EMT pay

RebelAngel

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On a whim I applied to work as an independent contractor for a company that was looking to staff their client (a well known company) with promotional specialist for a NASCAR race about an hour away from where we live. I found out about this opportunity through a mutual acquaintance of ours and couldn't believe the hourly rate + per diem. I got the position and was a bit nervous what the position entailed because of the high hourly rate. I knew it wasn't anything related to being sexually provocative or what not, as some of these positions are. If being more sexually suggestive or flirty was part of the requirement I wouldn't have done it. The client is a conservative company and wanted pretty, straight laced looking (no tattoos showing, no gauge earrings, etc.), females wearing their logo on shirts and black slacks. I was called in to work on Friday to cover for a no-show and was anxious on the hour drive up there worrying about what I was getting myself in to. I got there, worked six hours, and left feeling like it was pretty easy money. That got me thinking about the EMT pay in the area.

The FD I am with is all volunteer. We're in a rural area of upstate (not NYC) area of NYS. The state paid for my EMT training because I was associated with a fire department. The FD paid for my books, my vaccinations, my necessary physical, etc., in exchange for a one year commitment as an EMT for them. I invested money in my own equipment and similar.

If I were to go out and try to get a job as an EMT, with one year experience under my belt, I would make [about] less than half of what I made per hour as a promotional specialist. I talked about it with my boyfriend, whom is Chief of our FD, has been a volunteer fire fighter since he was 16, and works for a division under homeland security as what equates to a fire marshal for NYS. He said it's because people are willing to be EMTs for free. If they weren't, companies would have to pay [more]. He said if our FD had to pay EMTs we would have to close our doors. It really blows my mind that people can save other's lives and get paid peanuts, while some people make so much money for things that are not nearly as important as someone's life (or their own).

I know some of you have been in EMS awhile and was wondering what your thoughts were on this.
 

Chimpie

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Off topic responses have all been removed.
 

Rin

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I wonder if the fact that individual departments are able to get free workers stops them from even trying to get grants and other funding to pay their crews. I mean, they manage to fund their equipment and supplies. If people stopped volunteering, you can bet they'd be scrambling to come up with incentives. They've been allowed to think of payroll as not a necessity.
 

TransportJockey

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Part of the problem with grants (especially SAFER grants) is that they cover 1-5 years of salary, and then the service has to pick up the tab for paying their own workers. A lot of volunteer depts around me have refused to apply for them because they don't want to have to pick iup the tab themselves. But yea, it is a thing that with volunteers, the payin companies can just say "you should be grateful to have a job. A lot of people around here do it for free"
 

Rick Tresnak

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SAFER grants are one way to go. (They can be reapplied for, but who knows if you get them or if the government will have the money to keep it going) I think that we really need to make it a necessary service, so we can get funding. EMS has never made great money. Especially when you compare what we do as compared to nursing. Even though most states have just as much schooling and a higher amount of con education requirements and we can typically act independently following protocols vs. waiting for Dr's orders. (Sorry small rant) I think the answer still remains becoming a necessary service, and getting better funding. I thank the volunteers as the requirements placed on them are always growing. Either you do what you love, or you make money somewhere else and do this when you can is sometimes the answer.
 

Handsome Robb

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One of our Cities FDs here was operating under a SAFER grant and they were denied when they reapplied and nearly ended up laying off 35 guys. The union filed a lawsuit and haulted the layoffs but it's a giant mess.

Random but as a comparison my good friend is a construction worker and often operates heavy equipment. He makes anywhere from 25-45/hr depending on private or government contract...I moonlight as an equipment operator every now and again and make 20+ which is more than my hourly as a Paramedic.
 
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Rick Tresnak

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One of our Cities FDs here was operating under a SAFER grant and they were denied when they reapplied and nearly ended up laying off 35 guys. The union filed a lawsuit and haulted the layoffs but it's a giant mess.

Random but as a comparison my good friend is a construction worker and often operates heavy equipment. He makes anywhere from 25-45/hr depending on private or government contract...I moonlight as an equipment operator every now and again and make 20+ which is more than my hourly as a Paramedic.


Yes SAFER grants are not a sure thing. -- When I worked at a hospital as a flight medic I made $18.00/hr the transport techs that wheel patients to x-ray in wheelchairs with the requirement of a GED and a CPR card were making $22.00/ hr. When I asked my lead flight nurse making $34/hr why that was she said there are plenty of people after your job, we can afford to pay less... Not cool
 

Tigger

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Not cool...but also reality.

This not unique to EMS. If there were bunches of RNs after flight jobs, they cold do the same thing.
 

Handsome Robb

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Flight RNs tend to be paid on the lower scale of RNs. Is it right for us or them? Absolutely not but she is spot on as to why wages are the way they are
 

Jason

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Field wages are definitely impacted by the number of volunteers that are out there willing to do the work for free. It is true, if people are willing to do the work for free, then why pay higher dollar to someone who wants to get paid. Where I live - if you are a paid Fire/EMS person, you can not also be a volunteer for the same county. Reason is the same ... if you're willing to do it for free ... why pay. After this got established, many years ago, the paid FD got their wages adjusted.
I left field work to work in the hosp for higher pay and more educational opportunities. I still do EMS, but as a volunteer -- I love EMS ... but I needed and wanted a better pay scale.
The pay scale for EMS, Fire, and Police have been frowned upon for ... ever. Like school teachers ... where would the future be if it wasn't for teachers. I do believe the pay scale for many career fields are misplaced.
 

drl

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Barring unionized labor, which is a whole other can of worms, your pay in a job always corresponds to how easy it would be to find someone else to do your job. Given the oversupply of young EMTs in many areas around the US, companies have found that they don't need to pay a huge amount to get people willing to work the job: most people enter as EMTs to get experience, not to get rich. On the other hand, it may not have been so easy to find a qualified and personable promotional specialist who would take the gig on a relatively short notice, hence the higher pay.

There's plenty of other reasons why there's a downwards pressure on EMT wages as well, and MediCare/other insurance reimbursement is a big one too. Health care is one of the only fields where charging a $1000 bill doesn't mean you'll get paid $1000 (or even anywhere close to that amount), and that's a reality that all health providers have to deal with (ambulance companies, ERs, doctors, etc, etc). But, since that's a subject that was beaten to death in the above linked thread, I'll leave it at that here!
 

SafetyEMT18

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If you are an independent contractor usually means you will get a 1099 at the end of the year instead of a W2. 1099 means they paid you as a contractor and you are responsible for your own taxes and social security when it comes to doing your taxes which might seem like a lot more.

EMT is a some what easy field to get into but usually a stepping stone to something else.

You also have to consider the amount of time you are actually working doing your scope of practice to the amount of downtime you have as an EMT.
 

Chimpie

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Only 19 days till Halloween. This month is flying by.
 

Anjel

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Chimpie

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How that jumped threads is beyond me. I know for a fact that I was in the off topic thread.
 

okiemedic

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Yes SAFER grants are not a sure thing. -- When I worked at a hospital as a flight medic I made $18.00/hr the transport techs that wheel patients to x-ray in wheelchairs with the requirement of a GED and a CPR card were making $22.00/ hr. When I asked my lead flight nurse making $34/hr why that was she said there are plenty of people after your job, we can afford to pay less... Not cool

Dang I am the floor manager transport tech and don't make that and I'm an emt and a bls instructor
 
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