Jobs in Washington State for a newbie?

They do the transports for JBLM fire.
 
I did consider going the RN route, Idk though.. I mean I know being a RN pay wise is hella a lot better than what I'll be getting into, But unsure if its going to 'drive' me. EMT/Paramedic/Fire is something I feel I have a passion for. I rather stick to that passion first ha
 
FireWA1 said:
They do the transports for JBLM fire.
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Strange they'd post at the ER.

Oxygenforeverybody said:
I did consider going the RN route, Idk though.. I mean I know being a RN pay wise is hella a lot better than what I'll be getting into, But unsure if its going to 'drive' me. EMT/Paramedic/Fire is something I feel I have a passion for. I rather stick to that passion first ha
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Without a doubt.
 
Just apply to Falck AMR Rural Metro trimed Northwest. Rural might not be the best option since they just lost another contract to Falck.
 
I was also curious to any of the Fire / medic types here. What sources could I use to get a head start on FF1? I already have my firefighting background from the Navy and its Damage control handbook, but I know shipboard firefighting is different than civilian in some ways.

As for WA I hear I need to do a 7 hour aids/hiv course? Is that face / face or can it be done online?

Any other cert or things I should be striving to get now as well? Like I know EVOC is something I need just unsure how to get it at the moment.
 
The HIV AIDS can be done online for about 20-60 dollars depending on what you can find. And it will really only take about 30 minutes to do.

The getting your ff1 best option is to get hired full time or volunteer. Buckley fire in Pierce county has volunteer fire medics. They will sponsor you for your paramedic and they will send you to an academy to get your fire certs.
 
FireWA1 said:
The HIV AIDS can be done online for about 20-60 dollars depending on what you can find. And it will really only take about 30 minutes to do.

The getting your ff1 best option is to get hired full time or volunteer. Buckley fire in Pierce county has volunteer fire medics. They will sponsor you for your paramedic and they will send you to an academy to get your fire certs.
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Whats the volunteer hours look like? I would have to juggle a job as well + kids. I would much rather get into a paid gig than anything
 
Rural Metro pays ok. I think 16-17 an hour starting for a paramedic. And I'm not sure what the volunteer hours requirement would be. The paid fire gigs are hard to come by. But keep an eye on Hanford fire. I hear they are hiring 6-8 every 6 months.
 
There is a link on the last page of the reciprocity package that will give you all the options for the aids training. Plenty of online options.



Oxygenforeverybody said:
I was also curious to any of the Fire / medic types here. What sources could I use to get a head start on FF1? I already have my firefighting background from the Navy and its Damage control handbook, but I know shipboard firefighting is different than civilian in some ways.

As for WA I hear I need to do a 7 hour aids/hiv course? Is that face / face or can it be done online?

Any other cert or things I should be striving to get now as well? Like I know EVOC is something I need just unsure how to get it at the moment.
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There
 
waaaemt said:
Wow you got plenty of experience that will count towards points! Like Drax says you won't have too much trouble I think. If you really want to milk school though, I would suggest going through nursing school, getting your RN. Then you can do a 2 week RN to paramedic transition. this way you can make $40 an hour as a nurse while testing for a FF medic job. Or you could do CCT transport which if you worked for Northwest ambulance in marysville, you make $90,000 a year starting, working two 24s a week. wishing I had done that back in the day...
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Im actually considering this option now. Ive been back and forth inregards to Nursing.. As its a lot fo school and Ive never been to fond of school. But being that FF jobs are hard to come by as it is, I figure I could go where the pay is at to provide best for my family. Still a lot of thought process though..

Appreciate all the awesome feedback nonetheless.


Looking at the 'averages' of pay in WA state, EMT's make pretty decent money honestly and Im sure me and my wife could live comfortable with that, Going to become a Paramedic would be a increase but not by much according to the 'average' depending on the area.

Going the route of RN would jump a lot in regards to average starting salary. Don't you have to get accepted into Nursing school though?
 
