EMS pay. How to compare pay/cost of living.

medic417

medic417

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There seems to be constant pay questions. Then you have some in very high cost of living areas bragging about their high hourly rate. So here is a calculator that helps determine differences, based on each states bigger city's. It will give you some idea though of costs. I based my pay on the nearest big city 200 plus miles from me with a smaller city in California and I would have to get almost double what I get paid to break even, yet when I check jobs out there they make from way less than I do to just a few dollars more. So in reality if I moved for even the highest pay I would lose money. Here are some calculators of cost of living.

http://swz.salary.com/costoflivingwizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

http://www.bestplaces.net/COL/

http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-living-calculator.aspx

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html
 
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I still see many posts about wages on several topics yet no one posts here.

:sad:
 
medic417 said:
I still see many posts about wages on several topics yet no one posts here.

:sad:
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Your post has no controversy, no talk about lights or sirens or driving real fast or whacker paraphernalia, no complaint about other board members, and no sex appeal... why would anyone post on it? :P

In reality I have no idea about the subject at hand. I only know I make more than the average EMT, I have enough money to live comfortably off of supporting two fur children and what day I get the money. I know all I need to know.
 
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Sasha said:
Your post has no controversy, no talk about lights or sirens or driving real fast or whacker paraphernalia, no complaint about other board members, and no sex appeal... why would anyone post on it? :P
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Ok so a sexy person wants to drive real fast with tons of lights and noise in a town a long way from all the mean mods on this site. Will they need more or less pay than they get now?:P
 
I wrote on another thread that, if you were to work in two different regions, one with a high cost of living, and one with a relatively low cost of living, it would be more beneficial to live in the higher cost area.

This is assuming that your compensation is proportional to the cost of living in both areas. Say, for example, you can save 10% of your net. Saving 10% on 60 grand is better than saving 10% on 35 grand. Over the course of your career you'll be able to contribute more to your deferred comp, pay off a house quicker, or take vacations if you'd like.

To take another angle, it's ideal to make a salary of a high income/cost area such as NY or CA, but live somewhere cheaper. In my particular case, I was making in the low 60's gross in NY, and around 85 grand after OT. houses are currently going for half a mil, or 350-400 grand on the island (6-12 thousand/yr in property tax, though). I'm now making over 65 grand base, and I'm on pace to make around 85-90 between OT and my side job. I'm living in a quiet, safe neighborhood with a great school system with single family homes going for upper 100's to low-mid 200's. I have a 35-40 minute commute to work, up to one hour if I'm detailed or working my PRN job.

Our schedule is great, it's 24's as WOWOWOOOO. It's basically three four day breaks per month. Many won't put up with the inflated cost of living in Fairfax, Loudon, and surrounding areas, so they commute for an hour or more. Some even commute from PA or VA beach! Run some errands on one of your middle days, PT at the firehouse, and sleep in. Now you're only commuting 8 times a month.

With a good schedule, you could live far away, in a cheap area, and earn a great salary. It's dependant on what type of commute you're willing to tolerate.
 
medic417 said:
Ok so a sexy person wants to drive real fast with tons of lights and noise in a town a long way from all the mean mods on this site. Will they need more or less pay than they get now?:P
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If I was to drive really fast to Miami and try to live there I would have to make 10,700 more a year according to one of your links.
 
California sucks when it comes to cost of living
:(
 
I believe EMS should require an associate's degree for paramedic. I think that it makes the field look more professional which is what EMS needs. Everyone always talks about well you went to school for so an so hours and you need more expertise to make money.

We are currently discussing professionalism in our class and the more fellow EMT's that can be professional and education the better off the field will be I think. I think more stringent requirements and the government understand the importance of EMS would go a long way to make the public more informed as well as helping our salaries.

As our instructor said there are five types of paramedics. Below is the percentage in which he thinks paramedics exist.

A 5% of medics meet this, excellent medics. These medics know what is going on, they study new disease's or sicknesses they don't know much about. They are educated. They don't just put patients on a IV, pulse ox or cardiac monitor because they don't know what else to do.

B 15% good medic These medics are excellent medics, they just need more education. College coursework such as physiology, human growth and development could help these medics move up to A.

C 20% these are average medics, they probably won't kill anybody but they won't do much good either. They just do what is needed to get by and they refuse to further their education, read extra journals, etc.

D needs license taken away
F needs license taken away

Anyhow I think more professionalism will lead to better pay.
 
So again lets get back to OP. This is not a fight site for you to say you are getting better pay. It was designed to help people actually compare based on all factors rather than just wages.
 
medic417 said:
Actually I work for one of the highest paying services in the USA when you include benefits and cost of living. So no union is going to do anything but hurt us like it has you.
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<ignore the union part before anyone complains about it>
Not a quote from this thread, but relevant. You've also mentioned in another thread that you work in one of the poorest parts of Texas. Which would generally indicate a low cost of living. And you live quite a distance away, I'd guess in an area with a higher cost of living. So...how does your pay actually compare to others? If it's high when you factor in a low income, low cost of living area, that would seem to mean that in an area with an average cost of living or higher, your pay would be inadequate. So is it really that much?

The calculators you posted are good, but I'd recommend using the first one; allows you to choose where your work AND live.
 
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