I live in the southeastern USA and I'm currently in school to become a paramedic.
Should I go for an EMS job or be an ER technician in a hospital? Can any EMTs tell me about their experiences in these fields and the pros/cons of both?
>>17327205
Im not one but i hear EMT's make shit pay for a lot of work and stress.
>>17327239
In my city they actually make pretty decent money. $20-$30/hr depending on who you work for.
Are you in school to be a paramedic or are you just getting your EMT-B? There's a big difference
>>17327431
This. EMT-B takes roughly 168 hrs (i know, because im doing it for the fire service) where im at, paramedic is roughly 1,500 hours. I know several EMT-B that work as medics, they get shit pay.
I'm a professional EMT-B in NY what do you want to know?
Its true that the pay is shit, so its often difficult to make a career out of EMS. Most people do it for a few years then move on to something else. Paramedics are without a doubt the most overworked and underpaid medical professionals.
That said there are certainly things to recommend about it. Every day is unique and you never know what's going to happen until it does. I can't go back to working in an office after this job. When I'm in the field each day I'm away from bullshit office politics, micromanaging supervisors breathing down my neck, and the mundane of every day being the same as the one before it. The emergency services aspect of it is nice, you deal with your fair share of human garbage but you do genuinely help people as well.
Personally if you want to be a medic I'd recommend doing 1-3 years as an EMT first so you get a better understanding of what the job's realities are and what makes a good medic. I'm trying to move out of EMS into policing myself though instead of promoting to paramedic.
Anyway whatever questions you had shoot.
