Current Events > Is the stress of being an EMT worth the money?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Met this punk kid the other night who seemed to think he was the shit because he's going to be one and will have a job in "any city" as he put it.

Is it worth it though? Saw that the average pay was only about 15 or so an hour. Doesn't seem like a lot of money to save someone's life. There are warehouse workers that make about that much if not more.
---

nah he's gonna get eaten alive
---

Emts make shit. Most don't do it as a career but as a stepping stone to fire or medic.
---

What money

No
---

no
---

Turtlebread posted...

nah he's gonna get eaten alive

Cj_WlLL_VVlN posted...

Emts make shit. Most don't do it as a career but as a stepping stone to fire or medic.

Lol thanks dudes, needed to hear that. He pissed me off when he said that. I hope he does get eaten alive. Little smart ass punk...

Also, fuck fire unless you really like working in the heat. Those things are hot as fuck.
---

EnragedSlith posted...

What money

No

Well you have to pay for your pizza sir
---

EMT's here barely get above minimum wage. Saving a life is worth $10 per hour. And don't throw economics at me
---

Sting posted...

Turtlebread posted...

nah he's gonna get eaten alive

Cj_WlLL_VVlN posted...

Emts make shit. Most don't do it as a career but as a stepping stone to fire or medic.

Lol thanks dudes, needed to hear that. He pissed me off when he said that. I hope he does get eaten alive. Little smart ass punk...

Also, fuck fire unless you really like working in the heat. Those things are hot as fuck.

Best job on the planet during the summer. Worse job on the planet during the winter
---

You friend may be an action junkie, it happens to cops.
---

Depends on whether or not you enjoy watching gore movies and want to get paid for it.

two of my friends are paramedics and love it.
---

TheCyborgNinja posted...

two of my friends are paramedics and love it.

Paramedics can make a career of it. They are far more specialized, can give emergency medications, and save lives. Emts don't take emergency patients and it's more like a cab for stable patients who will get vitals taken on the ride.

In my experience most paramedics are also trying to go fire but the pay is much better than an emt.
---

I don't think it's a bad gig if you happen to work for the city or something. You'll likely make more than $15/hr and many of those people have 24-48 hour shifts and are "on call" but then have 3 or 4 days off in a row. When they aren't actively "saving someone", from my understanding, they're just sitting around/socializing/sleeping for the most part.

**Edit and this may be Paramedics, not EMTs like Cj_Will_VVIN said. There's a lot of private companies that haul around patients that don't do emergency calls. Not sure what their work life is like and they're likely on the lower end of the pay spectrum.
---

Cj_WlLL_VVlN posted...

In my experience most paramedics are also trying to go fire but the pay is much better than an emt.

It's still almost always disastrously low for what ALS units have to do IMO.
---

Capn Circus posted...

There's a lot of private companies that haul around patients that don't do emergency calls. Not sure what their work life is like and they're likely on the lower end of the pay spectrum.

Consider also that even the private companies that don't have a 911 contract and only do interfacility transports also have ALS units because sometimes they need to move patients with different IV drugs. Typically an EMT isn't even allowed to do such a transport. So even among IFT companies there is a split between BLS and ALS.
---

ThePrinceFish posted...

Cj_WlLL_VVlN posted...

In my experience most paramedics are also trying to go fire but the pay is much better than an emt.

It's still almost always disastrously low for what ALS units have to do IMO.

I thought als units tended to be either paramedics or RNs depending on availability and area but it also probably tends to vary even terms like emt/paramedic and job duties depending on location.

I took an emt class when I was younger because I wanted to be a cop and thought it would look good on a resume. Never did anything with it.

Most of my experience is having a lot of friends in fire or trying to get into fire and I worked at a hospital and would shoot the shit with the guys that would come in.

Edit: sorry misread your post and thought you were referring to als as something different than paramedics.
---

Yeah the going rate for being able to jam a tube into a dying man's lungs rather than his stomach isn't as high as you'd think. Not to mention all the pharmacology they need to learn and remember.
---

If you want to do it, do it for the right reason; Helping people.
---

Cj_WlLL_VVlN posted...

Emts make shit. Most don't do it as a career but as a stepping stone to fire or medic.

This
---

ThePrinceFish posted...

Yeah the going rate for being able to jam a tube into a dying man's lungs rather than his stomach isn't as high as you'd think. Not to mention all the pharmacology they need to learn and remember.

Yea I've seen multiple people go through paramedic school and have quizzed them and it's jarring. I agree they're underpaid but in the Bay area do inflated pay starting tends to be 14-16 for emts and 23-26 for paramedics.

Most of the ones I know have been going for fire but you'll definitely see people staying as a paramedic. Not so much for emts.
---

@JMP09

Talk to this meng

If he's an EMT-Basic, he will technically have a hard time getting a job in "any city." Around here in Illinois, they are phasing out EMT-B's for double Para teams. He needs to get his EMT-Paramedic for an "any city" oppurtunity.

Instructor who is a Paramedic/Firefighter explained it to us on day one. You don't do it for the money, you do it to save lives. If you want money, you go get your registered nursing license.

I was an EMT-B for a paid volunteer fire department. It was fun, but turned my gear in since I moved outside of the town limits.
---

I was a paramedic. It wasnt for me. Its an extremely stressful job that requires a level head in situations that can make your head spin. Its a career that requires age, intelligence, and years of experience to succeed at, but theres no money in it and no where to climb.

And people who get into medicine in order to help people burn out the fastest. The vast majority of patients arent really in dire circumstances and cant pay their bills. A huge portion of your calls in the city are mild traffic accidents with ugly poor people lying about neck pain in hopes theyll get something out of it, and frequent flyers (usually homeless) who repeatedly cycle to different facilities around the city because nobody wants to actually help solve the real problem. Then theres nursing homes, who let their patients deteriorate as long as possible because they get punished for calling 911.

Its an eye opening career, because nothing else really quite exposes you to the evil of humanity. Its an overwhelming corruption of stupidity and laziness that could be managed if our politicians and populace at large gave a shit. But tying up huge sums of money in a broken system of stop gaps and drug seeking is good too

Edit: and the RN lobby can eat a dick. Medics have a larger scope with far more autonomy in a non-static environment, but nursing has a long history and is one of the most important jobs for women, so they get paid FAR more and shut EMTs out
---

EnragedSlith posted...

out

You sound like you need therapy
---