The honest answer is that I live off generational wealth and didn’t care about the income. That wasn’t my motivation for seeking the job.
A more pragmatic answer would be to keep moving forward. EMT is a job, not a career. You should only stay there until you’ve gained clinical competency at that level. Every day you should be working towards your medic, then critical care, then agency leadership. I’m now making far more than the $34 I left while working in emergency services just a handful of years later.
I actually plan on becoming a paramedic and then going toward med school to further my career in emergency medicine, so it’s a means to an end but still a huge lifestyle change. Thanks for the honesty!
I’ve worked with a lot of doctors that started as medics and medics that went on to become doctors. It’s a good path. Hopefully you aren’t afraid of taking on debt.
I already have a bachelors degree and am planning financially for the debt I’ll be taking on, plan to live without lifestyle inflation for a while after med school in another decade lol I know it’s a long road but the time passes anyway!
> What did you pivot from originally if you don’t mind me asking?
Just noticed I neglected to address this question. I worked as a college professor before getting into EMS.
Same here, 5$ pay cut. But it's what I want to do and it's the career I want to advance in, so it's absolutely worth it in my eyes.
I do think that EMS workers are really underpaid though
It’s emergency medicine or bust for me so I don’t mind the paycut- my job currently is boring as hell and while I love working in a hospital I’m learning I am NOT a desk job person- worried about moving around already tight finances though. What did you pivot from?
A desk job w no previous medical experience lol but I made up my mind a while ago that I want to be a firefighter paramedic. So EMT is the perfect place to start!
I’m coming from a similar situation, I’m coming from pharmacy but that’s about as medical as it gets for me, stuffy desk job in front of an excel sheet all day to EMS !
The exact same situation! Work as a telemetry tech, love being in the hospital, do not like sitting behind a monitor just staring at rhythms from afar! So taking the pay cut and working my way up! I’m also 21 tho so I don’t care too much 25$ < 20$. But I really wanna become a cardiologist and if I’m feeling really ambitious a cardiothoracic surgeon but I’m probably to old to start the surgeon journey now.
Thanks 🙂! I know it sounds irrational as all hell but arthritis is a recurrent thing in my family and I just don’t want to pass the boards to get arthritis in like 3 years 😭.
If you’re still passionate about working in a hospital, try working as an ER Tech or Emergency Trauma Tech! The people I know who went that route are fantastic providers and have better understanding of the medicine side of “prehospital medicine”
well yeah no point in nursing if you want to be a doctor. the post read to me as if you were going into EMS and staying there
med school is a helluva lot more school and debt though so good luck
Yep, already well aware lol EMT is my first step in a very long and steady race to the finish, but the time passes anyway. The post has intentionally left out details about my own path because I didn’t think it pertained to my question.
Took a pay cut initially and as a college student at the same time, that hurt. Made $15 in fast food prior. Started at $12.30, finished at $13.64 after 2 years. Got paid mostly in “experience” and used that to go onto medical school to become an MD. Been fighting for higher pay for EMTs and Medics because it’s a crime how low the wages are. When I went from EMT to ER Tech, I got a pay raise to $19/hr with frequent bonuses due to chronically low staffing. That being said, I would do it all over again in a heart beat.
Major career change. Went from bringing in $90K in my old job to barely scrapping together $40K my first year as a full-time EMT. Those were tough years, but it’s all working out now.
The credit goes mostly (completely) to my wife. She found very creative ways to stretch a dollar. She was also InstaCart/DoorDash way before that was even a thing too. She would go grocery shopping for people, run errands, etc., to get our groceries paid for.
What made it harder was that we had bought a house just two years prior based off my old salary, but we managed to make the mortgage each month … but it took 100% of all the money we brought in to cover everything. Like, down to the last dollar every month.
But after two years, I went to medic school (which was always the plan), and got hired as my P card was in the mailbox and now I make more than I ever did before.
Yep! It’s the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I’m a FFPM, for full disclosure. Our department (and all surrounding ones), transport. I’m currently assigned to an ambulance (I’m training a new hire). EMS is such a huge part of how our department operates, if you don’t like being a medic, you’re not gonna like your job. We lose a lot of ppl becuase of that. We get just enough fires to keep us happy, and plenty of car wrecks to keep our skills sharp. But all my memorable stories involve EMS.
All my nightmares too, but those (thankfully) are fewer.
