How far would you drive for a 24/48?

[RocketMedic]

Assuming base pay of $70k a year, how far would you drive for a job with a 24/48 base schedule? Current commute is 1.5 hours. Have an interesting potential but commute would be nearly three hours one-way. Thoughts?

 

[Carlos Danger]

I would only do it if it were a really killer job, and I planned to eventually move closer.

That's way too long of a commute to do for anything less than a stellar opportunity, and even so, it's still too long of a commute to do indefinitely.

 

[Mufasa556]

When I lived in LA my commute would easily be 1.5-2.5hrs for a 12hr shift.

To me it depends heavily on call volume. I had a buddy who would commute 2-3hrs for 48s but they’d only run a handful of calls on shift.

When I was doing standup 24s there were days I was so broke off that I don’t remember driving home. That kind of commute after a rough 24 or 48 would be a deal breaker.

 

[DrParasite]

for 24/48? well, it's not a 24/72, which is my preferred shift, but it's close.

Probably an hour and a half would be my limit. shift start time and end time would also likely be a factor, as would how busy a "typical shift" is. As @Mufasa556 said, if you end up doing a standup 24, then my limit would be about 20 minutes. if I was able to get (on average) 4 to 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep, during the night time, in a bed, then 90 minutes would likely be my max. No job is worth a greater than 90 minute commute on the long term; if I am going to accept that, I'll be looking to move closer to my employer.

The biggest concerns I would have is, if we ran all night, and I was completely exhausted, would I be able to make it home safely? I did a few 12 hour night shifts (where we weren't permitted to sleep, or were simply too busy), and had to pull over during my drive home and close my eyes because I didn't think I was able to make it without dozing off during my 45 minute commute.

The other thing to consider is the morning; if start time is 8am, then you need to leave your house by 6:30am, which means you need to be up at 5:30am to get dressed, shower, shave, eat something, walk the dog, complete your morning routine, and that's assuming you don't hit any traffic, just to be ready to work by 8.... and some places want you there 15-30 minutes early to prevent the off going crew from getting stuck o a late job, so you might have to be up even earlier....

 

[joshrunkle35]

1.5 hrs each way would be my limit unless it was my dream job and I was going to move to the area.

 

[GMCmedic]

I drive 1.25 now for that pay , 2 would be the max I would drive.

 

[Old Tracker]

I'm driving 2.5 hours currently, but since I am not a P, I don't get 70K.

 

[Jim37F]

An hour drive is about my max... but that 70K/yr is almost twice what I'm making now (assuming that's post taxes/deductions)... so I might be willing to drive 90 min...

Once again depending on what sort of commute we're looking at...
Is it an hr and a half of stop and go traffic to go 30 miles after waking up at 5am? What's the drive home like (i.e. is the rush hour traffic going the opposite direction so you make the drive in 45min or less, or now are you in the rush hour and it takes closer to 2 hrs to get home after getting off?)
An hour on a nice scenic country road is a lot easier than an hour on the freeway in gridlock IME.

What about uniforms? Are you gonna be stuck in a white shirt that you gotta keep spotless all day long? (Though that could be negated if they had washer/dryers with bleach you can use during shift lol)

If you do run a standup 24, can you rest at the station? My previous job standup 24s were common (4 hrs of uninterrupted sleep was like hitting the jackpot...), but as long as you clocked out on time and didnt make a nuisance of yourself, no one cared if you went back into the dorm to sleep for a few more hours before leaving vs my current job has an actual rule that you must have all your bedding cleared off by 0700 (and have had the oncoming shift complain to us about forgetting to do that...)

Not that I can complain about my current job since we really only get 1 or 2 calls a day at my current station... though I can say sometimes people can start bouncing off the walls from boredom from lack of calls (great now that I say that, I think I just doomed myself to a 10 call day and no sleep next shift haha)

 

[StCEMT]

Probably about an hour, maybe a little more. I currently drive 30 for 12's, so financially driving 60 for 24's would be the same. Also depends on the call volume. If I consistently got to sleep a good amount? I'd do longer. If not? I'd prefer to not work it at all, but maybe 30 minutes max.

 

[CALEMT]

Not really the same but I commuted 300 miles for a 72/96. Currently I’m commuting about 1 1/2 hours (70ish miles) for the same shift. Coming up here in the fall I’ll be moving and commuting 2 1/2 hours (150ish) miles for a 72/96. Rumor has it that in the future we’ll be moving to a 48/96. At my current salary with all the OT I pick up (to buy a house) I’m on track to clear 100k this year. My base is ~70k.

