ATCEMS hiring

TRSpeed said:
@VentMonkey
I almost didn't post that because I know you aren't. But figured other people are curious even though I did the work for them. That being said, yes there is many other places that I'd rather go as well. But I think I am going to be joining the dark side. I love being a medic but it's hard when you work 60+hr work weeks for peanuts in pay, not really any different areas of work like nursing or educational progression to further your career.


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Come to Texas.

We have cookies...and good salaries.


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I'm honestly thinking of Fire myself. I want $$$.
 
This on call business is nonsense IMO. Is this a common practice?
 
Grozler said:
This on call business is nonsense IMO. Is this a common practice?
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Seems to be with most of the county 3rd services I have looked into. I equate it to the local fire departments.

It's common practice for them to be recalled. They're a locally government paid employee. Hardly seems unfair, so long as you're willing to accept it. Who said county employees retirement comes easy?

Waiver: I work for a private who offers a 401k.
 
VentMonkey said:
Seems to be with most of the county 3rd services I have looked into. I equate it to the local fire departments.

It's common practice for them to be recalled. They're a locally government paid employee. Hardly seems unfair, so long as you're willing to accept it. Who said county employees retirement comes easy?

Waiver: I work for a private who offers a 401k.
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I work for a municipality and have friends who work 3rd service at other places and this concept is nonexistent. Not to say I haven't heard of this but it sounds ridiculous. Just put me on the schedule for OT because I can't do a damn thing with my day otherwise seeing has how I am a phone call away from being forced to work.

And don't get me started on having to work as a basic for a year to start.
 
Grozler said:
I work for a municipality and have friends who work 3rd service at other places and this concept is nonexistent. Not to say I haven't heard of this but it sounds ridiculous. Just put me on the schedule for OT because I can't do a damn thing with my day otherwise seeing has how I am a phone call away from being forced to work.

And don't get me started on having to work as a basic for a year to start.
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On the comment regarding being a basic for a year, I completely agree.
 
My place of work is the granddaddy of "Well that's the way we've always done it" but that doesn't make it right or any less stupid. Plenty of places (like, all of them) are able to hire and assess new paramedics without having them spending a year working as a basic. C'est la vie.
 
I think forced OT, mandatory on-call or what have isn't a fine line for me if the service really is one I am interested in working for, and offers most everything I would consider worth leaving my current service for; so definitely not a deal breaker to me.

With that, as far as I have come, and as long as it has taken me to get here, to me? It seems unrealistic to take 10 years worth of experience back even if only for a year or two. Is it ego? Perhaps, but also a reason why we're allowed to pick and choose.
 
Grozler said:
This on call business is nonsense IMO. Is this a common practice?
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It depends on where you go. Personally, I wouldn't accept a job that required me to be on call without paying me an hourly wage equal to my daily salary for being on call.

I did have a former coworker who was a rookie career firefighter, so every time there was a sickout, he said he was expected to come in and cover. This was always last minute, and we had several appointments that he had to cancel last minute because he got called into work at his other job.

Personally, unless you are paying me 80,000 a year, there is no way you will get me to accept a job that requires on call pay with no compensation.

It's much different being a firefighter and being recalled due to a major fire in town (those are typically not mandatory recalls, but if you are available, come in for OT). Being recalled due to staffing issues, or having to be available due to staffing issues means you can't have a life outside of work, and that is not something that appeals to me one bit, because you can be mandatorily recalled at any given time.

I know some former hospital nurses that were part of this program..... they are former employees because they didn't want to always be on call, and wanted to have a life outside of work.
 
Here in Galveston we have one day a month, sometimes two where we are on two hour call. They are changing it in may so that we receive an extra $5/hr if called in. Right now there's no extra compensation other than the overtime pay if called in. But the fact they're trying to change it and get staffing to the point we don't need flex days is encouraging at least.

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We have Mandatory OT. You usually have 2 days every three months or so. It's always on the day after your scheduled shift. We're required to stay on the clock until 0815 instead of 0800 and if they don't pop you for coverage you clock out and go home.

No being on call all day for us. If they need a shift covered mid-shift we just get pestered with telestaff calls, emails and pages until it's filled. Doesn't happen that often though.


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Handsome Robb said:
Come to Texas.
We have cookies...and good salaries.
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I know pay and cost of living in vastly different areas are hard to compare, BUT I was reading the ATCEMS description out of curiosity and find it hard to believe $19/hr is a good wage. I'm at $42/hr in Ontario.

Once again, I know these things don't compare at all, but it's still hurting my brain. Then again, I've watched house hunters and seen how cheap housing can be in some areas of the US.
 
Seeing how the greater Austin area is typically seen as a fairly cool, hip, and happening place to live, I doubt that translates to affordable.
 
It's not at all affordable.
 
WilCo is a little more affordable from what I can tell
 
It depends on what you mean by "greater" Austin area. Downtown, urban Austin isn't cheap, and there is little low-income housing. You have to go out into the nearby cities and their suburbs. That being said, given the traffic in the area, I have grown to consider a 45 minute commute to work the norm.
 
WolfmanHarris said:
I know pay and cost of living in vastly different areas are hard to compare, BUT I was reading the ATCEMS description out of curiosity and find it hard to believe $19/hr is a good wage. I'm at $42/hr in Ontario.

Once again, I know these things don't compare at all, but it's still hurting my brain. Then again, I've watched house hunters and seen how cheap housing can be in some areas of the US.
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That's CAD, correct? That translates to ~31/Hr in USD at the current rate. Which isn't unheard of at ATCEMS after a few years. If your going to compare wages across international borders you need to address the difference in currency. If you're making the equivalent of 42/hr USD that's awesome, there's literally no EMS job in the U.S. that pays that, not even FDs except maybe on OT.

Downtown Austin is expensive but there's plenty of affordable areas within a reasonable commute.


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