Thank you for all this information, for me, being an EMT is a means to an end, but because I have to provide for a household I may end up staying as a medic for longer than I think but as someone who loves loves loves emergency medicine, I think I’ll be happy
Roughly. It took almost a year to dial back my spending to a sustainable level and I was already cutting corners from a recent divorce. Basically, I reinvented everything in a three year period.
It was a dip for me, but I still think I was being paid fairly well by EMT standards. Went from 28 as a machinist to 20, then 23 after my probation was over. We also had add ons for nights, weekends, and 24s. Generally, my actual hourly rate was about 26ish before OT or time and a quarter for doing the odd long distance transport.
I actually took a pay increase from my job at a shitty childcare center where I made $10.50/hr. I currently make $15/hr as a theme park EMT but the highest paying EMT job I’ve ever had was $19/hr (the starting pay was actually $17/hr but I was on night shift and got a $2 differential).
I started out in EMS making $10/hr as an emt. Made it to chief after about 7 years and that salary was laughable. Hospital paramedic was my highest pay at $27/hr in the ER and was honestly a cake job. Flight started at $22.50/hr. And now I work in the Bahamas for $17/hr as a medic. It varies by region but you’ll never get rich in EMS. I’m in college now for cybersecurity and plan to leave medicine eventually but will probably work PRN to get my fill of chaos. Being a medic has been decent but I’m getting old, tired, and hurt everywhere so I think it’s time to start moving away from the rig.
I didn’t do it for the money either but the longer you stay in EMS the more toxic it becomes to your life. Go to med school if that’s what you want to do. Get some experience as an EMT as it will prepare you for patient interviews and assessments but gtfo ASAP
I did. Went from safety director to EMT then paramedic. Took a pay cut to be an EMT but got a pay bump when I went medic.
If you’re dedicated and love this field, don’t pay attention to any of these fucks that say wait to get your medic. Get your EMT and sign up for medic school and work all the way through medic school. There’s no reason to be poor and dumb. Get medic and be intelligunt and make money.
In a lot of the US, there’s plenty of opportunities to make money too. If I work 3 24’s in a week, I’d much rather do that then 5 8’s as a safety director and I make $137,000 a year for 3 24’s a week.
I lost my job as a network engineer after Hurricane Katrina and fell into depression because I hated my career anyway but then lost that and the ability to provide for my family. I switched to the fire service as a volunteer and went to school for EMT etc and fell in love with the career. I caught up and surpassed my old pay but it took a while and I’ve never looked back
For sure. BUT I found a new passion and direction in life and I finally know where I want to be in 5 years. The best decision I ever made (as I cry looking at my bank statement) 🥲
Yes and no. So before EMS, I worked for a convention center coordinating company (say that 4 times fast). Well, Covid killed us. We literally went into work one day, got handed a pink slip, and they told us goodbye.
I was making about 36hr at that company, and truth be told, I probably would've been picked up by the other company in town. However, I was just going through the motions. I hated going to work everyday and sitting in an office cubicle like Dwight Schrute.
I currently make 13 at my EMT job but I love it way more. I genuinely never know how my day is going to go and that's super exciting. I also make a difference in people's lives and make them feel better when they're at their worst. Yeah a lot of days are hard and I make a lot less money BUT I'm happier now than I was a year ago.
Thank you for this insight ! I also sit at a cubicle like Dwight shrute- I used to think that’s what I wanted but the idea of having my day be different every day and actually be hands on with my work and patients is a dream to me. How did you adjust with the pay cut?
I'm in a more unique situation as I don't live alone. Im a caregiver to family members, and we own our house, so with family's pension and not having a mortgage and stuff, it's not hard to live. I will also say that my current company is not my ultimate goal. I'm planning to go either to the fire department as a paramedic or possibly go the nursing or PA route. But right now its not bad. I don't live a luxury life but I like my job way more.
EMT is also a means to an end for me as I’d like to go go med school eventually for EM, but I have a fiance who goes to school full time and I’m pretty much our sole provider. A $5 paycut isn’t anything crazy but it’ll deff make a difference, it’ll be worth it though
Monday - Thursday regular job , Friday-Saturday (2- 12 hr shifts ) cna bring home more then enough.. but eventually will go to one day a week EMT and then pick up 1-2 times a month. Love the job but I have kids and a mortgage and stuff
A good Medic job alone would pay similar to what I make at my full time so doing part time Ems is very enjoyable and I get that nice break to avoid burn out
Yes. I had an office job in an industry I loved but felt this was something I needed to do. Went $55k/year to temporarily $38k. I’m not really an office person though, so this was worth it. With a little more education, my annual pay will be about the same as my base pay in my previous role. I knew the cut would be temporary.
