the standards we set for professionals in EMS are so low it's impossible to imagine that happening. There are a lot of reasons why EMTs are paid crap, but one of the big reasons is that since we only require a minimal level of education and training, it's so easy to get certified that almost anywhere you go in the US has a huge surplus of EMTs. 



Trauma Chaser said:


> The fact is after working as an EMT-B for a while you pick up and learn advanced techniques.


Techniques are often useless or dangerous without an adequate understanding of how they work and the conditions they're designed to treat or monitor.


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## Lucy212 (May 23, 2010)

I just completed my EMT-B course and took my State Exam last week. Having to wait four weeks for the results is killing me, lol. Although it would be a lateral move from my current job to this field for me in terms of pay, I'm obviously not doing it for the money. 

To find out starting pay, pick up the phone and ask yourself. Or just walk in - someone somewhere might be able to help you - you'll do fine.

~ L


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## DrParasite (May 24, 2010)

LucidResq said:


> However, most of our patients would be fine with no treatment, a visit to their PCP in the morning, or some ibuprofen.


not arguments there but then you said this:





LucidResq said:


> I would further argue that someone who calls 911 expecting a medical professional to come help them deserves more than a 18 year old High School graduate who's taken a 120 hour first aid class and nothing more.


so if most of our patients would be fine with no treatment and a trip to their PCP in the AM, what's wrong with sending an 18 year old HS graduate who has taken a 120 hr course and nothing more?  that's like saying the person with a broken finger needs a paramedic unit dispatched to transport him or her to the hospital.


LucidResq said:


> Techniques are often useless or dangerous without an adequate understanding of how they work and the conditions they're designed to treat or monitor.


and yet, that is, by original concept, exactly what a paramedic is.  a poorly educated and highly skilled medical person who brings the ER to the patient, and operates under a doctor's license. someone who can push a lot of drugs, do a lot of cool procedures, but general has maybe an associates degree (and some not even have that).  just saying


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## DrParasite (May 24, 2010)

Lucy212 said:


> I just completed my EMT-B course and took my State Exam last week. Having to wait four weeks for the results is killing me, lol. Although it would be a lateral move from my current job to this field for me in terms of pay, I'm obviously not doing it for the money.
> 
> To find out starting pay, pick up the phone and ask yourself. Or just walk in - someone somewhere might be able to help you - you'll do fine.
> 
> ~ L


take the onsite testing, it's sooooooo worth the money and the trip if you have to make one. 

and come across the river to NJ, most places pay more in NJ for EMTs than in NY


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## LucidResq (May 24, 2010)

DrParasite said:


> not arguments there but then you said this:so if most of our patients would be fine with no treatment and a trip to their PCP in the AM, what's wrong with sending an 18 year old HS graduate who has taken a 120 hr course and nothing more?  that's like saying the person with a broken finger needs a paramedic unit dispatched to transport him or her to the hospital.



Because those rare calls when someone is actually sick are worth having someone well-educated and trained - every once in a while someone's life actually is on the line. 

Also, even when someone is not really sick, we can cause harm with even "minor" interventions if we do not have a basic level of understanding of what's going on. Even if someone is not urgently sick and requires no invervention on our part, having a better understanding of A&P, pathophys, all that stuff makes us better at assessing. This may not be a big deal when we're assessing the patient since the doctor will be doing a much more thorough assessment anyways, but we have the advantage of being able to assess the scene or the home of the patient. Things that may be overlooked as unimportant by the uneducated/untrained eye may actually be important and helpful in diagnosis. Rare, but still. 

If we had more education we'd be able to spend more time on things like human development, psychology, cultural competency, etc... Even if my patient is not in need of immediate medical intervention, it is still my job to take good care of them. A perfect example of this - last year I had a 12 yo with autism who mildly sprained his ankle at the amusement park. He was absolutely hysterical. Did I ask him or his mom a billion questions, start getting a history or assessing him in the middle of the busy park, rush him back to the first aid station and start poking and proding under the bright lights with people chatting away on the radios? No. Even with a little psych and child dev., a little bit of knowledge on autism from my couple of years of college ed., I was able recognize that the best thing I could do is, first of all, get a better idea of what makes the kid tick from mom, take it slow, reduce the stimuli ASAP... ie get him to a quiet place, turn my radio off and have someone else talk to dispatch for me.. turn off the lights at first aid.... etc. This kid was not sick at all, nor did he need any interventions beyond a quick exam and RICE, but I'm pretty sure the average 18 yo with a HS diploma and a quick EMT class would probably not have handled it as well. 

