Getting old

[gonefishing]

Hey All,

here is something ive wondered lately. What are you to do if you reach the age of 40 and your still in the field? Is it possible to keep working in the field? I know that any emt past 3 years is already seen as a cancer by management but as a medic can you really last until the age of 65? Or is it better to have some back up plan of say opening a deli, going management, going into dispatch. My only thought is what happens to all the medics past the prime where do we go when we can't lift no more?

 

[Handsome Robb]

At 25 years old I already have big issues with my back, been in the field for nearing 4 years now. I'm shooting for supervisor. Fire is a possibility as well but that's not much of any easier on your back.

Caveat is my back problems are lifestyle related not job related but my doc has told me it's not a matter of if rather than a matter of when I end up with a career ender.

 

[mgr22]

any emt past 3 years is already seen as a cancer by management

How did you come up with that?

 

[Angel]

i wouldnt want to do this career at 65...maybe fire...most likely PA or something hospital based.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

I know that any emt past 3 years is already seen as a cancer by management

Maybe try working for a different company for starters. If this is there attitude I can imagine how they treat employees.

There are plenty of career medics and career EMTs, I think the limiting factor is if you want that lifestyle for 40 years.

 

[cruiseforever]

Passed 40 many years ago. I work for two comapnies and both of them have a fair number of people that have 30+ years of experience.

 

[cfd3091]

I'm 61 and just retired from the Fire Dept. I still do EMS P/T with two County agency's. It never occurred to me not to do this until 66. And P/T is just a status for HR,I just turned in time sheets between the two for over 100 hours in two weeks. I work with a Medic who is a year older than me. There are way better jobs for money and family life but the fire service isn't one, age just as a number is not a factor. How you take care of the machinery and how your mental status holds up may be.

 

[Handsome Robb]

How did you come up with that?

Maybe try working for a different company for starters. If this is there attitude I can imagine how they treat employees.

There are plenty of career medics and career EMTs, I think the limiting factor is if you want that lifestyle for 40 years.

Maybe because spending a prolonged time as an EMT without promoting could be indicative of something? While there isn't a lot of ladder to climb in private EMS there is room to promote from EMT to Medic. If I were overseeing employees and I had people who were spending extending periods of time, using the example of 3 years as an arbitrary number, I would personally start to ask when they were considering medic school and if they weren't why they weren't.

Unless your SO makes a decent amount of money or you get paid a decent amount of money (very rare) as an EMT why would you not promote to Paramedic? This may come off as a ****head statement but that indicates either laziness or lack of confidence to me. In a job that requires confidence the lack of it to promote to the next level could potentially be a problem.

My personal opinion, at the risk of sounding like a paragod, is why on earth would anyone spend more than a year or two as an EMT? I guess it depends on the person. I enjoy a challenge and even after working as an EMT-I/AEMT for 4 weeks after I finished medic school I was going crazy.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

Personally I don't understand it either. But then again some ask me why I chose to be a PA instead of go all the way to be a physician.

If someone is comfortable at the EMT level and they are good at their job, I don't see any reason to hold it against them or consider them a "cancer". Everyone haa their reason and as long as they are a competent EMT I don't really care.

 

[Carlos Danger]

What are you to do if you reach the age of 40 and your still in the field?

Is it possible to keep working in the field?

Is this a serious question?

 

[gotbeerz001]

I guess it all depends on how well you take care of yourself. If you choose to not stay in shape, eat more calories than you burn, and use improper lifting techniques, then sure, you're going to burn out quicker than the rest of us

 

[gonefishing]

How did you come up with that?

I read an article a while back where several GM's stated that anybody in for 3 years or more was a cancer due to having to pay more for something they could easily replace due to the high number of applicants. Shockingly now there is an actual shortage in my area.

 

[gonefishing]

Is this a serious question?

You don't see many people past the age of 50 in my area in the field atleast in my area that are primarily ems. Most of them past 50 are doing anything office duty and I for one could never do an office job. I enjoy too much being out in a rig. But we break, we get old, we wear down regardless how well we take care of ourselves and the retirement age is increasing and social security is becoming harder to grasp. So yes this is a serious question. A serious question based on if anyone has ever thought of the future. I have benefits, 401k, life,health etc. I own my home and every asset with a small credit card debt. But as stated earlier you don't see many around here past 50 im in Southern California by the way. The dawning of the increasing age of what it takes to retire is what concerns me and nobody seems to ever think about that. I guess if you belong to the IAFF you can retire pretty at 55.

 

[DieselBolus]

You're experiencing a shortage in LA? News to me.. OC and SD are historically saturated, with the problem only getting worse.

Work until you break and hope that the educational standards for future EMS workers increase so their skills and knowledge are more portable than lunchmeat and dispatching.

 

[gonefishing]

You're experiencing a shortage in LA? News to me.. OC and SD are historically saturated, with the problem only getting worse.

Work until you break and hope that the educational standards for future EMS workers increase so their skills and knowledge are more portable than lunchmeat and dispatching.

Yea, it's been bad here. Alot of companies are having a hard time filling. I guess it's because alot of people are paying the new minimum wage or 30 cents above it.lol

 

[Angel]

I worked for an ops manager that said without issue he didn't want people there past 18 months. Usually bs complaints would arise leading to investigations or terminations. Some companies like to keep the cheapest employees

 

[mgr22]

I read an article a while back where several GM's stated that anybody in for 3 years or more was a cancer due to having to pay more for something they could easily replace due to the high number of applicants. Shockingly now there is an actual shortage in my area.

I haven't run across that attitude. I've worked places where EMTs were encouraged to become medics just because the opportunities were there -- not because long-time EMTs were undesirable.

About your other questions, it can't hurt to have a back-up plan, but lots of people make it into their fifties and even sixties in EMS.

 

[gonefishing]

I haven't run across that attitude. I've worked places where EMTs were encouraged to become medics just because the opportunities were there -- not because long-time EMTs were undesirable.

About your other questions, it can't hurt to have a back-up plan, but lots of people make it into their fifties and even sixties in EMS.

Yes but even as paramedics we face the same challenges.

 

[akflightmedic]

40 is old????

Oh, to be so young and ignorant...

 

[gonefishing]

40 is old????

Oh, to be so young and ignorant...

LOL I'm 9 years away! do I feel it? No. Reason I put 40 is due to that bejng the over the hill age.