Higher Paying/Most Desired Depts.

C

Canadian

Forum Crew Member
Messages
43
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Hi all,

Just curious if you all could list some of the harder to get into, higher paying, tougher competition, outfits (EMS and Fire Departments) that you know of, and any experiences you have had with them. Any notes of interest including pay, working conditions, scheduling, or notes of interests would be appreciated.

Thanks :)
 
Canadian said:
Hi all,

Just curious if you all could list some of the harder to get into, higher paying, tougher competition, outfits (EMS and Fire Departments) that you know of, and any experiences you have had with them. Any notes of interest including pay, working conditions, scheduling, or notes of interests would be appreciated.

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

King County - No experience with them.

San Francisco Fire Department - Starting EMT Academy with them on Monday. EMTs top out at about 90k a year after 4 years and Medics start at 92k a year and top out at about 115-120k a year. They have a killer pension and deferred comp, as well as excellent medical benefits.

Almost everyone gets hired as an EMT. Out of 35 EMTs in my academy starting Monday - 32 are working paramedics for other nearby systems.

It's a busy, burnout system, and EMS is the :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored: step child of the suppression side but you wont find better pay anywhere else in the US.
 
Do you have to "promote" to suppression side or can you stay in the ems side. Because sac metro they want them to move to the fire side after 3 yrs I believe.
 
TRSpeed said:
Do you have to "promote" to suppression side or can you stay in the ems side. Because sac metro they want them to move to the fire side after 3 yrs I believe.
Click to expand...

It's very very difficult to move from EMS to suppression. That is one of the issues causing moral problems for all the guys who would like to be Engine/Medics.

There is no mandatory transition.
 
So it would be perfectly fine to say you are happy being a transport only medic and don't have desire in fire? I don't really get depts like those because it sounds like an insult to the dept saying you want to only stay in the ambulance
 
San Antonio Fire Department. As a medic in EMS, you'll make at least 70k without any OT. With OT, there are guys making ~130k. The cost of living is also quite cheap.

EMS used to have a bad reputation and poor morale, but that's been changing dramatically over the past 5 years or so.

Fire is 24/48, EMS is 24/72. Excellent pension (one of the best in the country, and not just for fire departments), and great benefits.
 
STXmedic said:
San Antonio Fire Department. As a medic in EMS, you'll make at least 70k without any OT. With OT, there are guys making ~130k. The cost of living is also quite cheap.

EMS used to have a bad reputation and poor morale, but that's been changing dramatically over the past 5 years or so.

Fire is 24/48, EMS is 24/72. Excellent pension (one of the best in the country, and not just for fire departments), and great benefits.
Click to expand...

Was just looking over their recruiting site and over 900 people took and passed the exam for SAFD :wacko: Highest score was an 88 with vet points. Wonder if the CPAT weeds a lot of those people out or not.
 
Yeah, that's the lowest scoring test I've ever seen highest raw score was an 83. Usually you have to score in the mid to high 90s to get in. Nearly 4,000 tested.

The CPAT doesn't weed too many people out. If you are in any shape at all and you're not claustrophobic, you should pass.
 
STXmedic said:
Yeah, that's the lowest scoring test I've ever seen highest raw score was an 83. Usually you have to score in the mid to high 90s to get in. Nearly 4,000 tested.

The CPAT doesn't weed too many people out. If you are in any shape at all and you're not claustrophobic, you should pass.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't think it would, just surprises me how many people sit for the exam. But after looking at their pay/benefits I can see why. I will stick with A/TCEMS for now.
 
Any large / medium sized FD in SoCal you can make 100k after a few years and some OT.
Very competitive. I have an AS fire and BS EMS, exp as EMT and paramedic, fire academy, exp with a reserve dept and wildland dept. I'd say I'm your average candidate applying too. Nothing about me stands out to these depts.
 
Canadian said:
Hi all,

Just curious if you all could list some of the harder to get into, higher paying, tougher competition, outfits (EMS and Fire Departments) that you know of, and any experiences you have had with them. Any notes of interest including pay, working conditions, scheduling, or notes of interests would be appreciated.

