How many hours a week?

NomadicMedic

I know a guy who knows a guy.
12,098
6,845
113
40/week. Education specialist. Less stress and better pay than a street medic any day of the week. And before you say, “there no jobs like that out there…” we can’t find enough qualified, dedicated EMS educators, QI people and admin staff. There’s a TON of non road jobs that pay great and have amazing benefits.

Search on indeed. You’ll be amazed.
 

Chris EMT J

Forum Lieutenant
124
11
18
How many hours do you work in a typical work week?

What is your position?

Trying to figure out if it's possible to pay the bills working the roads with a 40 hour work week.
I do 2;12s so, 24 hours. I am a EMT-A. I am part time in EMS also soon starting my bachelor's for a pre PA I am currently working as a full time salesman for my local Ford dealership.
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
6,196
2,052
113
I forgot how awesome 24/48 was.
if you think they are awesome, just imagine a 24/72....

Truth be told, when I went from 4 8s to 3 12s, I thought I would never go back to working 5 days a week.... now, ~15 years later, working bankers hours, I have forgotten what I was missing.

having every weekend off, coming home from work and not being exhausted, no working over nights (unless I chose to), and being off when the rest of the world was off is worth it.

the other thing to keep in mind is call volume. if you are sleeping during an overnight shift, 24s are awesome. if you lay down at 10 and don't wake up until 6am, your day off isn't spent recovering; but if you were woken up at 11pm, 3am and 5am, your sleep schedule is wrecked, and the following day can be painful.

The older I get, the more I like sleeping in my own bed.
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
6,196
2,052
113
And before you say, “there no jobs like that out there…” we can’t find enough qualified, dedicated EMS educators, QI people and admin staff. There’s a TON of non road jobs that pay great and have amazing benefits.
you have any openings for remote employees? a barely qualified one, who is surprisingly dedicated to the EMS system?
 

NomadicMedic

I know a guy who knows a guy.
12,098
6,845
113
you have any openings for remote employees? a barely qualified one, who is surprisingly dedicated to the EMS system?

We have openings, however they require Pennsylvania certification and relative close proximity to the office. While we are 95% remote, we still do occasionally have to go to the office for meetings or other stuff. We’re not hiring out-of-state people. Although, we did just have someone leave because his wife took a new job and we were trying to figure out how we coukd keep him.
 

HardKnocks

Forum Lieutenant
121
29
28
Just had a
The older I get, the more I like sleeping in my own bed.
Copy that...especially if your wife is pre-warming it..lol

Just had a good friend retire out of Public Safety. He spent the last year counting down, saying that he cannot wait to be able to wake up in the morning and being able to chose to just sit around and enjoy retirement.

Two months later..He's back applying to get back into a similar job.

Transitioning into Retirement is very difficult for Type-A Personalities.

Btw, Last Nov. Albuquerque FD was offering a $15K sign on bonus...but I doubt its for a low call volume station..lol
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
6,196
2,052
113
Just had a good friend retire out of Public Safety. He spent the last year counting down, saying that he cannot wait to be able to wake up in the morning and being able to chose to just sit around and enjoy retirement.

Two months later..He's back applying to get back into a similar job.

Transitioning into Retirement is very difficult for Type-A Personalities.
one of my former coworkers retired from a county EMS agency, after 20+ years as a paramedic... and promptly sold his house, and moved out to western NC. He's now working for a private EMS agency that has the contract to provide EMS for a county.
tenor.gif


There is something to be said for having the motivation to get out of bed every day. I know too many people who died after they retired, or volunteers who were forced to stop riding the trucks due to age/medical condition. Personally, I plan on working full time until my retirement conditions are met... then I will give my boss my letter of resignation, with an unfilled date. When I feel like the time is gonna happen, it will be peace out. then I will find some part time gig to get me out of the house, and give me a reason to put pants on.
Btw, Last Nov. Albuquerque FD was offering a $15K sign on bonus...but I doubt its for a low call volume station..lol
not according to their website.... but a 15k sign on bonus when starting pay is 35k is interesting...
 

HardKnocks

Forum Lieutenant
121
29
28
I know too many people who died after they retired, or volunteers who were forced to stop riding the trucks due to age/medical condition.

not according to their website.... but a 15k sign on bonus when starting pay is 35k is interesting...
In the late 1980's there was a study about post-retirement longevity in Public Safety. The study found that a large percentage of PS Retirees failed to live longer than an average of 5 years after retirement, REGARDLESS of age at retirement. They study was continued, in an attempt to analyze causation, but the study dropped off my radar.

I am in agreement that our bodies are conditioned to run on excessive levels of Adrenaline and Cortisol, and we enjoy and thrive on it. After those two components are remove via retirement, IMHO our bodies degrade. I cannot scientifically prove my theory, but the Stats tend to prove my opinion.

The older I get I stay true to my Mantra, (as my workouts seem to get harder and shorter with age).

Exercise, Enjoy what you do everyday, Laugh Everyday, and remember tomorrow's another adventure.

Btw I spoke to AFD at a recruiting fair in Nov 2021 where Albuquerque Fire was soliciting new hire recruits and offering the $15K bonuses. Maybe the funding was pulled, or ran out.
 
Last edited:

johnrsemt

Forum Deputy Chief
1,672
256
83
FT Job is 48 hours on 5 days off. extra 24 hour OT once in a while I made $100,000 plus a year, the last 2 years.
PT job varies, paid on call; really weird pay rate; closest hospital is 110 miles furthest (Level I's are 135 miles). I usually work 48-72 when I work there. Last month I worked 9 days straight.
 
Top