Is it right for me?

[mayjoin]

Hey guys, I just turned 15 years old last month, and I have been thinking about becoming a paramedic or EMT. Whenever I see an ambulance I wish I was there, going to the scene, where all the lights and action are. I love to help people, and I want to do something for the community. I listen to the police/fire/ems radio scanner a lot. I was wondering, should I become an EMT or a paramedic? Do you guys have any tips or advice for me? Things I should expect? Thanks in advance for any reply

 

[Chewy20]

When you are of age take an EMT class. Need to be an EMT before Paramedic, then try to get on an ambulance to see if you like it and want to pursue it further.

I will tell you that its definitely not all cool and filled with excitement. Job is 99% boredom filled with 1% of terror. With that being said, would not change it for anything. Try to take some good science classes in high school while you can for free. Will only help you in the long run.

 

[mayjoin]

When you are of age take an EMT class. Need to be an EMT before Paramedic, then try to get on an ambulance to see if you like it and want to pursue it further.

I will tell you that its definitely not all cool and filled with excitement. Job is 99% boredom filled with 1% of terror. With that being said, would not change it for anything. Try to take some good science classes in high school while you can for free. Will only help you in the long run.

Thanks for the reply! I will keep that in mind. Regarding a ride-along, how old do you have to be to go on one? Also, if I become a paramedic I will work in the Los Angeles area. Is that a good area to work?

 

[STXmedic]

Thanks for the reply! I will keep that in mind. I will most likely go on a ride-along. How old do you have to be to go on one? Also, if I become a paramedic I will work in the Los Angeles area. Is that a good area to work?

Not in the slightest.

There are many different requirements for ride-alongs, dependent on which department.

Like he said, it's typically fairly monotonous. The 1% terror is a quite a bit of an over-statement, though.

You're only 15, so you have plenty of time to figure out what you want to do. Take a lot of science classes, do some ride-alongs, and even get your EMT and see if its still something you would like to do. I will let you know that very few people who start as EMTs will make this field a career, and most of them got into it because they wanted to help people. EMT and Paramedic are not the only ways to benefit your community. Hell, the garbage man benefits the community.

Best of luck. If you have specific questions, there are plenty of people here to answer whatever you may have.

 

[mayjoin]

Not in the slightest.

There are many different requirements for ride-alongs, dependent on which department.

Like he said, it's typically fairly monotonous. The 1% terror is a quite a bit of an over-statement, though.

You're only 15, so you have plenty of time to figure out what you want to do. Take a lot of science classes, do some ride-alongs, and even get your EMT and see if its still something you would like to do. I will let you know that very few people who start as EMTs will make this field a career, and most of them got into it because they wanted to help people. EMT and Paramedic are not the only ways to benefit your community. Hell, the garbage man benefits the community.

Best of luck. If you have specific questions, there are plenty of people here to answer whatever you may have.

Thanks for the reply! I have some more questions if you don't mind Are there any moments where you almost died? Have you ever caught an infectious disease from a patient? And, why is the Los Angeles area a bad place to work? Thanks in advance.

 

[STXmedic]

Lol! Almost die?! What do you actually think we do?! :lol: No, not at all. And I work in the barrio. If you work in Detroit, that might be a concern, but that's because you're in Detroit, not because you're an EMT.

I'm sure I've caught colds or stomach bugs from patients. I've also caught them from my siblings and spouse.

LA is a very saturated job market, with a ton of EMTs, but not enough jobs for them all. Pay isn't typically great unless you're affiliated with a fire department. SoCal so tends to be pretty behind the times on medical stuff (for EMTs and paramedics that is). There are plenty of SoCal guys on here that are more accurate and informative on the area than me, though.

 

[mayjoin]

Lol! Almost die?! What do you actually think we do?! :lol: No, not at all. And I work in the barrio. If you work in Detroit, that might be a concern, but that's because you're in Detroit, not because you're an EMT.

I'm sure I've caught colds or stomach bugs from patients. I've also caught them from my siblings and spouse.

LA is a very saturated job market, with a ton of EMTs, but not enough jobs for them all. Pay isn't typically great unless you're affiliated with a fire department. SoCal so tends to be pretty behind the times on medical stuff (for EMTs and paramedics that is). There are plenty of SoCal guys on here that are more accurate and informative on the area than me, though.

Thanks for the info. I am still thinking about how I will be able to get buy with a low pay. Maybe do a job on the side? Also, most calls aren't serious, correct? And, my dad doesn't want me to be a paramedic because he doesn't want me to get hurt, but I think he thinks it is way more dangerous than it is. Is it really that dangerous?

 

[STXmedic]

Why do you want to get by with low pay anyway? You're only 15. You have plenty of time to start a career path that doesn't end you up in borderline poverty. Most EMTs (and medics even), either work a lot of overtime and/or work a second job (or third).

As long as you don't drive like an :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored:, its not dangerous. The only thing you're likely to hurt is your back.

 

[mayjoin]

Why do you want to get by with low pay anyway? You're only 15. You have plenty of time to start a career path that doesn't end you up in borderline poverty. Most EMTs (and medics even), either work a lot of overtime and/or work a second job (or third).

As long as you don't drive like an :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored:, its not dangerous. The only thing you're likely to hurt is your back.

Thanks! All the info that you have given will definitely help me make my decision.

 

[Chewy20]

Ok, maybe .03% of the time where in makes your butt pucker. :unsure:

My recommendation is to also look at being an RN, just a thought. Since you are only 15 you have plenty of time to figure things out. Focus on doing well in high school.