More education = stronger workforce. Although primarily caregivers, what about each providers capacity to become an administrator, instructor, researcher, political advocate for our field?


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## atropine (May 24, 2010)

LucidResq said:


> Because those rare calls when someone is actually sick are worth having someone well-educated and trained - every once in a while someone's life actually is on the line.
> 
> Also, even when someone is not really sick, we can cause harm with even "minor" interventions if we do not have a basic level of understanding of what's going on. Even if someone is not urgently sick and requires no invervention on our part, having a better understanding of A&P, pathophys, all that stuff makes us better at assessing. This may not be a big deal when we're assessing the patient since the doctor will be doing a much more thorough assessment anyways, but we have the advantage of being able to assess the scene or the home of the patient. Things that may be overlooked as unimportant by the uneducated/untrained eye may actually be important and helpful in diagnosis. Rare, but still.
> 
> ...



More education=stronger workforce, is good and all, however what is our field. Just asking , because where I live and work ems is public saftey, so I already have political advcates on my side.


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## sunbee (May 25, 2010)

medreach ambulance in rancho dominguez, ca pays 10/hr starting


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## ekelly36 (May 27, 2010)

pretty sure I have all you guys beat on low pay..... when I first started working for this company im at I was told I would make 12.50 an hour because I was part time. But as I transitioned into a full time position the shifts are 24 on 48 off. Well for the 24 hour crews we get 7.55 an hour..... Someone working for McDonalds makes as much as I do lol.... really sucks because I start Medic school in Aug and there is noone else in the area hiring


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## redbull (May 27, 2010)

jtpaintball70 said:


> EMT-Bs aren't worth paying more. They're a dime a dozen and they have no education



This is pretty offensive to anyone trying to get into the field.


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## JPINFV (May 27, 2010)

redbull said:


> This is pretty offensive to anyone trying to get into the field.



Sometimes the truth hurts.


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## redbull (May 27, 2010)

How about you guys just get rid of all the EMT courses then? How about you get rid of all EMT-B's too? Leave all the work to the EMT-I's and EMT-P's. I'm sure you all started where we are now, so how about you not $#!T on us?


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## JPINFV (May 27, 2010)

Just because we started out (or are) a specific level doesn't mean that we have to ignore inadequate training standards or the basics of supply and demand. 

...and yes, I'd love to go to something like the PCP/ACP/CCP system that parts of Canada has. 2 years to get to the entry level sounds like a good idea to me.


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## TransportJockey (May 27, 2010)

redbull said:


> This is pretty offensive to anyone trying to get into the field.



I'm not interested in being polite or politically correct. I just am telling the truth


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## TransportJockey (May 27, 2010)

redbull said:


> How about you guys just get rid of all the EMT courses then? How about you get rid of all EMT-B's too? Leave all the work to the EMT-I's and EMT-P's. I'm sure you all started where we are now, so how about you not $#!T on us?



Keep in mind, if we went to a two year educational minimum, people like me would be out of work too. But as JP said, just because we aren't trained to a level as we would like to be, doesn't mean we have to excuse the minimally trained standards that our country runs their EMS systems with


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## Rob123 (May 27, 2010)

JPINFV said:


> When summing up education levels, it's not an assumption that EMT-Bs lack education since betting that the average EMT-B has an extensive post-secondary education is like betting on 00 in roulette.


 
There's nothing wrong with betting on 00. The odds are 1/38 just like any other individual number. It also pays 35 to 1 just like any other individual number. In Atlantic City, even money bets (like black/red or odd/even) have a slight advantange over other locales because half the bet is returned when a "green" number comes out.

Ooops... wrong forum.

Seriously though 1 out of 38 (2.6%) feels like an accurate number although I have nothing to back me up.


