McCormick starting pay is currently minimum wage. I got a 3% pay bump after a year (works out to 30 something cents) for having a good eval, apparently, the 3% was the max yearly bump, but we'll see how that changes with the changes to the county and state minimum wage laws.
However, despite the low pay, the biggest draw for new EMTs coming to McCormick over places like AMR or Care is the fact that everyone runs virtually 100% 911 calls. There is some IFTs, but it's more like one once in a while. We have no IFT only units. Even the medic units are in the 911 rotation (where they run as a BLS unit due to the County EMS politics we all know and love
). Even as a new employee on a day car, you'll still run tons more 911 calls than IFTs.
New employees typically start off on 12 hour "Day Cars" (though roughly half of them are actually 11 1/2 hours long and the rest are a full 12 hours, with no apparent rhyme or reason I've ever been able to figure out for the difference), though there's always openings on the station based 24 hour units. Once you clear training you can pick up overtime at any opening at any station to your hearts content essentially.....if you manage to catch the schedule as it's posted, you may even be able to snag an OT shift on one of the coveted Malibu units! (though openings on those are......less rare than down in busier areas such as Willowbrook or Lynwood or Hawthorne lol). They've changed the rule recently but I do believe it's currently after 3 months you can start to bid on stations. (Just be aware that while you can bid on Malibu stations 19 and 20.....you're bid will be in the back of a loooonnnggg line of other bids for those coveted spots, you'll have much more luck bidding somewhere like Ladera Heights, less busy then down in Inglewood, but still not known as a "vacation station" lol. I have a shift bid in for our West Hollywood station (Station 4), I placed that one maybe 6 months ago now? Word is there's still a couple people in line in front of me for when openings there occur)
You don't really hear too much of people leaving for other ambulance companies. Unless you're talking about people who get their medic then leave for somewhere like AMR Ventura or Rancho or the like. So I guess there's not much of any widespread dissatisfaction problems. Now, of course, you get a room of us together we can ***** and gripe and complain about the company all day long if you let us lol, but honestly, that's really gonna be true no matter where you go. After being here a little longer than a year I only know of one person who left for another ambulance company (Care) who wasn't fired first and everyone else I know that has plans to leave, those plans all involve either going Fire, or Police or Nursing or PA or Med school....so unlike some other companies I've worked for in the past, there's not really any exodus of people getting hired than fleeing for other companies after a few months lol
New hire orientation (at least at the time I went through) is 5 days long, mostly classroom stuff with a skills day, then you get assigned to an FTO and you work 5 shifts (12 hours) on their shift as a third rider doing Field Training. Then you have to pass a policy test and a mapping test. Pass those and you get assigned to a shift, wherever they need you at that time. You'll be an "Attendant Only" i.e. not allowed to drive for the first 3 to 6 months until they have an EVOC class (classroom plus cone course) then you find an FTO and do 3 drivers training shifts before you're allowed to drive.
