Total newb, introduction.

workingdogs

workingdogs

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Hi all, my name is Katie, and I've been throwing the idea to become a paramedic around for some time now. I'm still trying to decide not if it's right for me, but if it's do-able.

I'm 24. I graduated from CSULB in December 2010 with a double major Bachelor in Operations Management and Business Administration. I worked as a medical biller all through college, and when I graduated I decided the desk wasn't for me and went on to be a veterinary assistant. I loved being a vet tech. I want to do something special, and medical treatment, whether preventative or emergency really was that something special for me.

I left my vet job because I got the opportunity to work full time from home using my business degree, and partly because vet techs just do not make any money. The ones that are making $20/hr have been there 20 years, whereas my business jobs often start at $15 with my degree.

But it's not for me. I want to do something meaningful and challenging. I want to make a difference. Even if it was just pink eye I helped treat, it was something special because the patient felt better, but most importantly, the people felt better.

I can't imagine that every 911 call is a true emergency, but even the small things make an impact in the patients' lives, I think.

But hey, let's be real. Emergency care is what I love and what I lived for. I want to experience that again.

My concern is that EMTs in the area don't seem to make much money at all. I'm assuming it can take a few years to become a paramedic, and I'm wondering if it's going to be manageable. Am I going to be able to support myself while going to school and working? I was at my mom's through college, but now that I'm paying rent, things are different.

I need some thoughts on this! I'm just trying to be realistic, but I know in my heart I don't want to sit at a desk forever.

Do I sound like a typical newcomer that'll wash out soon?
 
Hi Katie!

Welcome to the forums!

I would definitely recommend small steps first. Go do some ride-alongs to see what the job really is like. It seems that you have a realistic expectation of the job already so that is good, but I would say 70% of my runs, or more are BS runs that are non-emergencies. It's a lot of patient interaction and if you like that and don't mind it being mundane for most of the day, then that's ok. I worry just because you said a desk job was not for you, and a lot of what we do, while kin esthetic and moving around, is not that much more exciting than a desk job! I have a B.S. in Engineering and I'm working on my M.D. right now and there are days that sitting in class in lectures is more exciting than being at station.

Of course there is a sense of camaraderie and collegiality that comes with being on a good department that I think is very exciting to be a part of. A lot of the guys I work with are like brothers to me now.

Yes, the pay isn't great, but I like it enough to make up for that. I could get a teaching job with the time I spend volunteering and working for $35 an hour or more, but i just wouldn't get the same enjoyment from that. Granted this is something I do for fin in my free time, so making a career out of it is harder. That being said, stay in it long enough, and find a good department, and you can make some pretty decent money still. Starting for a EMT with a fire department in my area (everything here also requires fire certifications for the most part) is about $22/hour. Of course here there is also a very strong union. The top guy at my department that's been here 20 years and is a medic has topped out at just over 50k a year plus benefits. He's also just a medic and not a firefighter so he could probably find something better if he was on a combined department that also did fire.

This would be my recommendation to you:
1) Do some ride-alongs and see if you even enjoy the experience. If not, then you're done and that's something good to find out.
2) If you really like it, go get your EMT-B. For someone with a college degree, it should not present too much of a challenge. I did my EMT-B class in 4 weeks over the summer after freshmen year of college and not only was the class extremely easy for me, but the tests were also a joke.
3) find a volunteer department to work on and gain some experience. If after a year or two you still like it and want to go further (and it'll be very obvious to you) then at that point you can quit your day job and go to get your paramedic card. Maybe you'll like it enough to do on the side as a volunteer but not as a career but will find something else instead and that's ok too!

n.b.: 2 and 3 can be reversed--there are a lot of volunteer departments now that will pay for your schooling in exchange for you promising to put in a year or two after. Also, a lot of volunteer places do pay a stipend for either each run taken or being on-call/on-duty so it shouldn't cost you that much to do it, if anything at all.

I wish you the best and feel free to PM me if you want more advice!
 
Sadly the pay for EMTs and Medics is not great in SoCal. In my area (about 2 hours inland from CSULB the starting pay for EMT is $10-12 per hour. Medic starting pay is around $15-17 per hour. This is on an ambulance.

The fire department route is paid a lot better than the ambulances. Starting pay for a firefighter/EMT is normally around $20 per hour.

I would also recommend doing a ride out to see if it does fit what you want.

Paramedic school can take anywhere from 8-18 months to complete (depending on program) and can cost 3k-12k (depending on program). Most paramedic schools in SoCal (at least the IE) require you to already be an EMT.

EMT class is typically 3 months long (a semester class) and can cost $500-$2000 (depending on program).

EMT class is very easy to due while working a full time job. Some EMT classes meet once a week. Medic school can meet 2-5 days a week, so it's a little more difficult to work around a full time job (unless you can pick the days and hours you can work).
 
WuLabsWuTecH said:
find a volunteer department to work on and gain some experience. If after a year or two you still like it and want to go further (and it'll be very obvious to you) then at that point you can quit your day job and go to get your paramedic card. Maybe you'll like it enough to do on the side as a volunteer but not as a career but will find something else instead and that's ok too!

n.b.: 2 and 3 can be reversed--there are a lot of volunteer departments now that will pay for your schooling in exchange for you promising to put in a year or two after. Also, a lot of volunteer places do pay a stipend for either each run taken or being on-call/on-duty so it shouldn't cost you that much to do it, if anything at all.
Click to expand...

