# Getting into the EMS field



## sjohnson0813 (Aug 24, 2010)

Two questions:

First, did everyone mainly just start by taking an EMT-B course at their local school/college/etc, or did any of you find program/departments that would hire non-certified poeple (with obvious restrictions) and pay for schooling while getting some experience like Fire services often do (down here anywhere)?  Just wondering what the best path is.

Second, since I'm actually not all that happy with where I'm living and I'm looking to move, does anyone out there recommend a city/state that has a good EMS program.  I'm less concerned with salary as I am looking for a department open/helpful to hiring poeple new to the field, and ones with good training/mentoring programs.

I'm mainly looking for city/county 911 service as opposed to private transport companies.

Thanks


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## Longo118 (Aug 25, 2010)

I started by being a part time paid Fire fighter and apart of a vollie FD. The company put me through EMT-B at no cost to me, and when i found out i passed ive been looking for jobs ever since haha

As far as jobs, I know nothing about down south or out west. Im from New York, and all i can tell you, is every EMS is dieing to hire more EMT-Bs, but they wont accept your application unless you have minimum of 2 years of experience. A lot of people lie about their experience they have, so now most places around here put you through written and verbal exams, of every call imaginable to see just how experienced you really are. 

This goes for IFT companies in the area too.


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## Shishkabob (Aug 25, 2010)

I took my EMT class just as a side-thought in my pursuit of a criminal justice degree... and now I'm a Paramedic.  


Texas is never a bad place to work EMS, and we have all the different kinds here (3rd service, municipal, fire based, hospital, etc etc)


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## fast65 (Aug 25, 2010)

I started out being interested in the fire side of things, that required at least an EMT-B cert. So I took my EMT-B class, fell in love with it and now I start my EMT-P class in the fall.

As far as better areas I'm really not too knowledgeable about.


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## firecoins (Aug 25, 2010)

NYC is NOT the place.  NO jobs avail.


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## redbull (Aug 25, 2010)

firecoins said:


> NYC is NOT the place.  NO jobs avail.



Do you know this for a fact?


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## mgr22 (Aug 25, 2010)

Suffolk County (NY) has 100 volunteer EMS agencies, most of whom also have paid positions. There are lots of relatively inexperienced people at all levels working there. I'd say the training and support is definitely above average.

The down side is that Long Island is an expensive place to live. Taxes (state and local) and real estate are at the upper end nationwide. Home prices have eased quite a bit over the last few years, but they're still high relative to most other regions. Traffic is an issue, too.


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## emt seeking first job (Aug 25, 2010)

redbull said:


> Do you know this for a fact?




I heard FDNY will hire a class, many of those people work for privates, who will need to replace them...


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## firecoins (Aug 25, 2010)

redbull said:


> Do you know this for a fact?



yes.


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## firecoins (Aug 25, 2010)

emt seeking first job said:


> I heard FDNY will hire a class, many of those people work for privates, who will need to replace them...



FDNY will remove maybe 50 people?  Market is filled to overcapacity with EMTs and Medics.  In NYC medics are willing to work BLS shifts. Medic classes just finished along with more emt classes. Transport positions will most likely open up.


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## emt seeking first job (Aug 25, 2010)

The transport buisness is big buisness, it seems in NYC, I realize I missed the boat for jobs, but I was told that as late as mid 2009, privates were visiting the emt schools...

They had open house events.

Obviously they now have enough people.


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## LucidResq (Aug 25, 2010)

I started by volunteering for a SAR team that put me through a nearly EMT level course (above first responder) that led to an internal certification but nothing recognized outside except BLS for Healthcare Providers. Then my high school paid for my EMT with a very good program since it was a college-level course. 

The SAR team helped me make connections, get my foot in the door places and gave me SOMETHING to put on my resume besides lots of child care. It's not the same as straight EMS or a FD, but I think it helped. 

I think something that's important to look at though is the quality of the program they'll put you through. If it's a half-a**** internal class... it may not be the best choice. In my opinion forking over the dough for a class that will teach you more of what you need to know is worth it.


