Question for EMS providers, do you like your job?

[Gold Five 1]

I am close to finishing up my EMT class and hope to get a job working for an agency like MLSS in the next 6 months or so. I will also begin riding as a volunteer with a VAC after my class is over. I currently work for a department store as a loss prevention supervisor and I hate it. I have been doing LP for 8 years and am beyond done with it. I have been interested in getting involved in EMS for a very long time and one day just woke up and decided to take the class.

I have been doing really well in the class and am really looking forward to begin working on a rig (Even as a volly to start.) If I do well as an EMT for a couple of years, I would like to go for my paramedic cert.

My question is, how many people make a long term career out of EMS? I know MLSS starts out new EMTs at around $11.50 and they work 48 hours a week. My take home pay would not be much less than I make now, so I'm not too worried about the starting pay. Do many people genuinely enjoy working EMS? Most of the stuff I read online talks about how its an awful job and to stay away. I don't know if that's how most EMS workers are or just ones that are jaded (Every profession has them.) I have a genuine interest in EMS, its not something I am doing just because I'll take any job that comes along. I am looking for honest insight on the subject. Thank you in advance to anyone that takes the time to read this and respond.

P.S. when it comes to pay raises in EMS, how much is usually given? I am so used to getting $0.10-$0.15/hr raises in retail that I have no clue how raises work in other professions.

[letsgo1547 50]

EMS is what you make of it. I worked for a company that covers a city in Westchester for 2 years and I loved it. I had great partners and we shared a fire house so we were in a station. I left there and went to the city. I was there for 5 years. Long hours, the pay sucked and the working conditions were horrible. The only thing that was my saving grace was my partners, my station and my LT's and Captain. I got burnt out after 2 1/2 years working in one of the worst area in the city. I eventually switched over to fire but still do EMS on the side

[EMT111 149]

Like any other job, you're going to have a wide variety of people who have a wide variety of attitudes towards the job.Having been in EMS for 8 years now and an EMT for 3 year and 1/2 years, I have found that you truly have to enjoy the job, whether it be as a volly or paid, in order to make it worth it, I think alot of people get jaded because the join EMS just as a job, and compared to what we do and compared to the rest of the emergency services (fire & pd), we don't make that much. As for me, I joined my local VAC as a junior member when I was 16, and it just clicked. I moved up to the senior corps as soon as I graduated High School and got my EMT paid for through the corps. I still ride for my vac now, and also work as a ski patrol EMT in the winters and as a per diem EMT for another local EMS agency, and I love it. Give me a rig, a good partner, and an area with a decent call volume, and I'm gonna enjoy it. Now as for being part of a vac or a paid agency, they obviously have their benefits and and subtractions. I enjoy my paid spot, because can go in, run my calls, and then go home at the end of the tour, and when I go home, and I don't have to care or worry what's going on while I'm not there. However it can get boring sitting in the station when it's slow. As for volunteer, I ride with a very strong VAC, and it's nice to get out and help my community and provide top level service at a significantly reduced cost than what a paid service would cost our community. However, I do find that when you volunteer, you run into alot of bs. I also find that alot of vollies feel that the amount of time you've been involved/what your age is is all that matters, regardless of skill, experience, training, etc. I will say it gets annoying when you have people who push you out of the way to get to a position of power, but then you have to show them where equipment is on a rig, or you have to assist the medic with something because the more senior EMT doesn't know how to do it, and then they act like you purposefully showed them up in front of other people. All in all though, like I said, I truly enjoy being an EMT and wouldn't trade it for the world.

[sympathomedic 383]

Been doing EMS for 32 years, last 26 as a medic at Empress. I couldn't see myself doing much else. At my seniority, pay and benefits are pretty good. I work two days a week, and work at other places on days off and I NEVER work weekends.

We have about a dozen EMT's that have over 20 years on the job. We are a Union shop so our raises are by contract, and I think we have 2 1/2 years left on this one, annual raises of about 4%, but it varies by year. Also vacation, holiday, 401K, medical, life, unused time-off match etc.

