So tough to get hired...?

fortsmithman said:
It's perfectly OK to apply to more than one company. You should apply to as many as you can.
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No, he means apply again at the same company.

Personally, I wouldn't.
 
daedalus said:
To be clear, I am not discouraging you from prehospital medicine, just challenging you to look at all of your options and weigh the advantages and disadvantages to each career. For example, it is very tough to make a living as a paramedic in California unless you become a firefighter as well. Perhaps that is what you want to do, and in that case, pursue a fire academy as well. The places I listed for employment in my first post in this thread highlight the better places to work in California as a private paramedic. Second, medicine is a fascinating field right now. Look into becoming a respiratory therapist or registered nurse as well, because they have a lot more education, respect, and pay than we do at the moment. An RN with ER or ICU experience may also become a Critical Care Transport RN and work in an ambulance as well.

If you passion lies in EMS, never let someone tell you other wise.
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Daedalus makes some excellent points, and you'd be wise to listen. It really is difficult to make a living as a Paramedic in California if you're not a firefighter also. On that end of things, it's also incredibly difficult to get picked up as a Firefighter, and many departments preferentially hire Paramedics. In this current economic environment, expect that public safety agencies are going to be VERY careful about hiring anyone... especially after they've just had to consider (or actually have to) lay off personnel.

If you already have the educational background, you could go into another area of medicine, such as RT, RN, PA, or other allied field. Be forewarned though, many of those programs are impacted and entry to those programs can be challenging.

Look back at your educational work and see what you need to follow your passion. You might surprise yourself. Once you've set yourself on a course to follow that passion, don't let anyone but you change your course.
 
EMTinNEPA said:
No, he means apply again at the same company.

Personally, I wouldn't.
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I wouldn't either... until the application is no longer on file... and that depends entirely on the company's application retention policy.
 
If you re-apply be sure to turn in a duplicate!

No, read the answers above.
How about moving? I left "SoCal" in 1975 and never regretted it.

Get a day job for money, satisfy your prehospital cravings with DMAT, MRC, other volunteer stuff. Get a job as a lifeguard, you can be saving lives almost immediately.
 
mycrofft said:
...Get a job as a lifeguard, you can be saving lives almost immediately.
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Well...I wouldn't say immediatetly...I think I can say most of us former lifeguards here probably never had to do CPR during our junior life saving career.
 
CPR usually isn't saving lives if the pt really needs it.

>90% won't make it. My personal theory is the survivors didn't need it in the first place, and I have anecdotes which support it.;)
I meant save, not resuscitate. I made my first save the second week of a summer job (nonswimmer in lake water a foot deeper than he was tall) and went on for about three more outright saves and a dozen assists to prevent saves. No resuscitations, we were fast and we were lucky.:ph34r:
Or THEY were lucky!:glare:
 
Ah okay I get ya. Guess I'm in that mentality that it doesn't count as a save until you start seeing NSR on the monitor. But you're right, by all means that is "saving" another person in the simplest respects.
 
Agencies misfile applications all the time. A good strategy would be to call HR to ask about the "status of your application" every several weeks or so, to show continued interest.

From what I've read, the single role EMS (non fire) job market/pay seems abysmal. Consider moving. Southwest ambulance in AZ mght be an option. I've read good things about Texas as well.
 
i wouldn't really recommend moving to AZ to work for southwest... they might have a 20 year pension, but the pay is poor... like 12.75 for paramedic.... YIKES!!

have you looked for working as a ER tech?
 
HNcorpsman said:
i wouldn't really recommend moving to AZ to work for southwest... they might have a 20 year pension, but the pay is poor... like 12.75 for paramedic.... YIKES!!

have you looked for working as a ER tech?
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Damn, that's ghetto! If that's based on a 40 hour workweek, that's no good. If it's based on a 56 hour workweek, it may be liveable.
 
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I just entered the job search with you and I live in Arizona and I can tell you that it's not any better here. I'm going to submit a resume to Southwest Ambulance but right now their website shows no openings. Good luck! :)
 
Yeah, most of openings for EMT-B and P will be in Po Dunk nowhere. The best places to work in AZ are gonna be Tucson, Phoenix surrounding areas, and flagstaff... I think southwest only operates in the PIMA county area (tucson) Phoenix and flagstaff I believe are operated by Rural/Metro...

I think you should look into ER Tech jobs...
 
Hi everyone,

Thanks for the great replies the last few days. Moving isn't an option for me now, but I'll definitely be considering it in the future. And I'll keep applying, researching the paramedic schools, and definitely considering ER tech jobs.

Thanks for the luck, right back atcha for those looking for a job =)

HNcorpsman said:
i wouldn't really recommend moving to AZ to work for southwest... they might have a 20 year pension, but the pay is poor... like 12.75 for paramedic.... YIKES!!

have you looked for working as a ER tech?
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And on that note, no, I haven't considered being an ER tech. I don't believe this qualifies as experience towards becoming a paramedic so... =/
 
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Ventura County Has a MRC... you might wanna start there
 
Let me put my two cents in:

When nursing wasn't going to work out for me, I was apprehensive about going into EMS because EMT-Bs are a dime a dozen. What's more, employment opportunities are tight here in Western Maine, a poor area of a poor state. However, my mother-in-law (an LPN) advised me that because becoming a basic is so easy, many people who get hired are... well... not so great. There is usually someone being fired at any given point.

To boost my credentials, I took several A&P courses. I am still working on getting a health science certificate, which requires another semester. I am also working on becoming an Intermediate.

Until then, I work per diem, and get called in enough to try and impress the staff. I'm hoping for the best, and I think with a little more education and a visible passion for patient care, there is no need to worry about lack of a job.
 
bro, what do you mean it doesn't qualify as experience... you will learn alot as an ER tech, probably more so than an EMT-B... plus you might get the opportunity become Phlebotomy certified, which will help when you start doing IVs as a Paramedic... Maybe even ACLS certified as well..
 
HNcorpsman said:
bro, what do you mean it doesn't qualify as experience... you will learn alot as an ER tech, probably more so than an EMT-B...
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HN, most of the Paramedic schools in California, with the experience requirement also state that a certain amount of it (6 of the 12 months for where I want to go) be "prehospital." Sure, doing discharges for that time isn't truly prehospital, but for some reason they count that over ER Tech.... ER Tech DOES count towards PA school though....
 
Hey man, I just got certified in Aug in missouri, still looking for a job right now. Keep looking, jobs open, but they get snatched up quick.

we had 3 full time EMT B jobs at a local hospital, and 4 more PT and Per Diems
it's only been 2 weeks. and the FT are already gone. I probably should have Applied then, even when my certification were pending.

But i'm applying for a transport comp right now. I get what other folks are saying about volunteering. keep the skills sharp, and more importantly, keep your ears in the community, you'll get a better idea where they might be opening.

heck, talk to your old EMT instructor about it. he/she might know something.
Good luck.
 
HNcorpsman said:
Yeah, most of openings for EMT-B and P will be in Po Dunk nowhere. The best places to work in AZ are gonna be Tucson, Phoenix surrounding areas, and flagstaff... I think southwest only operates in the PIMA county area (tucson) Phoenix and flagstaff I believe are operated by Rural/Metro...

I think you should look into ER Tech jobs...
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Hmm, Im currently a student but when I got out I was hoping to look for a Job. Ive done some research and apparently lots of people who work/or have worked for southwest hate it. So I have to ask, do you know any place that would hire an 18 yo EMT B? I mean, I also plan to go straight to medic school right after but it would be nice to have a job, and get my foot in the door. Also, I currently live in Peoria if that helps.
 
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