 

[mayjoin]

Ok, maybe .03% of the time where in makes your butt pucker. :unsure:

My recommendation is to also look at being an RN. Just a thought, but since you are already 15, you have plenty of time to figure things out. Focus on doing well in high school.

What is an RN?

 

[Chewy20]

Registered Nurse. You can work in the emergency room, or basically in any other type of setting you can think of.

A lot of EMTs and Paramedics end up going this route due to the higher pay and not wanting to deal with the day-to-day EMS stuff.

I am by no means trying to discourage you, I am just letting you know a little bit about how it actually is.

 

[mayjoin]

Thanks. I appreciate it

 

[UnkiEMT]

This is my standard line I give to people who are interested in EMS:

<spiel>

EMS is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad job.

It's long hours, low pay, high stress, low recognition and you'll see things you wish you could unsee. That being said, if you're the right kind of crazy, it's the best job in the world.

EMS is not what you think it is, every once in a while, we go out to horrible car crashes and try to patch people up long enough to get them to the hospital, and every once in a while, we do CPR and shove tubes and drugs into someone who had a heart attack...much more often, though, we go pick up a little old lady who fell down and broke her hip, or a guy who's having a particularly bad asthma attack, or a young woman who's having a panic attack. While we may do some medical interventions for them, much more importantly, what we do is be nice to them, and calm for them, and we take them to the people who can really help. We do make a difference for those people, and if you can be happy making that difference, then this might be the job for you, if you need to be saving lives every day, then you might want to look elsewhere.

</spiel>

As others have said, the job really isn't dangerous. It's certainly is more dangerous than working as a mechanical engineer, but I'd say it's less dangerous than working as a gas station attendant. When we go out to a call that might be dangerous, we park half a mile away and wait for the cops to tell us it's safe. Probably the most dangerous thing we do on any sort of regular basis is walk around on the side of the road.

 

[mayjoin]

This is my standard line I give to people who are interested in EMS:

<spiel>

EMS is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad job.

It's long hours, low pay, high stress, low recognition and you'll see things you wish you could unsee. That being said, if you're the right kind of crazy, it's the best job in the world.

EMS is not what you think it is, every once in a while, we go out to horrible car crashes and try to patch people up long enough to get them to the hospital, and every once in a while, we do CPR and shove tubes and drugs into someone who had a heart attack...much more often, though, we go pick up a little old lady who fell down and broke her hip, or a guy who's having a particularly bad asthma attack, or a young woman who's having a panic attack. While we may do some medical interventions for them, much more importantly, what we do is be nice to them, and calm for them, and we take them to the people who can really help. We do make a difference for those people, and if you can be happy making that difference, then this might be the job for you, if you need to be saving lives every day, then you might want to look elsewhere.

</spiel>

As others have said, the job really isn't dangerous. It's certainly is more dangerous than working as a mechanical engineer, but I'd say it's less dangerous than working as a gas station attendant. When we go out to a call that might be dangerous, we park half a mile away and wait for the cops to tell us it's safe. Probably the most dangerous thing we do on any sort of regular basis is walk around on the side of the road.

Thanks. That is exactly why I want to be a paramedic. Not just to save lives once in a while, but to help people like you said with the asthma attack, grandma falling and breaking her hip, and the woman having a panic attack. I am totally fine with just helping people in that way.

 

[hitman196]

To help you out as much as I can. I am a 16 year old volunteer attendant with a private EMS company. I respond to calls on my shifts but stuck in a building for 12 hours like everyone else. I still have to talk to my supervisor if something goes wrong and he wants to talk to the crew. I can say its a lot of fun but not something to always take light hearted. You can have fun with it but sometimes you really have someone else's life in your hands. Though during the job your relatively safe just keep your eyes open if your near a road because people drive crazy.
Its long hours of boredom and chores with just a few moments of terror. Its also takes a lot mentally. I know people that quit the job from having one or two bad calls because this kind of stuff can mess with you. You also have to have a strong stomach because you will see blood and have people throwing up.I'm not trying to discourage you just trying to show what it is really like.
If you are serious about trying it out talk to local EMS agency's and see if they do ride along's so you can get a feel for it all.

 

[STXmedic]

What is all of this terror people are referring to? What are you constituting as terror? It's probably just hyperbole, but things should be made more clear when you're trying to help somebody make an informed decision on a career choice. Saying there's any bit of terror at all in this job is very misleading. That, or I may just have a different definition of terror than most, (though I doubt it's the latter).

 

[Ewok Jerky]

I was wondering, should I become an EMT or a paramedic? Do you guys have any tips or advice for me?

1-Go to college
2-join campus volly ems squad
3- go to medical school
4-become an emergency physician

 

[STXmedic]

1-Go to college
2-join campus volly ems squad
3- go to medical school
4-become an emergency physician

This is the advice I wish somebody would've given me when I was in high school

 

[hitman196]

What is all of this terror people are referring to? What are you constituting as terror? It's probably just hyperbole, but things should be made more clear when you're trying to help somebody make an informed decision on a career choice. Saying there's any bit of terror at all in this job is very misleading. That, or I may just have a different definition of terror than most, (though I doubt it's the latter).

Oh sorry the kind of terror I was more talking about was just prepping while en-route because even that can be a lot or first entry into an unknown building. I have gotten some calls under my belt and with each one i'm learning more and getting more used to the job. The biggest things that make my heart sink every time still is going to a altered mental status or Unknown illness/reason calls because then you are going into a unknown building for unknown reasons with sometimes people cursing and swinging. Though these calls aren't as common as some think.