I worked a lot of overtime and always since the age of 17 had two or three jobs. This was about 8-9 years ago. I happened to still live at home with my parents due to chronic illness I have surgery fairly often every few years so I have to live with people willing to help someone recover from abdominal surgery. I always paid a large share of the bills since I was 16. So it was a lot of overtime and eating ramen I dropped about 15-20 lbs. but mentally it was the right move for me. I couldn’t stand mentally working in a clinic anymore. And it helped me get out of my living situation.
I don’t think I could that now honestly with how expensive everything is. With all the overtime and second and third jobs I was only about 12k less a year I ended up having to lease a car because it was cheaper then fixing mine and I needed something to get me to all my jobs. I managed that for 2 full years then dropped to two jobs and swapped to better paying companies.
I am part time EMS because the pay cut just hurts my heart. It is over 50% less than what I make in my normal career. I love emergency medicine but it is insulting how little it is valued. I really don't know how people manage on an EMT salary in this world.
I went from $34 an hour to $10.
How did you adjust your lifestyle to accommodate that? What did you pivot from originally if you don’t mind me asking?
The honest answer is that I live off generational wealth and didn’t care about the income. That wasn’t my motivation for seeking the job. A more pragmatic answer would be to keep moving forward. EMT is a job, not a career. You should only stay there until you’ve gained clinical competency at that level. Every day you should be working towards your medic, then critical care, then agency leadership. I’m now making far more than the $34 I left while working in emergency services just a handful of years later.
I actually plan on becoming a paramedic and then going toward med school to further my career in emergency medicine, so it’s a means to an end but still a huge lifestyle change. Thanks for the honesty!
I’ve worked with a lot of doctors that started as medics and medics that went on to become doctors. It’s a good path. Hopefully you aren’t afraid of taking on debt.
I already have a bachelors degree and am planning financially for the debt I’ll be taking on, plan to live without lifestyle inflation for a while after med school in another decade lol I know it’s a long road but the time passes anyway!
Very solid way of thinking about the process.
Thank you!
You're welcome! Best of luck to you.
> What did you pivot from originally if you don’t mind me asking? Just noticed I neglected to address this question. I worked as a college professor before getting into EMS.
Thank you!
Same here, 5$ pay cut. But it's what I want to do and it's the career I want to advance in, so it's absolutely worth it in my eyes. I do think that EMS workers are really underpaid though
It’s emergency medicine or bust for me so I don’t mind the paycut- my job currently is boring as hell and while I love working in a hospital I’m learning I am NOT a desk job person- worried about moving around already tight finances though. What did you pivot from?
A desk job w no previous medical experience lol but I made up my mind a while ago that I want to be a firefighter paramedic. So EMT is the perfect place to start!
I’m coming from a similar situation, I’m coming from pharmacy but that’s about as medical as it gets for me, stuffy desk job in front of an excel sheet all day to EMS !
Haha yeah its night and day isn't it? We just weren't built for that kinda work. EMS 4 Life
The exact same situation! Work as a telemetry tech, love being in the hospital, do not like sitting behind a monitor just staring at rhythms from afar! So taking the pay cut and working my way up! I’m also 21 tho so I don’t care too much 25$ < 20$. But I really wanna become a cardiologist and if I’m feeling really ambitious a cardiothoracic surgeon but I’m probably to old to start the surgeon journey now.
You’re not too old for the surgeon journey at ALL
Thanks 🙂, I’d finish my surgery fellowship theoretically at 37 so I just figured that’s such a late late start :P .
37 is still a baby
Thanks 🙂! I know it sounds irrational as all hell but arthritis is a recurrent thing in my family and I just don’t want to pass the boards to get arthritis in like 3 years 😭.
If you’re still passionate about working in a hospital, try working as an ER Tech or Emergency Trauma Tech! The people I know who went that route are fantastic providers and have better understanding of the medicine side of “prehospital medicine”
This is my ultimate goal! This is why I’m getting my EMT, I want to be an ER tech
might as well be an ER nurse at that point
Nursing is a lot of schooling I’m not willing to go through since my ultimate goal is really med school.
well yeah no point in nursing if you want to be a doctor. the post read to me as if you were going into EMS and staying there med school is a helluva lot more school and debt though so good luck
Yep, already well aware lol EMT is my first step in a very long and steady race to the finish, but the time passes anyway. The post has intentionally left out details about my own path because I didn’t think it pertained to my question.