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## Trauma Chaser (May 28, 2010)

EMT's that are poorly trained is their own fault for not researching the school and putting more effort into leaning the skills. Just because there are poorly trained idiot out there doesn't mean that all EMT's are poorly trained and deserve to be paid crap! If you think someone working at McDonald's deceives to make as much as an EMT your full of yourself and you are a disgrace to the EMS system. I can't believe some of you would put down people who are trying to do good and help people. You should have more respect for them since they are working for such minimal wages! Yeah I'm a paramedic and I've been doing it for 6 years, it doesn't mean I'm better than some of my fellow coworkers on the fire department or other EMS services just because they do not have as much schooling as me. The fact is, even as a paramedic it doesn't take a genius to keep someone alive long enough to get them to the hospital.


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## adamjh3 (May 28, 2010)

I said it before, and I'll say it again, I spent more time in training for my grocery store job than I did getting my EMT certs. 

Many of the people on here who are saying that EMT's don't receive enough education are also advocating for EMS to do much more than "keep someone alive long enough to get them to the hospital." They want EMS to have a more proactive role in keeping the community safe, and helping to PREVENT people from needing to call 911 in the first place. Emergency medicine is (or should be) much more than just a skills check-off sheet.


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## EMTinNEPA (May 28, 2010)

Trauma Chaser said:


> EMT's that are poorly trained is their own fault for not researching the school and putting more effort into leaning the skills. Just because there are poorly trained idiot out there doesn't mean that all EMT's are poorly trained and deserve to be paid crap! If you think someone working at McDonald's deceives to make as much as an EMT your full of yourself and you are a disgrace to the EMS system. I can't believe some of you would put down people who are trying to do good and help people. You should have more respect for them since they are working for such minimal wages! Yeah I'm a paramedic and I've been doing it for 6 years, it doesn't mean I'm better than some of my fellow coworkers on the fire department or other EMS services just because they do not have as much schooling as me. The fact is, even as a paramedic it doesn't take a genius to keep someone alive long enough to get them to the hospital.



Why respect somebody just because they're willing to work for next to nothing?  Now, somebody who says "Hell no, I'm not going to work for your s*** wages" and quits deserves respect.  If everybody did that, we might have some power, but that would take unity.  We don't have unity thanks to the volunteers trying to keep everybody from getting paid, period, and the firefighters trying to keep everybody from being able to get paid decently to be a paramedic without having to do fire suppression.  And seriously, a 144 hour first-aid course?  They deserve $12 an hour at the most.  Paramedics on the other hand deserve closer to $20 TO START, because the difference in knowledge between the two levels is, typically, astounding.


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## LucidResq (May 28, 2010)

Trauma - 

I don't think EMTs _deserve_ the same pay as a fast food worker, I think that by having such low standards we have created the surplus of EMTs, many of them poorly-trained, that we have today. We have so many that many EMTs gladly accept $0 wages.... nothing against volunteers but that's the truth. It's simple economics. You don't see all-volunteer hospitals with unpaid physicians and nurses. Yes, you will see them occasionally volunteering their skills for a good cause, but they do not say "Hey I'm going to work as an electrician and pull volunteer shifts in the hospital as a surgeon 4 times a month, and that's it for my clinical practice." 

I also agree with Adam... yes people are going to have emergencies and we still need to be here to respond to them. But how many of your calls are true, balls-to-the-wall emergencies? Very few. If EMS wants to become a more valuable service, thus making EMTs and Medics more valuable, we need to become more relevant to people's health care needs today. I think EMS will always and should always, to some extent, be considered a public safety / emergency service. This shouldn't be the only field we relate ourselves with. I strongly believe that EMS as a whole, our people, and the communities we serve would find great benefit in an EMS system that embraces it's position as a public HEALTH service and a field of medicine.


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## TransportJockey (May 28, 2010)

Trauma Chaser said:


> EMT's that are poorly trained is their own fault for not researching the school and putting more effort into leaning the skills. Just because there are poorly trained idiot out there doesn't mean that all EMT's are poorly trained and deserve to be paid crap! If you think someone working at McDonald's deceives to make as much as an EMT your full of yourself and you are a disgrace to the EMS system. I can't believe some of you would put down people who are trying to do good and help people. You should have more respect for them since they are working for such minimal wages! Yeah I'm a paramedic and I've been doing it for 6 years, it doesn't mean I'm better than some of my fellow coworkers on the fire department or other EMS services just because they do not have as much schooling as me. The fact is, even as a paramedic it doesn't take a genius to keep someone alive long enough to get them to the hospital.