When I commuted 300 miles I hated my life even though I was making good money. Most definitely won’t drive that far twice a week again.

 

[RocketMedic]

Not really the same but I commuted 300 miles for a 72/96. Currently I’m commuting about 1 1/2 hours (70ish miles) for the same shift. Coming up here in the fall I’ll be moving and commuting 2 1/2 hours (150ish) miles for a 72/96. Rumor has it that in the future we’ll be moving to a 48/96. At my current salary with all the OT I pick up (to buy a house) I’m on track to clear 100k this year. My base is ~70k.

When I commuted 300 miles I hated my life even though I was making good money. Most definitely won’t drive that far twice a week again.

Where are you now? Flight, right?

 

[CALEMT]

Where are you now? Flight, right?

The dark side... FD

 

[Jim37F]

A 48/96 that pays 70K/yr might be worth a 2hr drive...

I did drive 2 hours each way to drill when I was in the Reserves. Though that was once a month for 2-3 days at a time not a once a week commute. I will say I could have joined a unit 30 minutes away... but the unit 2hrs away was an Airborne unit.

I suppose the equivalent would be bypassing a company that's primarily an IFT/some 911 mix vs a primary 911/CCT agency with new Type 1 rigs/power load cots/new LPs/advanced/aggressive protocols (whatever that means to you, this is hypothetical after all)

So the further drive may be worth it for an agency that you'd be objectively much happier to work for...

 

[Jim37F]

The dark side... FD

They are very tasty cookies aren't they?

 

[CALEMT]

Same cookies as when I was a seasonal Jim haha, not much has changed although now I'm on a more permanent basis.

 

[chriscemt]

Assuming base pay of $70k a year, how far would you drive for a job with a 24/48 base schedule? Current commute is 1.5 hours. Have an interesting potential but commute would be nearly three hours one-way. Thoughts?

I feel like what the others have said rings okay... if the gig is "worth it" then great. If the drive is more like 1-1/2 hours of comfortable country roads (as opposed to awful gridlock) then great. If the alternative is 12s with an hour commute, then great.

We get to discuss here often about how far a commute can be before it's unsustainable. The rural services with their breezy 48-96s sounds nice enough to warrant say a 2-1/2 drive each way, especially if you actually love where you live, which I do.

When I was doing standup 24s there were days I was so broke off that I don’t remember driving home. That kind of commute after a rough 24 or 48 would be a deal breaker.

deal breaker = live ender. Driving 1-1/2 hours when you're already beaten *** tired...

 

[DesertMedic66]

I am currently driving 2.5 hours one way for my job however we have an off duty house for employees to use so I only have to make the drive once a week and if I am too tired to drive home on my last shift I will get a couple hours of sleep at the house and then drive home.

 

[CALEMT]

however we have an off duty house for employees to use

That’s rad

 

[DrParasite]

I am currently driving 2.5 hours one way for my job however we have an off duty house for employees to use so I only have to make the drive once a week and if I am too tired to drive home on my last shift I will get a couple hours of sleep at the house and then drive home.

So you drive 150 minutes each way to get to work? hopefully you are working a 48 hour shift.....

That's pretty cool that they give you an "off duty house" to use (although I'm not sure exactly what that mean, other than provides you with a place to sleep when off duty).

My biggest issue would be you are still spending time away from home, family, and non-work life. Even for a 72/96 like @CALEMT does (you're FT with Cal Fire, right?) means 3 back to back days of work, and then 4 days off, so a 2 or 3 hour commute might be worth it, esp if your commute would be 45 min to an hour each day for a 24/48 schedule.

When I think about commute, I want to know how often am I doing it (many times per week), how long my shift is, how busy is a "typical shift" and is it worth it for the hourly wage I am looking to make, taking into account my commute, tolls, gas, and time away from home. Then I look about the employers I am passing on my trip to the job, and ask is it worth it, and would it be worth it to relocate to save myself some some commuting time (and easier task when your single, renting an apartment with no kids, compared to have a family with a house and a mortgage), or do I want to stay where I currently am.

As a general rule, the commute for my full time job should be less than an hour each way, for a 12 hour shift. If I'm working 8s, I want to commute less than 45 minutes each way. a part time gig might be stretched to 90 minutes, if that PT job allows me to do something that I can't do locally. The longer the shift, the fewer times I commute per week, the longer I will tolerate a commute. But to each his or her own

 

[CALEMT]

you're FT with Cal Fire, right?

Yeah