HEMS/Flight Medic Salary (US)?

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CWATT

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I'm curious what HEMS/flight medics are making across the US. If you have an idea on annual salary, please post Location / State.

Thnx.
 
According to a friend who just got hired he is making $60,000. In Southern CA.
 
In TX i make 55k/yr without OT. Will probably pull 65k with OT.
 
Same as above posted quotes for my base salary; also, California.

OP, what are you looking to make as a flight paramedic, and why?
 
VentMonkey said:
OP, what are you looking to make as a flight paramedic, and why?
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I'm currently going through a flight medic program and was thinking about what career opportunities exist in places like Southern California, but I've been told first responders in the US are very underpaid compared to other first world countries like the U.K., Canada, Aus, etc.
 
CWATT said:
I'm currently going through a flight medic program and was thinking about what career opportunities exist in places like Southern California, but I've been told first responders in the US are very underpaid compared to other first world countries like the U.K., Canada, Aus, etc.
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I think that is probably generally quite true, but there are places you can do pretty well in the US. You just have to do your homework to find out where the good opportunities are and be willing to move to them. Unfortunately, there is generally an inverse correlation between the desirability of a location and the compensation relative to cost of living. Simple supply/demand economics. But there are probably exceptions to that, as well.

In the US, opportunities in HEMS are much better for RN's who also have EMS background and credentials than they are for paramedics. Again, it's just supply & demand.
 
Around here, flight medics make a little less than 3rd service, hospital, or fire EMS, but more than private EMS.
 
Remi said:
In the US, opportunities in HEMS are much better for RN's who also have EMS background and credentials than they are for paramedics. Again, it's just supply & demand.
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Unfortunately in my area most RNs take pay cuts when they go into HEMS. Evens out a little with the hours but still less then I was making in the ICU unless I pick up extra which adds up quickly.
 
Chase said:
Unfortunately in my area most RNs take pay cuts when they go into HEMS. Evens out a little with the hours but still less then I was making in the ICU unless I pick up extra which adds up quickly.
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It’s the same in my area also. My girlfriend who is a RN in her hospitals trauma ICU would take a huge pay cut to go HEMS. She thought about going HEMS until she found out how much of a pay cut she would have to deal with.
 
Chase said:
Unfortunately in my area most RNs take pay cuts when they go into HEMS. Evens out a little with the hours but still less then I was making in the ICU unless I pick up extra which adds up quickly.
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You still make considerably more than most paramedics in your area, I would bet. And there is generally quite a bit less competition for FN positions than for FP positions. Not that the good jobs aren't competitive, just considerably less so.
 
I believe its about $65,000 around here. That is about 10-15,000 more than most ground services in this area.

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North East US hospital- based system. My base pay is about 78k. However with the built in OT for the 3/4 flex shifts, night diff, and mandatory training OT, I make around 100k. Flight nurses make from 12- 50k more (most hired from within the system - some with 25 years experience / annual pay increments).
 
82,356.00 is my base, which is $36.84 an hour.

We work an 80 hour bi-weekly pay, but do 36 hours one week and 44 the next. So I have built in OT each check. Also have shift differentials and potential OT that aren't added into that base.

Hospital based in D.C. which means D.C. / M.D. cost of living, so you need to make that to make what I call a "good living". I believe we are quite possibly the highest paid US HEMS program in the nation, which was a large reason why I made the recent jump. The benefits package is pretty amazing as well, especially if you have a family. I definitely made a compromise, left a great program I loved, but got tired of making 21.43 an hour to fly after 5 years of service, and working 3 jobs to make the kinda living I wanted to make.

All in all, this year with my P.T. fire job I will do about 115 which I am really happy with and coupled with my wife's salary allows us to live pretty nicely in the area.
 
CANMAN said:
Great money for TX right?
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Yes pretty good, i dont go hungry. But there are plenty of FD's in my area with starting pay similiar if not more. Which can be disheartening to see people with far less experience, certifications, and volume of work make more. But hey i dont do it for the money
 
TXmed said:
Yes pretty good, i dont go hungry. But there are plenty of FD's in my area with starting pay similiar if not more. Which can be disheartening to see people with far less experience, certifications, and volume of work make more. But hey i dont do it for the money
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Totally understand what you mean. We have firefighter/medics in the Northern VA (NOVA) area easily making 120 a year with the bare minimums of PALS/ACLS....
 
My base is right around $65k working 36hrs/wk. That doesn't include any shift diffs, holidays, training pay, on-call, etc. Working nights and predominantly on weekends could easily make that $75k. This is for a hospital-based service. Nurses can make significantly more. In fact we have some that have or are working on their NP but would take a substantial paycut to go work elsewhere as an NP. A nurse that signs up to work just weekend nights is automatically getting around $20/hr in shift diffs and incentives alone, as we all get additional pay for working transport.
 
I'm a little late to the party, but out in Oregon, my base pay is around $70,000/year working 48 hours a week. That's in addition to the best benefits package I've had thus far in EMS.
 
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