Realism Or Passion

[BHammond1]

I've been interested in the EMS field for years now, and when I signed up for an EMT class I was excited that I would be finally able to follow that dream. When my boss came to me and said that he wouldn't be able to switch my schedule around and that I'd probably have to drop out of the class, I was deeply disappointed.

Since that time, I've been truly weighing the passion that I feel for emergency services versus the nature of my life at the moment. I'm currently working in social services, and the type of shift work I do is apparently not conducive to any local classes. A nearby ambulance company offers a free class that runs full-time for a month, but with rent and bills I can't afford to go without a job for that long.

I'm currently in the process of applying to be a trainee with Louisville Metro EMS, but that process will take months and I just interviewed today for a new job. I'd be ecstatic if I was offered a position with Louisville, but I don't want to be a bum and quit a new job I just picked up.

I'm considering pursuing a MSW degree because of my time spent and interest in social services, which is a career I think I would like and that I am good at. It just sucks, because every time I hear an ambulance or a fire truck my heart starts racing.

Honestly, a lot of my opinions about the emergency services are probably a wee bit idealized and I've never had the opportunity to grasp a first-hand look at any of the services from a provider standpoint. But with a (hopefully) new wife in the next year or so and with attempting to build a successful life for myself, I wonder if I am realistically able to commit the time and money towards this type of career that it deserves.

I'm not looking for a pity party, I thought that I would take a moment to vent. I'd like to see if anyone on here had any ideas or comments about this issue, which would definitely be appreciated. I guess I'm just a young man trying to build a life and a career for himself and therefore struggling between his dreams and the world.

 

[Akulahawk]

If you're good at social services, continue down that path. Get your MSW and get going with your career. Build up some vacation time or figure out how to temporarily switch your work around and take the EMT course. That's probably going to be an itch you're going to have to wait to scratch. Also consider this: as an MSW, your pay will greatly exceed that of any regular EMT and you'll have more employment avenues open to you.

 

[Aerin-Sol]

I don't know how much your schedule shifts, but I took my class here: http://www.life-savers.org/Scheduledcourses.html

with this time frame:

Class Times: Saturdays 7:30am -4:30pm

It sucks getting up so early, but that may be your only option.

I don't know if you know the pay rates in the area, but the private services start off at $10/hr and Metro is $13.something/hr. Would that be a good salary for you? Could you support your potential family on that? What about compared to your potential options with a MSW?

One nice option you have, if you're able to complete your training, is to work per diem at the ambulance company who offers the month-long class. You could just call in on days that you're not at the social work job and see if there's an open shift. You could scratch your itch while keeping a real job.

 

[firetender]

You're stuck with this...

EMS is the kind of thing that if you hafta do it, you hafta do it. Romantic, nonsensical, all of it, but underneath it all, I'm wondering if there's stuff about LIFE that you're really itching to learn and you sense there's no better classroom.

Bottom line is, passion will do whatever it can to bug you into something that everyone else knows will ruin everything.