I have two cousins that were FDNY EMS medics, who later left for a well paying hospital. They gave me the straight story as to what I could expect, and that they could help me get on at their hosp so I could make serious bank.
I knew that as an EMT, I could go to RN school on a decent salary, go up to medic and make money hand over fist, and do an online bridge to RN if I so choose.
Helping people in distress give me a sense of fufillment and pride, and I don't particularly care for working indoors. If you work nights in the ghetto, you get to see a lot of wild, crazy, off the wall stuff. Beats sitting in a cubicle, doing heavy physical labor all day long or otherwise being on your feet constantly for hours on end.