I take it from your name and the 'Keep people alive long enough to get them to the hospital' that you wouldn't like doing community health paramedicine? I see our field heading that way and I hope it gets there.


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## adamjh3 (May 28, 2010)

LucidResq said:


> Trauma -
> 
> I don't think EMTs _deserve_ the same pay as a fast food worker, I think that by having such low standards we have created the surplus of EMTs, many of them poorly-trained, that we have today. We have so many that many EMTs gladly accept $0 wages.... nothing against volunteers but that's the truth. It's simple economics. You don't see all-volunteer hospitals with unpaid physicians and nurses. Yes, you will see them occasionally volunteering their skills for a good cause, but they do not say "Hey I'm going to work as an electrician and pull volunteer shifts in the hospital as a surgeon 4 times a month, and that's it for my clinical practice."
> 
> I also agree with Adam... yes people are going to have emergencies and we still need to be here to respond to them. But how many of your calls are true, balls-to-the-wall emergencies? Very few. If EMS wants to become a more valuable service, thus making EMTs and Medics more valuable, we need to become more relevant to people's health care needs today. I think EMS will always and should always, to some extent, be considered a public safety / emergency service. This shouldn't be the only field we relate ourselves with. I strongly believe that EMS as a whole, our people, and the communities we serve would find great benefit in an EMS system that embraces it's position as a public HEALTH service and a field of medicine.



Stated much more eloquently than I ever could. Thank you, miss.


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## Theo (May 28, 2010)

> I also agree with Adam... yes people are going to have emergencies and we still need to be here to respond to them. But how many of your calls are true, balls-to-the-wall emergencies? Very few. If EMS wants to become a more valuable service, thus making EMTs and Medics more valuable, we need to become more relevant to people's health care needs today. I think EMS will always and should always, to some extent, be considered a public safety / emergency service. This shouldn't be the only field we relate ourselves with. I strongly believe that EMS as a whole, our people, and the communities we serve would find great benefit in an EMS system that embraces it's position as a public HEALTH service and a field of medicine.



Well put. I too think more involment by EMS in community health/preventative care is on the not too distant horizon. There are some more progressive/rural areas already using paramedics for preventative care going into the homes of patients. It's an excellent idea and saves the EMS system from getting calls from patients that ask to go to the hospital, when all they really want is some attention and a checkup. 

Let's save 911 for real emergent situations and get out in our communities and show our worth. This is an area where the EMS community needs to corner the market before another field recognizes the opportunity and cuts us off of a potentially vital segment of our future. This is a perfect opportunity to demand higher educational standards for any paramedic that wants to work in this area. It's also a chance to create a career step for paramedics that doesn't involve becoming an RN.


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## xsilverfantasyx (May 29, 2010)

I dont know anything yet. But this intimidates me, confuses me and makes me worry how some of you are about it.
No matter what the pay its (thou i dont wanna be on welfare, i need something) I want to do this job and get this education becuase this is something i feel in my heart i want and will love to do, help people! 
I choose this over nursing (not becuase its shorter time in college) but becuase this field is more ideal for what i wanna do!
Associates degree is all thats needed but you can extend that or go have a second career!


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## Fbarba123 (May 30, 2010)

IFT Company 

12 an hour.


6 dollars an hour when on call.


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## Focallength (May 30, 2010)

Some friends of mine and I often joke about how were are going to get t-shirts printed up that say "I save lives for $8 an hour" or "I save lives for minimum wage" another "will save lives for food"...something to that effect.


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## atropine (May 30, 2010)

redbull said:


> How about you guys just get rid of all the EMT courses then? How about you get rid of all EMT-B's too? Leave all the work to the EMT-I's and EMT-P's. I'm sure you all started where we are now, so how about you not $#!T on us?



Sounds like a great idea, but then we won't have anymore hot emt girls to drive us to the hospitals.


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## redbull (May 30, 2010)

DrParasite said:


> take the onsite testing, it's sooooooo worth the money and the trip if you have to make one.
> 
> and come across the river to NJ, most places pay more in NJ for EMTs than in NY



Lol "Come across the river" that actually sounds like a good idea. I'll look into it if I cant find anything in NYC.


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