Seeing as how things are today, and into the future, would you suggest EMS as a caree

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Seeing as how things are today, and into the future, would you suggest EMS as a career to somebody?

Hi, first post :-)

I am not currently a Medic, or EMT. I am definitely interested in the field. However, I am doing some preliminary investigation, as I am not even taking a class yet.

At the current moment in time, I only have two questions, so I will just list em. I may have more questions, at a later time. Thanks in advance to all those who reply.

1. What do you see as the future of EMS? Do you subscribe to EMS 2.0? Do you currently see a paramedic shortage or surplus? Do you consider your salary rising, or falling? Do a lot of people burn out? Are you a supervisor? Do you have an associates, or bachelors?

2. How can I, in the most efficient way, pull up a list of county, city, or state jobs where the Paramedics run 911, and are not required to be firefighters?
 
No, not for a living, but it can be a good thing to learn and to gain experience about people. It has a thick glass ceiling and walls, you will basically start over if you go to nursing or medical school other than the personal growth potential.
 
In countries other than the USA you can have a career in EMS. Because only in the USA can someone flipping burgers at a fast food joint make more than a EMT or paramedic.
 
it's a great job as long as you are independantly wealthy
 
No, it's better suited as a hobby or accessory training.
 
This has been discussed ad nauseam. There are very few single role paramedic agencies offer true career positions. That is, a competitive salary, obtainable and sustainable retirement, promotional ladder and an environment that embraces professional growth and education. These will primarily be third service agencies. Almost no private agencies will offer a package that makes for a long term sustainable career.

As to your questions, there is a real shortage of qualified, competent paramedics. There is no shortage of warm bodies to fill a seat. If your agency has a rigorous hiring process, you'll see that recruiting suitable medics is a full time job.

I find my salary quite livable, I receive frequent increases and there are frequent promotional opportunities. I work for a "career agency". But, this is my second career, so I chose where I live and work based on the fact that I'd be here for the duration.

I believe that EMS 2.0 is a frequently bandied about phrase that has no clear mission. What does it mean to you? Better wages? Better protocols? Advanced practice opportunities? If you are working for a progressive agency, you're already living EMS 2.0. The majority of bottom feeders just need to catch up.

As far as a list of agencies that employ non fire 911 medics; do some research on areas where you might want to live and start googling.
 
Some interesting responses so far. I am still reading the thread, I'm just not quite sure if I have anything else to add yet..

Thanks everyone, for your thoughts so far.
 
I would say that you can make a career out of it, but with one huge caveat: You need to come in with realistic expectations.

1. If you think you'll be running cool traumas and cardiac arrests most of the time, you're wrong (and with the way training in EMS is set up, this is what many people expect, which leads to burn out.)

2. If you think that you'll be treating people who lead meaningful lives and contribute to society most of the time, you're wrong. The people who get sick the most are poor people. I enjoy working with this population because you never know what to expect, but others get sick of dealing with people who wont take care of themselves, which is understandable.

3. Expect to move if you want a job that pays well enough to have a family and gives you promotional opportunity and job satisfaction. The fact is that there aren't many of these places, especially if you aren't interested in a fire job, which I'm not.

4. There are opportunities for advancement, just not as many as in other fields. Supervisory positions are often given out because of favoritism rather than qualifications, but they are available in many places. You can also participate in research, though the EMS research field is not huge. If you can get a degree positions will open up in education too, a path I'm seriously considering.

If you can take all of this into account and still want to go for it, then you can certainly do it. There are ways, with a bit of experience as a paramedic, to make a career for yourself either as a street medic or perhaps as a researcher, supervisor, or educator, but getting to a place to allow you to do this will probably require you to move or to further your education (or both.) Good luck with deciding. A few months ago I was planning to use EMS as a stepping stone to PA School (still might) and now I'm looking for ways to further my education to help EMS grow into something I would be proud of, so these are some issues I've been struggling with lately myself.
 
It all depends where you work. There are definitely places where you can work as a medic or EMT and make a decent living doing work you like with people you like.
 
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