If there are any EMTs out there in Cecil’s World, I would like to get some opinions from you. I am considering, in midlife, a career change. I have a good job now, I draw maps at night, it pays pretty well, no stress, and I have lots of seniority. Problem is, it is going to be a day shift job, and I HATE working days. I decided that nurses always have night jobs available, so I thought I would toddle back to my alma mater and get an RN, simple, right? Except that there are waiting lists to get into every nursing school around. I found a paramedic class though. It will cost about 20k and will take 2 years and I will graduate with an AS as a paramedic 5. I thought this might be the answer, I would become a paramedic, and convert that into an RN while working nights So, I went to my friend the paramedic (she works for the fire department, I understand that makes a big difference) and asked her what she thought about my end run plan. She answered a resounding NO! She said being a paramedic is a gruesome, dangerous and low paying job. :eek: Now I am confused again, so if anyone out there is or has been an EMT, please weigh in with your thoughts. Alll I really want is a good reliable night job that pays 20 bucks an hour at least. Thanks for your help!
What does EMT mean?
Emergency Medical Technician, or paramedic
My best friend is an EMT, I might get grief for saying this from some of our EMT’s (EMT’s, different than paramedic), but he says that in his job he’s pretty much just a glorified taxi driver.
My recommendations to the OP, look into the many areas of the field of radiology. It take’s a few more classes at a community college to become a tech, than it does to become an EMT. But it’s a very in-demand field and you will be paid well as well as being able to work anytime, night or day.
Now if you wanted to become a paramedic I don’t have any advice, because I know none. I will ask my friend and maybe I could come back with more info.
Nevermind, I looked it up:
I think my friend is just an EMT-1, the lowest level of certification. And he was probably just correcting me when I once referred to him as a “paramedic.” I just probably assumed that this was a generalization throughout the field that there is black + white seperation between EMT vs. paramedic.
I’m an EMT.
I currently work for a private ambulance company, but I’ve applied to the county fire department and am waiting to hear about that. I’d prefer to work for the county as a ‘career medic’ over what I do now, although I do like my job.
As it is now, working for the private ambo company, we mainly do medical transportation and are pretty much glorified taxi drivers, although we do sometimes get urgent calls. Working for the county, out of a fire station, I’d be responding to 911 calls.
The levels of certification varies by state. In Maryland, it’s EMT-B (basic), EMT-I (Intermediate; you’re an IV tech and can administer more drugs), and EMT-P (Paramedic).
You could go ahead and get your EMT, and see about working as an ER Tech. They always need techs around here. It’s a lot of scut work (taking vitals, cleaning up messes), but you could work nights. I have no idea what the pay scale is like.
I also belong to a volunteer fire company, and took the EMT class through the county for free. If I get into the county, I will be certified as an EMT-I and can continue on towards paramedic, also at no cost to me.
I’m also a little ‘late to the game.’ It’s definitely a mid-life career change for me. I took the EMT class when I was 39, and am now 42. I love it, though.
And you really have to love it- if you’re just looking for a reliable job that pays $20 an hour, this probably isn’t for you. It’s stressful, physically demanding and the hours can be long.
How many months/years and how many dollars does it take the average Joe to become certified as an EMT-basic?
I’m a student EMT-B. My gig is as a volunteer, so my pay is 0. My day job is as an electrical engineer, and I couldn’t afford the pay cut to go to EMT or firefighting full-time.
Bibs, I’ve started precepting…
For North Carolina, it’s 120 hours of class time, including clinical hours. My cost was $25 for the book because I got a tuition waver for being a fireman. For other states, YMWV.
An upgrade to EMT-I is about the same. Paramedic is 880 hours, and not for the faint of heart.
I’m trained as an EMT (WEMT-B), but it’s not my job. Frankly, EMTs and Paramedics don’t often get paid well (the exceptions usually being firefighters who have additional training), and the job is stressful and requires long hours.
If you’re really interested in the work and in helping people, I’d say go for it. But it’s not a low-stress way to make money.
RE: Training time and cost. I was trained in a month-long, intensive wilderness course that cost about $2,000. I would highly recommend the course to anyone. I imagine many more people are trained through community colleges and take longer, less intensive courses that probably cost less. Check your local community college course listings. My local community college offers a 3-month course that costs about $90.
There are probably easier ways to do it if you just want to earn money at night. Do you like people and alcohol? You could go into bartending…
I took it through my volunteer firehouse, so I didn’t have to pay for anything other than my boots and blue uniform Dickie pants for my ride-alongs, both of which I still use. There’s a variety of classes I can take through my firehouse, at no charge to me. Of course, they’re all fire service and EMS related.
I took a crash course, a five-week class which is offered through the University of Maryland. It was 40 hours a week for five weeks, plus a week of Haz-Mat Ops.
A couple of the colleges around here offer paramedic classes, some of which start out with the EMT-B training, but I have no idea what it costs. I believe the paramedic program is offered through UMBC as part of a four-year degree.
VunderBob, yay for you. Let me know how it goes. 
Thanks for all the input…keep it coming. My first choices for career change were sonography, (leading to echo tech), radiology and respiratory therapy. For some ridiculous reason, none of these courses are offered at night in my area…they all require full time day time courses. Unfortunately, my mortgage company doesn’t understand the dilemma. The only choices at night are paramedic, at 20 grand and 2 years, EKG tech at 1000 and 450 hours and nursing, but I can’t enroll until January 2009 and there will be 2 candidates for every seat. Keep the advise rolling in…I am on the horns of a dilemma!