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## emt seeking first job (Aug 25, 2010)

*question for firecoins*



firecoins said:


> FDNY will remove maybe 50 people?  Market is filled to overcapacity with EMTs and Medics.  In NYC medics are willing to work BLS shifts. Medic classes just finished along with more emt classes. Transport positions will most likely open up.




What is your theory, is it that up until a year ago or so, there were not enough warm body for emt-b jobs, privates were hiring the same day, so long as someone appeared ok and had a cert...

In the past year or two, so many people went out and got the cert, people who would not have before, and these spots got filled.

I can see hospiatal and FDNY cutting back, but the total number of private jobs, are patients being denied coverage for transport where they were not before ?

According to what I read, there are more transports than 20 years ago, people live longer, and stay out of nursing homes longer....


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## redbull (Aug 25, 2010)

emt seeking first job said:


> What is your theory, is it that up until a year ago or so, there were not enough warm body for emt-b jobs, privates were hiring the same day, so long as someone appeared ok and had a cert...
> 
> In the past year or two, so many people went out and got the cert, people who would not have before, and these spots got filled.
> 
> ...



Does anyone konw if the privates will hire w/o experience? ( Seniorcare)


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## emt seeking first job (Aug 25, 2010)

redbull said:


> Does anyone konw if the privates will hire w/o experience? ( Seniorcare)





Senior Care will interview you, they did me, then they told me to come back in six months when I have some experience.

As I have posted, other privates did hire w/o experience up until a year ago, it is supply and demand.


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## redbull (Aug 25, 2010)

emt seeking first job said:


> Senior Care will interview you, they did me, then they told me to come back in six months when I have some experience.
> 
> As I have posted, other privates did hire w/o experience up until a year ago, it is supply and demand.



Oh jeez. Maybe I won't go all the way out to the Bronx then. I had heard they hired w/o experience.


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## emt seeking first job (Aug 25, 2010)

redbull said:


> Oh jeez. Maybe I won't go all the way out to the Bronx then. I had heard they hired w/o experience.




Go to the website, fill out the form, let them interview you and see what happens.

Maybe I rubbed them the wrong way.

Maybe you would go there and get hired....

Dont let my experience discourage you.


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## Sendou (Aug 25, 2010)

LucidResq said:


> I started by volunteering for a SAR team that put me through a nearly EMT level course (above first responder) that led to an internal certification but nothing recognized outside except BLS for Healthcare Providers. Then my high school paid for my EMT with a very good program since it was a college-level course.
> 
> The SAR team helped me make connections, get my foot in the door places and gave me SOMETHING to put on my resume besides lots of child care. It's not the same as straight EMS or a FD, but I think it helped.
> 
> I think something that's important to look at though is the quality of the program they'll put you through. If it's a half-a**** internal class... it may not be the best choice. In my opinion forking over the dough for a class that will teach you more of what you need to know is worth it.



I've put in an application to my local SAR-volunteer (California Emergency Mobile Patrol - SAR) in hopes of getting some sort of applicable experience to the EMS field. The next orientation is on September 8th so I'm looking forward to that.

I'm hoping that by the time I complete the EMT-B, Biology(General), Anatomy(Human), Physiology, and Sociology classes that I will have at least a year under my belt to get me prepared for EMS since I'm switching fresh into a new career field.

Seems like I've got a busy load in front of me this year :O Right now I work a 9-5 IT job, going to school part time (6 units/semester), then throwing on top the SAR volunteer which is minimum 10hours/month...

Basically I guess I just want to know if you could do it all over again whether or not the SAR-volunteer experience you gained was worth the commitment. I haven't had much luck finding any sort of volunteer service with the local FD or Hospitals.


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## sjohnson0813 (Aug 28, 2010)

Thanks for the feedback.