In SoCal there are hardly any volunteer departments (I can only name one off the top of my head).

Most full time places won't pay for medic school here let alone a volunteer department haha.

The only volunteer place that I know of is a no pay department (it's fire based).

Most of California for the fire side is ran by CalFire which does have a reserve program (although it is always on a freeze) and last I checked into it you have to have a fire academy prior and it was also a non-pay program.
 
In order to make good money in Southern California as a paramedic, you will have to become a Firefighter/Paramedic. I would recommend taking an EMT class at one of the local community colleges in Socal. After that is done consider becoming an ER tech or an EMT. As for the call volume as an EMT it depends on where you work. I work for a 911 EMT company in LA and a lot of the calls are serious calls. Yes, there are some stupid calls but the majority are real calls. Take an EMT class and after that is done see if you're still interested in it. During the class you will find out all the details of becoming a paramedic and what your next steps will be.
 
Wow, thanks all! I'll definitely take the EMT class. It sounds like I'd definitely want to go for Firefighter/Paramedic. That sounds more difficult but I'm up for the challenge.

I'll definitely try to find some ride alongs.

Slewy, it sounds like you work in a nice place! I'm hoping to get a job somewhere in Los Angeles, but I'll take Orange County as well. I'm in Huntington Beach right now.
 
DesertEMT66 said:
In SoCal there are hardly any volunteer departments (I can only name one off the top of my head).

Most full time places won't pay for medic school here let alone a volunteer department haha.

The only volunteer place that I know of is a no pay department (it's fire based).

Most of California for the fire side is ran by CalFire which does have a reserve program (although it is always on a freeze) and last I checked into it you have to have a fire academy prior and it was also a non-pay program.
Click to expand...

Do the volunteer departments pay a stipend at all? To help cover costs? Or at least pay for uniforms (if they have them)?

That's actually kind of funny. I know a lot of full time departments here won't pay for medic, but I know most of the volunteer departments will. Or at least pay for EMT.
 
workingdogs said:
Any thoughts on OC EMT? occpr.com?
Click to expand...

I looked at their site, and you might do well in the accelerated course especially if you have a college degree. Like I said, I did mine in 4 weeks and it was no biggie. That came out to about 17 days of class 8-5 and 1 day of clinicals/ride-alongs (16 hours I think?), 1 day of State of Ohio Fire Academy mandated stuff (NIMS, HAZMAT, some other things that also totaled almost 16 hours) and a day for final exams. The price is a bit on the pricier side at just over 1k, but things are more expensive in cali from what I understand. Perhaps someone from the west coast can chime in here to see if that's reasonable? But it's still not too pricey--mine I think was about $850 which also included textbook, equipment, lunch, coffee, and drinks. This was also nearly 5 years ago which is why I think it'd only be a little bit on the pricey side for now.

Ask them what their NR pass rate is. Even if it's lower I think as a college grad you'll have little trouble, but it could be indicative of how food/bad their instruction is.
 
Thanks! I thought they were a little pricey too. They sent me more info and it does cover textbooks, uniform and stethoscope.

Of course, the hybrid class starts on Monday. A little short notice for me to spend $1000.

But the other class is in June, and I'm going to continue looking around.

Also, how exactly does one become a firefighter/paramedic? I'm worried about the firefighter part, as I don't know if I could pass the physical demands. I'm sure I could work toward it, but I'm 5'1" and 120lbs of flab at the moment! Haha
 
Yes the company I work for is great, it's based in LA and Orange county. As for EMT classes, I would recommend OCC or Saddleback's EMT program. They both are about a 4-5 month class, which is good because you will get a good foundation of EMT skills. If you are looking for a quicker EMT class, Daniel Freeman at UCLA offers a 1 month course. Just do research and you will find a program that suits you. During these EMT classes they will set you up with ambulance ride alongs and hospital clinicals.
 
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workingdogs said:
Thanks! I thought they were a little pricey too. They sent me more info and it does cover textbooks, uniform and stethoscope.

Of course, the hybrid class starts on Monday. A little short notice for me to spend $1000.

But the other class is in June, and I'm going to continue looking around.

Also, how exactly does one become a firefighter/paramedic? I'm worried about the firefighter part, as I don't know if I could pass the physical demands. I'm sure I could work toward it, but I'm 5'1" and 120lbs of flab at the moment! Haha
Click to expand...

5'1" and 120 isn't going to be a problem. Except maybe with ladder operations, but I have a friend who is 5'2" and she's found creative ways to make entry and throw ladders.

I don't know much about fire--I'm on a fire department and went to a fire academy, but I only have my EMT card and have no desire to run into a burning building! But I understand that you're either going to need a fire card, or take a civil service test for a full time department that pays for it. If you want to take the leap from what you're doing into FF/EMT, then it's a pretty big one and to be quite honest, from you posts so far, I don't think you're there yet.

Also, if you are curious, google "physical agility firefighter test" to see some sample ones from different departments. You may also look up some from different fire academy training sites to see what their entry requirements are. But I think you won't have too much of a problem with these!
 
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