well you wouldn't be the first person to graduate college at 30, believe me it happens all the time, and its not like you were just living as a NEET for that time, you were in the military so there's something to put on your resume. A more important concern than sinking 4 years of your life into school is if you think its something you enjoy and can dedicate yourself to without regrets.

I work as an EMT btw and its rewarding work but the pay is really criminal, if you aren't living with your parents its almost impossible to live off of it, medics get by a little better but you should really have a few years BLS experience before you become one. I could answer any specific questions you had.

>>16987826
Thanks for the reply. I've been wanting to be a paramedic since I was a kid because I've always wanted to save people's lives, and yeah I know all about shitty pay from serving in the military.

As var as BLS vs ALS, would it really be a big deal if I just did the EMT-B class and immediately went to school for EMT-P? I just really don't want to try living off $7.50-$8 an hour just so EMTs take me more seriously ob the job.

Finish your degree and apply for a government job

>>16987843
its not about EMTs taking you more seriously, its about being more comfortable and confident in your own ability to provide patient care and stay cool under pressure, additionally many burn out quickly in EMS but if its something you've always wanted to do then by all means go for it. Where do you live btw, do you know what the employment situation is with paid EMS because it varies quite wildly by location.

>>16987781

Take it from someone who works in finance, you do not want to do this for a living. The work environment is extremely political and the work itself is beyond boring.

Electricians make bank, but it's a pretty labor intensive job so if you got hurt you probably wouldn't be able to secure an income. That's something to think about.

EMT is probably the same, and really high stress vs. low pay.

I would suggest doing a degree in software engineering or computer science and riding that gravy train. Software engineers get paid shitloads and jobs are everywhere right now.

>>16987869
office space was about software engineers, do you want that life?

>>16987847
I don't know much about government jobs outside of the military, but a lot of people tell me hiring is based on nepotism. People in positions of management generally bring in friends and family to work for them.

>>16987858
I've helped out medics while getting shot at before. I can't imagine civilian side being that much different with stress levels.

I live in West Virginia. I've been told that EMT-Bs make a little bit over minimum wage while EMT-Ps generally clear about $28k-$32k/yr which is actually a pretty good salary for where I live.

>>16987869
Interesting points. Thanks. I don't know how I'd feel about software engineering though. Seems like it could be just as soul-sucking as finance.

>>16987878
kek

>>16987891
>I've helped out medics while getting shot at before. I can't imagine civilian side being that much different with stress levels.
well that's good yeah, forgot you said you were in a combat MOS so I guess you've been in your fair share of stressful situations. I see you bringing up concerns about nepotism and office politics, one thing I really like about EMS is that since you're on the road all day you're far away from that shit, so much better than my previous jobs in that respect.

Do you live in a rural part of WV or a city, because you should definitely do some research on how much of a job market there is in your area and you may need to move to Charleston or Huntington to find agencies that are hiring. But I live in NY so I can't really give you any specific insights on that, other than that its what I had to do to find work.

Also you may want to see if your local community college has a paramedic training course, mine has a thing where you can take a few extra classes in addition to paramedic certification and a few basic english/math classes to get an associate's degree in emergency management.

>>16987917
Yeah I'm in rural WV but not opposed to going to a city.

My local community college definitely has a paramedic program. They're also the ones who do the EMT-B class, which is a prerequisite.

>>16988038
well up here in NY most ems in rural areas is done by volunteer agencies, the medics are usually paid but obviously there are very few jobs since they'd only need a handful of medics to cover a very wide area. There are no doubt private agencies in your area that do transports between medical facilities but I doubt you'd be interested in a job where you just did transports instead of 911s and if you're in the country the number of ALS positions is probably quite low as well. You'll just have to do a bit of research and find out what the reality is.

>>16987869\

They get paid more because good talent is hard to find. Software engineering is a highly competitive field.