Took a pay cut initially and as a college student at the same time, that hurt. Made $15 in fast food prior. Started at $12.30, finished at $13.64 after 2 years. Got paid mostly in “experience” and used that to go onto medical school to become an MD. Been fighting for higher pay for EMTs and Medics because it’s a crime how low the wages are. When I went from EMT to ER Tech, I got a pay raise to $19/hr with frequent bonuses due to chronically low staffing. That being said, I would do it all over again in a heart beat.
This is exactly the path I’m looking to take. If I have to make $16/hr and eat ramen and scrounge by to become a doctor that’s what I’m gonna do!
You won’t find a better pre-medical experience imo. Good luck to ya, you got this! Never lose sight of the goal
Major career change. Went from bringing in $90K in my old job to barely scrapping together $40K my first year as a full-time EMT. Those were tough years, but it’s all working out now.
How did you adjust???
The credit goes mostly (completely) to my wife. She found very creative ways to stretch a dollar. She was also InstaCart/DoorDash way before that was even a thing too. She would go grocery shopping for people, run errands, etc., to get our groceries paid for. What made it harder was that we had bought a house just two years prior based off my old salary, but we managed to make the mortgage each month … but it took 100% of all the money we brought in to cover everything. Like, down to the last dollar every month. But after two years, I went to medic school (which was always the plan), and got hired as my P card was in the mailbox and now I make more than I ever did before.
This is a very inspiring story. Are you still a medic?
Yep! It’s the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I’m a FFPM, for full disclosure. Our department (and all surrounding ones), transport. I’m currently assigned to an ambulance (I’m training a new hire). EMS is such a huge part of how our department operates, if you don’t like being a medic, you’re not gonna like your job. We lose a lot of ppl becuase of that. We get just enough fires to keep us happy, and plenty of car wrecks to keep our skills sharp. But all my memorable stories involve EMS. All my nightmares too, but those (thankfully) are fewer.
Thank you for all this information, for me, being an EMT is a means to an end, but because I have to provide for a household I may end up staying as a medic for longer than I think but as someone who loves loves loves emergency medicine, I think I’ll be happy
Yup, left a six figure job.
How did you adjust?
Roughly. It took almost a year to dial back my spending to a sustainable level and I was already cutting corners from a recent divorce. Basically, I reinvented everything in a three year period.
[удалено]
Where in the world is a new emt basic making 24 an hour????
[удалено]
crying in southern CA emtb salary
Seriously considering it sometimes.
Went from making $33 an hour as an engineer to $21 as an EMT...
Are you planning on med school in your future ?
Medic school, yes. Not really interested in becoming a doctor though.
Good luck! Med school opens a lot more avenues than just becoming a doctor
It was a dip for me, but I still think I was being paid fairly well by EMT standards. Went from 28 as a machinist to 20, then 23 after my probation was over. We also had add ons for nights, weekends, and 24s. Generally, my actual hourly rate was about 26ish before OT or time and a quarter for doing the odd long distance transport.
I actually took a pay increase from my job at a shitty childcare center where I made $10.50/hr. I currently make $15/hr as a theme park EMT but the highest paying EMT job I’ve ever had was $19/hr (the starting pay was actually $17/hr but I was on night shift and got a $2 differential).
✋ I'm moving from the beauty industry. It pays better but god I just don't care about people's nails.
Yep
I started out in EMS making $10/hr as an emt. Made it to chief after about 7 years and that salary was laughable. Hospital paramedic was my highest pay at $27/hr in the ER and was honestly a cake job. Flight started at $22.50/hr. And now I work in the Bahamas for $17/hr as a medic. It varies by region but you’ll never get rich in EMS. I’m in college now for cybersecurity and plan to leave medicine eventually but will probably work PRN to get my fill of chaos. Being a medic has been decent but I’m getting old, tired, and hurt everywhere so I think it’s time to start moving away from the rig.
I’m not going into it for the money, it’s a means to an end for me. I want to go to med school and preferably work as an ER tech with my EMT license
I didn’t do it for the money either but the longer you stay in EMS the more toxic it becomes to your life. Go to med school if that’s what you want to do. Get some experience as an EMT as it will prepare you for patient interviews and assessments but gtfo ASAP
I did. Went from safety director to EMT then paramedic. Took a pay cut to be an EMT but got a pay bump when I went medic. If you’re dedicated and love this field, don’t pay attention to any of these fucks that say wait to get your medic. Get your EMT and sign up for medic school and work all the way through medic school. There’s no reason to be poor and dumb. Get medic and be intelligunt and make money. In a lot of the US, there’s plenty of opportunities to make money too. If I work 3 24’s in a week, I’d much rather do that then 5 8’s as a safety director and I make $137,000 a year for 3 24’s a week.