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## LucidResq (Aug 31, 2010)

Sendou said:


> I've put in an application to my local SAR-volunteer (California Emergency Mobile Patrol - SAR) in hopes of getting some sort of applicable experience to the EMS field. The next orientation is on September 8th so I'm looking forward to that.
> 
> I'm hoping that by the time I complete the EMT-B, Biology(General), Anatomy(Human), Physiology, and Sociology classes that I will have at least a year under my belt to get me prepared for EMS since I'm switching fresh into a new career field.
> 
> ...



Sorry, been on Vaca. I would absolutely do it again, especially since I started when I was in HS. It taught me a lot of discipline (paramilitary) and gave me the jist of some public safety stuff. However, don't expect it to give you a lot of EMS experience. It's very different and although some of the skills are the same, you use them rarely and in a different manner and environment. The org. I volunteered for is unique in that we did a lot of suburban/urban area response for missing persons, assists to fire/police at major incidents/events, and lots of other odds and ends stuff. In addition to the traditional ground-pounding out in the backwoods, I acted as a bike medic at large community events, rehab at big fire scenes, etc. So I got a little more EMS than the average SAR... just a disclaimer. 

SAR, and getting my EMT, allowed me to almost immediately get a job that didn't suck while I was in college. I was working in an OB-GYN clinic, doing something that was actually relevant to my major and making very good money compared to my friends making minimum wage in food service or something. I appreciated that a lot. I was by far the youngest in the clinic, in the PACU, and now in dispatch. I've definitely had a head-start... 

It's become harder to be active in SAR as I've started working more, but I still like to swing by to help teach the EMS stuff when I can. The more you put in to SAR the more you'll get out of it... attend as many trainings as you can and get in shape for sure.  It's also going to depend on the group.... when I was an Lt. I was putting in 100-200 hours a month for SAR, working part time and going to school full time (32 credit hours). The only thing that kept that from being an absolutely horrible experience was that my closest friends were on the SAR team.... and the realization that sleep is optional.


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## Sendou (Sep 1, 2010)

LucidResq said:


> Sorry, been on Vaca. I would absolutely do it again, especially since I started when I was in HS. It taught me a lot of discipline (paramilitary) and gave me the jist of some public safety stuff. However, don't expect it to give you a lot of EMS experience. It's very different and although some of the skills are the same, you use them rarely and in a different manner and environment. The org. I volunteered for is unique in that we did a lot of suburban/urban area response for missing persons, assists to fire/police at major incidents/events, and lots of other odds and ends stuff. In addition to the traditional ground-pounding out in the backwoods, I acted as a bike medic at large community events, rehab at big fire scenes, etc. So I got a little more EMS than the average SAR... just a disclaimer.
> 
> SAR, and getting my EMT, allowed me to almost immediately get a job that didn't suck while I was in college. I was working in an OB-GYN clinic, doing something that was actually relevant to my major and making very good money compared to my friends making minimum wage in food service or something. I appreciated that a lot. I was by far the youngest in the clinic, in the PACU, and now in dispatch. I've definitely had a head-start...
> 
> It's become harder to be active in SAR as I've started working more, but I still like to swing by to help teach the EMS stuff when I can. The more you put in to SAR the more you'll get out of it... attend as many trainings as you can and get in shape for sure.  It's also going to depend on the group.... when I was an Lt. I was putting in 100-200 hours a month for SAR, working part time and going to school full time (32 credit hours). The only thing that kept that from being an absolutely horrible experience was that my closest friends were on the SAR team.... and the realization that sleep is optional.



Sounds pretty awesome! I'm looking forward to it based on what I've read and heard about our local SAR org regardless of if any of it applies towards EMS to be honest. Probably a bit naive of me in thinking that any of the training or experience I receive translates into day to day life. I'm the type of person who likes to prepare and be prepared, even if the need for such skills never comes around. For now, I'll just continue enjoying my 8 hours of daily sleep while it lasts.


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## LucidResq (Sep 1, 2010)

The biggest thing that bleeds over is situational awareness. It's amazing to me what I'll notice that other people don't. That's something that definitely translates into day-to-day life.


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