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Sadly the average pays are misleading. They incorporate firefighter pays. Average starting pay is between 12.50 an hour to 15 an hour depending on where you work. And if you live in a box that would be comfortable pay. But sadly not much else.
 
I believe I will be looking into starting up in nursing in the Spring of 2017. It seems a better route for the long run / retirement / family.
 
Oxygenforeverybody said:
I believe I will be looking into starting up in nursing in the Spring of 2017. It seems a better route for the long run / retirement / family.
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Bottom line, you're gonna struggle for the first 2-3 years. It is kinda up to you, in my opinion, with your life experience, if you dedicated that focus into becoming a career firefighter versus a nurse, you would probably get hired.

But it is the same level of dedication. If you spend 8 hours a day 5 days a week in a classroom trying to become a nurse, to become a career firefighter you'd need to do the same, 8 hours a day 5 days a week minimum, researching, doing ride-alongs, volunteering, taking advanced courses in firefighting, maybe even going to school and taking fire science courses.

Guess it all boils down to what you want to do in life. My wife and I had a serious talk about about a timeline for when it was time to begin focusing on something else, so for a period of six years I would get to devote myself to just fire. I was serious about it, and got hired just after my second year of pursuing it.
 
Drax said:
Bottom line, you're gonna struggle for the first 2-3 years. It is kinda up to you, in my opinion, with your life experience, if you dedicated that focus into becoming a career firefighter versus a nurse, you would probably get hired.

But it is the same level of dedication. If you spend 8 hours a day 5 days a week in a classroom trying to become a nurse, to become a career firefighter you'd need to do the same, 8 hours a day 5 days a week minimum, researching, doing ride-alongs, volunteering, taking advanced courses in firefighting, maybe even going to school and taking fire science courses.

Guess it all boils down to what you want to do in life. My wife and I had a serious talk about about a timeline for when it was time to begin focusing on something else, so for a period of six years I would get to devote myself to just fire. I was serious about it, and got hired just after my second year of pursuing it.
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You're right. Nurse doesn't seem like a bad gig and the pay is definitely worth it in the long run. Firefighting pay wise isn't great compared to a Nurse but being a FF would be awesome. I got a fwe months to figure out what i really want to do.
 
I don't think I would mind being a Nurse, Perhaps i need to get a job as a ER tech to get a better feel for it. I did a shift in the ER as a tech for school and I loved it.. Definitely a bit more 'layed' back even though I was in the ER and **** was going.. Still in my opinion a lot less 'hectic' than a Ambulance shift. But than again I only did ONE er shift and ONE Ambluance shift.

Reason for the change was for my family. Though being a career firefighter is still decent pay no doubt, just as much as being a career Medic. Going the route of Nurse will probably be better in the long run and living comfortably for my family is priority.
 
Oxygenforeverybody said:
I don't think I would mind being a Nurse, Perhaps i need to get a job as a ER tech to get a better feel for it. I did a shift in the ER as a tech for school and I loved it.. Definitely a bit more 'layed' back even though I was in the ER and **** was going.. Still in my opinion a lot less 'hectic' than a Ambulance shift. But than again I only did ONE er shift and ONE Ambluance shift.

Reason for the change was for my family. Though being a career firefighter is still decent pay no doubt, just as much as being a career Medic. Going the route of Nurse will probably be better in the long run and living comfortably for my family is priority.
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Nursing isn't a bad gig, sounds right for you, good luck!
 
Looking into several of the Ambulance companies in which yall listed, Getting ready to put in applications probably in June-ish (I will be in WA late June) As well figuring out which school to attend to get my CNA or NAC as WA state calls it. From what I was told all the ED/ER techs in WA that are EMT-B also have a CNA/NAC license as well or they're Paramedics.

So I figure Ill try to find something part time while attending school for CNA and than working on my pre reqs for Nursing.

Just felt like updating on things

OH and also about to do this HIV/AIDS course online for like 35$ ha.
 
Some EDs will hire you and then put you through that. Good Samaritan is one I think that does.
 
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