At the other end of your career, the contract now has an "age-out" clause. After 25 years, you can work 20 hours/week and get full medical- critical at that age and when you have a family. You get less time off, but working 20 hours a week, you need less. And you can come back to full time if you want.

You should buy the book 'Peoplecare" 2nd edition, but Thom Dick. Available at emergencystuff.com. If that guy started a religion, I would convert. There is gold on every page. He will help you understand as to if you have it in you to go the long hall, and advice as to how to do it. As he says, "Almost nobody can do this job."

[Gold Five 1]

Thank you for your responses. sympathomedic, how many hours a week do you work at Empress? Do they do 24 hour shifts? Is OT worked into the shifts for full time employees? Or are they only scheduled for 40 hours?

[sympathomedic 383]

I am scheduled for 40/week/Full timers must do 36-40/week. We do not have 24 hour shifts, we have 8's 12's and I think 10's for the raceway due to its hours. But you can make 24 hours out of 8's and 12's. I don't suggest doing that unless you work up to it. Even a quiet shift can erupt and if you can't do the job at hour 23 1/2 as sharp as at hour 2, then don't try, you are screwing the patient and THAT is a no-no.

Our tours begin and end at all hours, so you can do let's say 7A to 3P, take a nap and meal break and go 7P to 7A, thereby getting 20 hours done in a short period of time, and allowing a needed recoup period. A recent major renovation to our bldg. kind of erased the bunk room, but I have heard they may make a new one.

OT goes out to per-diems first, then full timers in seniority order. No you cannot start as a per-diem. You must be full time and if you must, you can apply to be a per diem. If you were not a good full-timer (lates, bang outs, issues) they will not allow you to be a per-diem, they would prefer you gone. Per diems I think must do 1 tour/week or two/month? not sure.

IF you are skilled and flexible you can work a lot of OT. We have different places to work- Yonkers raceway which requires a NYS track license, Mohegan VAC, Hawthorne FD, Peekskill VAC, Westchester Med Center. Each one requires some training and some guys can do all, some none. If you can work any tour any time there is lots of OT. If you perform at a sub-par level you may not be permitted to work the "outside systems". If you screw up enough at an outside system, you can be removed from it.

I forgot to mention, $50,000 LODD death benefit.

I realized that if you change careers, you can tell folks you went from Loss Prevention to Loss of life prevention. He He.

[DWC295 70]

http://www.ems1.com/careers-1/articles/894089-Joining-EMS-Heres-what-youre-really-getting-into/

Saw this recently on Facebook.

[nycmedic 65]

If you are looking to make ems career go with fdny ems. You can retire with half pay after 25 years. You can also join a tda to enhance your pensiom. The health dental and vision benefits for free. There is plenty of overtime. Its a uniom job so the benfits are great. Another plus is job security. You do not have to worry if the hospital gets rid of its ems dept or worry if the private company goes out of business. Remember benefits and job security is worth a lot more then a couple of extra dollars a hour.

[87D124 37]

I just hit my 20th year as an EMT. Time goes by very quick. I have worked for 3 commercial EMS agencies, 1 municipal agency and 1 volunteer agency during these 20 years. Companies like Empress, TransCare, WEMS and Mobile Life are not bad places to start your career as an EMT or future medic. The pay is not great working for these companies, but you will get good experience, which will help you if/when you decide to go to place like FDNY EMS or to one of the hospital based systems in NYC. Overall, my opinion is that if you are planning on doing EMS for the next 25-30 years, you should get yourself into a municipal system like FDNY EMS or Greenburgh Police EMS. Greenburgh pays very well. You get great benefits and you are in the NYS retirement system. FDNY is not the highest paid, but there is plenty of overtime, great medical benefits, vacation time, sick time and a pension. The commercial agencies just cannot afford or they do not want to afford these same benefits for their employees.