As per the title, I'm seriously considering signing up to become a paramedic. In my area, it is a four year training program, where you are slowly introduced to job duties while you study. At the end you have a bachelor's degree in paramedical science and continue working for the ambulance service.







I'm aware that there will be some gory moments, but it still seems like a good way to actually improve society, and the salary/benefits are quite healthy too. Does anybody have any advice or comments on the job itself? I'm quite curious to hear about some real-world stories.

 

My son is going this route out in Texas outback. He as in the AF for a 3 year term and has decided to go with this.

 

It's a good job if you can tolerate the hours, pay, gore, and politics. Surprisingly (to an outsider) medical service is a field RIFE with dumbass petty office politics.



Go for a ride-out before signing up. Go for several actually. I know a girl who was convinced she wanted to be an EMT and changed her mind after the first shift-long ride.

 

You may end up picking up pieces of friends...

My dad rarely talks about his time as an EMT.

 

Interesting feedback. I think I shall go for some ride-alongs, if it is possible to hook that up. There is an amberlamps depot not too far from my house. I agree about the politics thing: I've heard of some of those problems down here but it is all pretty hush-hush.





Hours and pay are surprisingly good, it seems. Two 10 hour days, two 14 hour nights, two days off. Plus 8 weeks of compulsory paid leave per year. Pay starts at 40 odd grand in the second year of study, all the way up to 85 odd grand for a chief paramedic.





Hmmmm.

 

I was a Bureau of Land Management wildland firefighter for 3 years and an EMT for 2. Surprisingly, seeing people break bones in Youtube videos really grosses me out and gives me the heeby jeebies. Seeing gore while doing the job didn't bother me though. I guess when it's your job, the part of your brain that gets "grossed out" kinda turns off because you know someone is looking to you to be the sane, calm and rational one. Worst thing I ever had to do was "parts patrol". A guy rolled his car off the road in the middle of nowhere. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt and came halfway out the window. The car rolled over him several times, pretty much turning his upper body into pulp. I had to walk through the desert with a baggie, picking up bits of flesh and bone for several hours.

 

Why picking up all the pieces?? No buzzards around????

 

Body parts are "medical waste" and deemed to be a biohazard.

 

Well, part of the reason I want this job is so I can gain some... emotional fortitude? I'm not sure how to exactly describe it, but I think it is a good thing to be able to deal with gore and stressful situations. If that is your day job, then there isn't really much around that can faze you.







So cobra, was it a good choice overall? What made you leave after two years?

 

I left because wildland firefighting is a seasonal job. Very few fires during the Winter. I tried to get on a structure department, but while on the waiting list, I landed a spot in the Operating Engineers Apprenticeship program.