My manager told me I needed to ask >60 days in advance. I only asked 35 days in advance. I don't know the rules enough to challenge him. I am annoyed, but a month should be enough time for me to find coverage. If I don't find coverage, I am the type of person to show up even if I don't want to.
I don't feel like I have any good options job wise. I could talk about it all day. I am really screwed job wise.
- When I left the ambulance, I was a top step paramedic that got paid an additional $1/hour for being a field training officer. You got that $1/hour even if you didn't have a trainee. My pay was $102k annually and it would be $105k today if I was still with the company. Since I left, they will only match me up to step 3, which would be about $81k annually. I would have no seniority for shift bids so I'd work the worst areas and worst hours. It's also super busy.
- When I got hired onto flight, I was offered $78k annually working twice a week. Our schedule was different from everyone else. I ALWAYS worked Friday and Sunday, which resulted in slightly more hours and higher pay.
- Since I worked in California, I got paid overtime after 8 hours and double time after 12 hours. This would reset at midnight. Compared to someone working outside of California with the same pay rate, this is about a $15k annual pay difference.
- They closed my base and I was pretty much put into a position where I could only do travel. The closest base to me is 2 hours, but it is full staffed. My base that closed was 3 hours away.
- When they switched me to travel, I didn't know it immediately, but I lost my daily overtime and double time. My pay went from $78k annually to $63k annually. They were unwilling to renegotiate my pay because I'd be getting a $20k "bonus". I get $4k 3 months in, $4k 6 months in, $4k 1 year in, and $8k 1.5 years in. If I leave early, I am suppose to give this money back, but supposedly they haven't been going after this money. I think with my luck, they'd probably make an example of me.
- They realized they weren't paying market pay. They made a big deal about increasing everyone pay a lot around the same time they were doing this performance review/cost of living adjustment as well. You get up to a 3% increase, but it's based on your performance review. So they were going to increase everyone hourly pay to a competitive rate plus give up to 3% pay increase based on performance. I got a 7 cent raise. When I confronted them on it, they said that travelers already got paid market rate, but not regular flight paramedics so they brought them up to the level that travel paramedics make. I told them I was a regular flight paramedic forced into travel and my pay decreased going to travel! We went back and forth a couple of times, but they were unwilling to renegotiate my pay. The people that didn't screwed like me, that got to stay in California, they got huge pay increases. Then I asked about my 3% performance review thing. What happened to it? We didn't have a base lead at my base so they gave all these tasks to the travelers like me. They also asked for volunteers to do some extra things, and well, I volunteered thinking it would help with my performance review. I really wanted that 3%. They said travelers don't get it. This is the second time I've missed out on that 3% cost of living adjustment performance review thing. For the most part, my pay has only gone down with time at this company...
- At my current base, the new flight paramedic, no prior flight experience, gets paid $6/hour more than I do.
- I feel like I am blacklisted with the only other local flight company that's local to me. It doesn't sound like they have a travel position so I would have to move to get a flight job not with my company. I am unwilling to move.
I could keep trying for that flight company that I feel blacklisted at, but even if they did eventually offer me a job, would they be the same or better than my current company? I don't have a ton of confidence in them.
- After waiting a month to do a fly along with them, they canceled it the night before at 9 PM citing that they wanted to fly flight nurse candidates first. For months, I didn't hear back.
- I got my FP-C, reached out to their HR saying I wanted to update my applications, but they didn't reply back.
- I finally got hired at my current flight job and withdrew my apps. My current company closed the base I was at and I accepted the travel position. By then, Christmas morning... this flight company that I feel blacklisted at contacted me saying they wanted to interview me and asked if I was still interested. I said yes. They never schedule an interview with me. I reached out to them again saying I was still interested. The person who contacted me on Christmas morning didn't reply. I later got an automated message saying that a more qualified candidate was selected (I have flight experience in the area they were hiring in, got my FP-C and CCP-C plus a ton of other training and experience).
They have an open position in Merced, CA. I am accredited in Merced and have flight experience there. I can't bring myself to apply to them. First, I honestly don't believe they'll bother to interview me so it feels like a waste of my time to fill out an application there. I feel like I got a bad reputation I don't know about or maybe they can see I am not a good fit or something. Maybe they met me at the hospital and was like heeeeeck noooo. I dunno. If they were desperate (cause I am probably blacklisted so they'd have to be desperate to interview me) and end up interviewing me, which I don't think they would ever do, and offered me a job, their previous decisions like canceling my fly along at 9 PM after waiting a month and then offering me an interviewing Christmas morning, not interview me, and send me an automated message saying they found a more qualified candidate... Like... What is going to happen to me if I accept the job there? I don't have faith in them. I would feel less secure about my job than I already do. I also don't believe they'd be better than my current job. Nothing tells me they are better. They are just local to me and that's it.
So... move? Go back to my ground job for slightly higher pay, but terrible hours and area, and probably run my arse off running calls back to back? Before my previous ground job, the previous one before that, I was terminated for failing my field training time. My paramedic field training officer told me "Have fun being an EMT", but they ended up just terminating me instead. It left a very bitter taste in my mouth and I don't feel like I'd be happy going to them, if they would even bother to have me. What do I do? Even if they don't give me the days off that I want, is it worth it to lose my job over it? I feel pretty screwed job wise, lol.
) I'm gonna be looking at new places to leave Mercy for. There's many wonderful places around here that do primarily 911 (or at least equal amounts 911/IFT), are hurting for warm bodies with a pulse and a patch, and pay a livable wage without needing call volume bonuses or excessive overtime. Oh and 96 hours a week is easier in two 48 hour shifts than 4/12s and a 48. Oh yeah and reliable equipment is always good