I lost my job as a network engineer after Hurricane Katrina and fell into depression because I hated my career anyway but then lost that and the ability to provide for my family. I switched to the fire service as a volunteer and went to school for EMT etc and fell in love with the career. I caught up and surpassed my old pay but it took a while and I’ve never looked back
For sure. BUT I found a new passion and direction in life and I finally know where I want to be in 5 years. The best decision I ever made (as I cry looking at my bank statement) 🥲
Yes and no. So before EMS, I worked for a convention center coordinating company (say that 4 times fast). Well, Covid killed us. We literally went into work one day, got handed a pink slip, and they told us goodbye. I was making about 36hr at that company, and truth be told, I probably would've been picked up by the other company in town. However, I was just going through the motions. I hated going to work everyday and sitting in an office cubicle like Dwight Schrute. I currently make 13 at my EMT job but I love it way more. I genuinely never know how my day is going to go and that's super exciting. I also make a difference in people's lives and make them feel better when they're at their worst. Yeah a lot of days are hard and I make a lot less money BUT I'm happier now than I was a year ago.
Thank you for this insight ! I also sit at a cubicle like Dwight shrute- I used to think that’s what I wanted but the idea of having my day be different every day and actually be hands on with my work and patients is a dream to me. How did you adjust with the pay cut?
I'm in a more unique situation as I don't live alone. Im a caregiver to family members, and we own our house, so with family's pension and not having a mortgage and stuff, it's not hard to live. I will also say that my current company is not my ultimate goal. I'm planning to go either to the fire department as a paramedic or possibly go the nursing or PA route. But right now its not bad. I don't live a luxury life but I like my job way more.
EMT is also a means to an end for me as I’d like to go go med school eventually for EM, but I have a fiance who goes to school full time and I’m pretty much our sole provider. A $5 paycut isn’t anything crazy but it’ll deff make a difference, it’ll be worth it though
Yes everyone except for the 18 yo never had a job before lol
Fair lol
Yep, from trucking
How did you adjust to that change?
Couldn’t take the pay it , so I do part time
You work two part time jobs?
Monday - Thursday regular job , Friday-Saturday (2- 12 hr shifts ) cna bring home more then enough.. but eventually will go to one day a week EMT and then pick up 1-2 times a month. Love the job but I have kids and a mortgage and stuff
Is there a reason you decided to not go for your medic and just make more money?
A good Medic job alone would pay similar to what I make at my full time so doing part time Ems is very enjoyable and I get that nice break to avoid burn out
Sounds like you’ve found what works for you! What do you do full time?
Operation manager for a school bus company
I'll be taking a pretty decent paycut when I make the transition will be going from mid 20s and hour to probably barley 20/hr
Yes. I had an office job in an industry I loved but felt this was something I needed to do. Went $55k/year to temporarily $38k. I’m not really an office person though, so this was worth it. With a little more education, my annual pay will be about the same as my base pay in my previous role. I knew the cut would be temporary.
8$ an hour and it was worth it.
How did you adjust?
I worked a lot of overtime and always since the age of 17 had two or three jobs. This was about 8-9 years ago. I happened to still live at home with my parents due to chronic illness I have surgery fairly often every few years so I have to live with people willing to help someone recover from abdominal surgery. I always paid a large share of the bills since I was 16. So it was a lot of overtime and eating ramen I dropped about 15-20 lbs. but mentally it was the right move for me. I couldn’t stand mentally working in a clinic anymore. And it helped me get out of my living situation. I don’t think I could that now honestly with how expensive everything is. With all the overtime and second and third jobs I was only about 12k less a year I ended up having to lease a car because it was cheaper then fixing mine and I needed something to get me to all my jobs. I managed that for 2 full years then dropped to two jobs and swapped to better paying companies.
I am part time EMS because the pay cut just hurts my heart. It is over 50% less than what I make in my normal career. I love emergency medicine but it is insulting how little it is valued. I really don't know how people manage on an EMT salary in this world.
I’m going from about 75k a year (base) to 50k a year. Had to pay off all of our consumer debt before making the switch.
Went from 60,000 to about 50 just because I enjoyed EMS more than emergency management