I am very used to high volume ems in a metro setting (Cleveland/ Youngstown) are very busy places for the most part so that don’t bother me!
So I looked up both cleveland and youngstown... they are an hour away from each other.... so my out-of-state eyebrow would be raised if you lumped them both in as a similar type of system. Also, high volume is a relative term depending on where you work. That's like me saying I used to work in a high volume EMS system (NYC/Small town NJ), where the latter only got 1500 calls a year; but it was only a 45 minute drive to NYC. You can't really group them together, and if you didn't actually work in Cleveland, I wouldn't say you did (unless you did, and I misread something).
And for the record, Cleveland EMS was hiring recently.
Your pay in NJ as an EMT is awesome, that’s very good and I don’t expect EMTs or medics anywhere to be a lavish amount but Ohio truly is a low paying state and a lot of ppl are right where I am, moving on and away!
the agency I worked for was either the top or 2nd higher paying agency in the state..... so I wouldn't call it the norm, but like with all jobs, the better paying ones often have a lot of applicants for a few spots. I used to say that I wouldn't get out of bed for less than $12 an hour, but there are plenty of people in EMS who work for less than that.
Also, when you look at salary, you need to look at cost of living too/ my taxes were 5x as much in NJ as they are in NC; and my cousin is renting a 2 BR / 2 BA apartment in Manhattan, and paying 6,000 a month; so if he is making 100,000+ a year, you can see where a lot of his funding is going (and no, he doesn't work in EMS)
I have an old supervisor of mine for metro in Youngstown who left to work in NC and he also loves it! I can’t seem to have the desire yet to move south but never know, if the opportunity is great and its a department/ municipality then I won’t be stupid and pass it up!
One thing to remember about NC: EMS is very much a county responsibilities, so the county's tend to run the EMS system, or outsource it, or manage the franchise's. It also means that 100 different counties operate differently, pay differently, and have different schedules, and if you have seen one county, you have seen one county. Your former supervisor might love where he works (and what's not to love, really?), but they might not be hiring. or if you do get hired by his agency, you might find yourself miserable; then what are you going to do? There are plenty of opportunities out there (
https://news.ncems.org/employment is probably a great place to start for NC EMS jobs, followed by the particular agency's websites), especially once you get your P card.
To add, I’m 33 turning 34 this month so clocks ticking for larger departments for me!
this is true, civil service might stop you at 35...I moved to NC at 32, work PT for a FD, and know many people that were hired later in life. Age doesn't matter, it's all in how you do the job. And I'm sure there are other agencies like that as well.
That being said, what do you want to do? if you want to be a full time big city firefighter (and there is nothing wrong with that), than find 10-20 departments that you want to work for, research what is needed for them to hire you, and spend the next 13 months traveling all over the US taking all the tests you can find. If that's your goal, do it. And if you are unsuccessful in those 13 months, you still have the ability to do something else.
You said you fell in love with EMS; does that mean being on the engine full time is something you are willing to give up on? because many EMS only agencies don't have any age limits.
One last thing: you have a another pretty face in your profile picture: What does she want to do? is she moving with you? can her job or occupation transfer to anywhere? What is the job market for her industry? My sig other moved to NC with me, and she has been having issues finding a full time and permanent job down here in her field.
