How many hours a week?

MMiz

MMiz

I put the M in EMTLife
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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 retired from my career job six months ago. I worked 40 hours a week there and a part time job 12 hours a week. I am debt free and have a decent retirement. I plan to work a couple more years as a paramedic for the health insurance at a rural hospital based ambulance service.

I think it's very doable as long as you get with the right company. Both of my other jobs were also hospital based in the metro area.
 
We are a bunch of workaholics in my family so it is normal for us to work an absurd amount of hours. I average 72-96 hours/week think.

I am a traveling paramedic. I work 24-48 hour shifts. I usually work 3-4 shifts a week. Pay is horrendous, but I do save up money because the company covers a lot (gas, rental car, hotel, $50/day between shifts for food). I rarely spend my own money, especially because I am almost always away for work.
 
Back when I was full time in EMS, I routinely was working 36-48 hours at my full time job, and 24 at my part time job, every week. When I gave up my part time job, I ended up working 48-60 hours a week, with everything over 40 being OT. I have only worked in busy systems, so 24s were either banned or severely frowned upon for safety concerns.

Can you pay the bills, just working 40 hours a week, while on the road? sure... but don't expect to buy a house (at least not in a good area, buy a new car, or go on a nice vacation unless you live like a miser for a bit. I know some well funded tax payer funded agencies that paid much better, and allowed people to only work their 40 hours, but I was never lucky enough to get a full time spot with one of them.

Now that I'm in the private sector, I work 40-45 hours a week at my full time job, and 24-36 hours a month at the FD, and I make more than I did while on the truck. I still think EMS is a great part time job.
 
96 is probably a regular week for me, the minimum is 56 hrs
 
Flight medic: most weeks it’s 48 hours a week.
 
Our base schedule is 40 hours, 4x10. We have some 44 hour picks (2x10, 2x12). I paid the bills fine on a 40 hour week, working 44 gives me some nice extra money. That sort of question depends entirely on where you live, though.
 
3 x 12.5 hr shifts / week, with one additional 12.5 hr shift every 4th week. (3, 3, 3, 4). Self-scheduling, HEMS.
 
Average week is 56 hours, with 48, 72, 96, and periodically 120 hours (in a single 7-day period)...

I barely make ends meet (but I'm a fancy gentleman) with the base hours, so OT is something of a must.
 
I work 18 hours a week as a medic ( a 12 hr shift then a 6.5 hour “power car”) then work 40 hours a week as a anesthesia tech as local hospital.
This works out better for me with part time status getting incentives for 911 shifts I pick up such as overtime rate for the shift.
 
100 hours a week, every week for two years as a medic. I’ve now bought my townhome with 20% down in Northern California. Had money left over for remodel and reserves. It was a grind and now looking to seriously tone it down.
 
Firefighter paramedic: 72/96
 
CALEMT said:
Firefighter paramedic: 72/96
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F that


I just recently switched from 40 hour (five 8s) back to 56 hour (24/48) at the FD. We are pretty lucky here that the 40 hour rate is adjusted to so that 40 hour base annual pay is the same as the 56 hour guys..

Either way, I'm a week in and wouldn't go back to five 8 hour shifts even if it was a pay increase. I forgot how awesome 24/48 was.
 
FiremanMike said:
F that


I just recently switched from 40 hour (five 8s) back to 56 hour (24/48) at the FD. We are pretty lucky here that the 40 hour rate is adjusted to so that 40 hour base annual pay is the same as the 56 hour guys..

Either way, I'm a week in and wouldn't go back to five 8 hour shifts even if it was a pay increase. I forgot how awesome 24/48 was.
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What do you like about it?
 
MMiz said:
What do you like about it?
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The free time. With five 8s I was getting home each night around 4:30. Take a quick 20 minute power nap, try to get some cardio in, then time for dinner, clean-up, then finally some downtime from around 7:30 to 10pm when I pass out from exhaustion/whiskey, wake up and do it again the next day. This was even worse for me when nursing school workload was at it's peak, I really had zero downtime. I was also there 5 days out of 7, so I felt like I never left, and weekends were my only real recovery for the next round of 5 days. I also had a 45 minute drive 1 way, so my 8 hour days were really 9.5 hour days.

24/48.. I worked Sunday, off all day Monday and Tuesday. Worked yesterday and I am off all day today and tomorrow. Work Saturday and off Sunday/Monday. So in the 7 day block from last Sunday to next, I'll have 5 full days off without having taken a single our of PTO.

There are some key differences with my situation though
1. My 40 hour gig had some huge responsibilities and headaches. I always had work waiting on me. The freedom of being a shift guy again and just coming in, hanging out, taking runs, and going home, has really been an amazing change for me mentally.
2. My kids are grown and we are financially sound without me working a single minute of overtime. I created a new routine when I get off shift of hanging out for a little bit, drinking a few cups of coffee, showering and changing before I go home. It's about an hour decompression and I arrive home in a good mood.
 
FiremanMike said:
F that


I just recently switched from 40 hour (five 8s) back to 56 hour (24/48) at the FD. We are pretty lucky here that the 40 hour rate is adjusted to so that 40 hour base annual pay is the same as the 56 hour guys..

Either way, I'm a week in and wouldn't go back to five 8 hour shifts even if it was a pay increase. I forgot how awesome 24/48 was.
Click to expand...

We're pushing for a 48/96. I'm doubtful that it'll happen seeing as I work for a state agency.
 
Depends on the overnight call volume to me. One call isn't too bad, but there's plenty of nights we get 3 or more between midnight and 0600. And we're middle of the pack in call volume average wise, so for our busy stations they'd almost literally would be awake 48 straight hours...

I suppose part of that is with our 24s I'm conditioned with our Dept Station culture is Wake up 0630, you will have your bed cleared and car moved for the oncoming crew by 0700, and first thing in the morning we check truck and clean Station and drill and shop before lunch, so the idea if running that every morning on the back half is "Ugh"


I suppose if you eliminate all that on the second day to sleep in and whatnot that would be tenable...
 
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