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

U.S.:
All fire departments are difficult to get into. You might have luck if you're a paramedic in Texas from what I hear, but that is just rumor. Reciprocity is different everywhere you go, some states are easy, some are not. Fire is highly competitive and because there are so many players in Washington State, experience is a stepping stone to get a Fire gig, thus, making non-fire EMS gigs competitive too.

Paid EMS jobs in Washington State specifically are not easy to get into.

Every department is different in terms of scheduling. I've heard of Four 10s, Four 12s, Five 8's, 2 days on 4 days off, 1 on 1 off 1 on 1 off 1 on 4 off, 1 on 2 off, 1 on 1 off 1 on 2 off 1 on 3 off and so on.

Working conditions will differ where you work. High end neighborhoods typically have nice stations but sometimes not. It depends on the taxes in the area.

Larger cities have better pay than small cities/communities. For the most part.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah, I'm not sure what it is about Texas, but we have tons of Canadians down here. There were three Canadians between the shifts at my previous station, and I know of many more throughout the department. My brother also just got done with TEEX's fire academy, and his class was nearly 50% Canadian students.
 
I think with the push to make having your Firefighter 1/2 as an entry requirement for Canadian departments the big academies in Texas, especially with an online portion, are very appealing.
 
There are EMT-P's making over 100K per year at San Francisco Fire Department? Wow that's crazy! It must be super competitive to get into! Would they even hire EMT-B's? Any chance you could do work for them as a non-citizen? Specifically Canadian?

Thanks
 
Canadian said:
There are EMT-P's making over 100K per year at San Francisco Fire Department? Wow that's crazy! It must be super competitive to get into! Would they even hire EMT-B's? Any chance you could do work for them as a non-citizen? Specifically Canadian?



Thanks
Click to expand...


As a EMT-P/ACP in Alberta or BC you can make a base of 120k + working industrial (2 week on 2 week off rotation)
 
Canadian said:
There are EMT-P's making over 100K per year at San Francisco Fire Department? Wow that's crazy! It must be super competitive to get into! Would they even hire EMT-B's? Any chance you could do work for them as a non-citizen? Specifically Canadian?

Thanks
Click to expand...

They do hire EMT-B's. Not a lot, because those who get hired on don't leave (given the salary and benefits, who would?!) I think most of their units are EMT/Medic, if not dual medics. They also don't have many units. San Francisco is a very busy system where they also contract 911 service with a third-party company.

If I can get into SFFD's system as an EMT, I would never leave...
 
The list might open again next year when it expires.

EMS is still short a ton of bodies.

If you can get on the list and are eligible to work in the US I don't see why a Canadian couldn't work here.

Expect up to a 3-4 year wait before getting a call unless you're lucky.

Starting at 35 bucks an hour, a good pension, and paying 0 into medical benefits is awesome. There is a 6% differential for any college degree, and a 6% differential for night shifts. There is also a bilingual differential if you can pass the fluency test.

You could do a lot worse and you can't do any better as a single role EMT. Don't get me started on the Medic pay.
 
Medic Tim said:
As a EMT-P/ACP in Alberta or BC you can make a base of 120k + working industrial (2 week on 2 week off rotation)
Click to expand...

As well Tim do the companies still pay for your flights to and from the work site if you live out of province.
 
fortsmithman said:
As well Tim do the companies still pay for your flights to and from the work site if you live out of province.
Click to expand...

It depends. Some pay a higher day rate.. Some just don't.
My company books an pays flights for ACP/EMT-Ps and RNs. Another company I worked for reimbursed you on your pay check if you submit your receipt.
 
Canadian said:
There are EMT-P's making over 100K per year at San Francisco Fire Department? Wow that's crazy! It must be super competitive to get into! Would they even hire EMT-B's? Any chance you could do work for them as a non-citizen? Specifically Canadian?

Thanks
Click to expand...

The "WOW" was my response, too. Although I'm not Canadian, the idea of an EMT-B making that much money is encouraging and discouraging all at the same time. I feel that with pay that high there has to be a serious catch: like it sucks to live there.

I'm wondering what other departments people can think of. Texas seems to have a pretty well thought of system as I look at other threads. I don't know what a city like San Antonio would be like to live in.

M.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top