North Carolina

CloudofBlack90

CloudofBlack90

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Hey guys, looking to make a move to North Carolina soon to be closer to family, more than likely the Cumberland Co area. Any one have any input as to any good services for a full time EMT? I'm willing to take a pay cut, i just won't be able to take a drastic one.

So shoot with the services and starting salaries please.
 
EMS in North Carolina is at the county level.

Cumberland County / Cape Fear Valley EMS is in Cumberland County.

If you're willing to drive, Wake County EMS, Cary EMS, and Eastern Wake EMS seem like better options.

I spent some time commuting to a job in Cumberland County and I don't have much positive to say about the region. In fact I haven't met a single person that has something positive to say about the region as far as career / quality of life goes.

Good luck!
 
That's what I've been hearing from a few friends as well. I'd have to look into commute times. Any clue on the salary for those other counties?
 
Bumping this up. Considering a move to the Charlotte area (Northern suburbs) in the next 2 years and researching jobs. If anyone works for Mecklenburg EMS or for any of the surrounding counties, or Atrium Health since I see that they use medics in the ER and for event coverage, please DM me with your thoughts on the job. Much appreciated.
 
OceanBossMan263 said:
Bumping this up. Considering a move to the Charlotte area (Northern suburbs) in the next 2 years and researching jobs. If anyone works for Mecklenburg EMS or for any of the surrounding counties, or Atrium Health since I see that they use medics in the ER and for event coverage, please DM me with your thoughts on the job. Much appreciated.
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I have not done EMS in Charlotte since leaving my job as a flight nurse with MedCenter Air (Atrium) in 2012, so I can't tell you anything about working as a paramedic there right now, but what I can tell you is that Charlotte has changed a lot in the past decade. Cost of living - especially real estate - has gone up much faster than average. It used to be a pretty cheap place to live for a growing urban area; it no longer is. Traffic has become pretty insane on most of the major routes during commuting time, as well. Same is true (even more so, probably) of Asheville, which I now live closer to than CLT.

Personally, I still think Charlotte is a good place, it's just much busier and more of a big city than it used to be. I'm only pointing that out you know to really do your homework on housing costs and commute times and such. You used to not have to worry about those issues much in the CLT area.
 
OceanBossMan263 said:
Bumping this up. Considering a move to the Charlotte area (Northern suburbs) in the next 2 years and researching jobs. If anyone works for Mecklenburg EMS or for any of the surrounding counties, or Atrium Health since I see that they use medics in the ER and for event coverage, please DM me with your thoughts on the job. Much appreciated.
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@OceanBossMan263, any particular reason you are moving to the Charlotte area? Anecdotally, I've heard MEDIC sucks (Street corner posting, high turnover, treated like a number, etc), but there are plenty of places in the state that are decent, depending on what you are looking for. Personally, if I wanted to work and/or live in a big city (or urban $#!*hole), I would have stayed up in Jersey, or accepted the position in NYC when it was offered.

But if you are looking for a high volume, run from the start of shift to the end of shift, and gain lots of experience, it's likely not a bad shot. and the bigger counties tend to pay better than the smaller ones. If you want to check out the Mecklenburg EMS protocols, you can find them at https://www.medic911.com/wp-content...ols-ALS-Patient-Care-Protocols-2020-05-01.pdf

Special event EMS is always fun, and I highly recommend it (although covid has put a kibosh on it)

Because you obtained your paramedic via a non-traditional route, I would check with https://info.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/EMS/resopros.htm and confirm it will be accepted in NC. It's not the quickest of processes, so you will want to know if you have any hiccups before you move. oh, and hope you like Sweet Tea

OceanBossMan263 said:
I'd be leaving Long Island, so the COL would probably still be a net positive
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my 3 BR condo in the suburbs was $240k... I recently bought a 3 BR house in the city limits for $170k. Salary initially took a hit (public sector jobs don't pay nearly as well as in NJ), but since I have changed careers, I have far exceeded what I was making in NJ.
 
I have family in the area, which makes it a more attractive location to relocate than some others, as it won't be a complete unknown for our family

My full-time job now is in code enforcement and fire/building inspection, which is also on the table. I'm currently going through the pre-approval process for reciprocity on that certification. Exploring all options before committing to a moving plan.
 
Good job double checking on reciprocity. NC can be a bit of a pain in the neck to get transferred into sometimes. As far as area wide, most of your county agencies are good. There are some private agencies, obviously some better than others *cough, cough, stay away from Medic, cough cough*

Charlotte/Mecklenburg is busy. If you have any interest in going further west, Asheville area, RTS through Mission Hospital is pretty good. Mission was recently bought by HCA, but my understanding is that MAMA/RTS have not been effected by that as much as other parts of the hospital. Best of luck to you!
 
Wilmington, is great. Hospital based EMS and CCT, New Hanover county.
They also have special response medics assigned to a crash truck
most agencies in NC are County Government based
most agencies have a start rate around 4-45k
Its a little more of a drive but also look at Dare County NC
They have their own helo that is staffed by the county paramedics
 
I used to work in Dare and was Hired in New Hanover, years ago, im sure some things have changed
Currently live in Charlotte, Let me know if I can help with anything
 
Avoid MEDIC at all costs. I guarantee you will be nothing more than a number to them. Busy all shift, no breaks, system status postings...so yeah, MEDIC is terrible
 
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