Education Considered in Hiring?

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Double-E

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i'm going through an emt-b course soon and was curious if my bachelor's degree and grad school experience would improve chances of employment...do they consider these things when hiring?
 
Double-E said:
i'm going through an emt-b course soon and was curious if my bachelor's degree and grad school experience would improve chances of employment...do they consider these things when hiring?
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Usually.

Everyone wants a smart employee.
 
Of course. That BA and Masters in progress will be what differentiates you from every other green EMT who just got their cert. YOU will be the one with the options when applying to many services. The few services who don't value your education may not be the best service to work for anywho.

Little caveat though... unfortunately you shouldn't expect much more compensation than base pay.
 
I'm going to disagree. I think the college degrees will decrease your chance. EMT pay is crap and with a degree they know it's only a matter of time before you go make more somewhere else.
 
biggee72 said:
I'm going to disagree. I think the college degrees will decrease your chance. EMT pay is crap and with a degree they know it's only a matter of time before you go make more somewhere else.
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I would probably agree with this. You may also hold more education than anyone you will be working for except your medical director.

However, it will depend on your interview. Why do you want to work as an EMT and not something more fitting for your education? Goals?

Right now there are a few "techies" who had held very high paying jobs obtained with their higer education but were laid off. Some are waiting for the job market to pick up and have obtained EMT jobs because the cert can be otained in some places online with just a few days of hands on or in a 3 week in class program. It is a good opportunity for them to do something totally different just for a short while. Some employers know these employees will be just passing through but most are quick learners and more mature so they will require very little extra coaxing as well as knowing how to write a decent report so they will be an asset for whatever time they are with the company.
 
I actually in a similar boat. I have a BA in anthropology (worthless) and all course work for an MA minus the thesis (which I will never complete). None of that experience will get me any kind of real job. Also, I am in default on my student lonas foor grad school and am trying to find a way to pay for emt-b which I havent started yet for various reasons, money being one of them. But since I never finished grad school, is it necessary for me to put it on my resume?
 
Yes. If for nothing else but most applications I've seen want a 7 year employment history with accountability for any periods of unemployment.
 
I would say it doesn't effect getting hired but in some places it will help with getting into the top spot at an agency. Our Director has a BA in business, an Assoc. in fire science, and a LP cert.
 
A lot of it depends on the agency. If it's one that plans to put their basics through a medic program after hire, they'll definitely be more interested in someone who has already shown that they can be a successful student.

Probably won't increase compensation though.
 
It doesn't matter what the BA was in-it shows that you have higher thinking processes. Granted a BS in Physiology would have been helpful, the BA is still not worthless.

You might have more education thatn everyone else and they might think you'll move through quickly, but they also know it won't take nearly as long to train you.

For me, I got base pay + $2 an hour with just being a Biomed Engineering student in college. I actually would have stayed there longer, but since I was making more than almost all the other EMTs, I was cut first when the economy started going bad...
 
I'm quite curious about this, for education for hiring, other than the obvious NREMT-B/EMT-B or NREMT-P/EMT-P.

What kind of education would an employer (like a FD or Private Ambulance Company) prefer?

I know an associates in Fire Science may help quite a bit, but are there any other recommendations anyone would have?

Not meaning to take away from the OP, just keeping towards the topic of the thread's title.
 
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