Is anyone on here a Paramedic? What do you love about your career? What do you dislike about it?

Question

Also...how many hours do you work a day?

Answer 1

I have been a Critical Care Paramedic for 10 years. I started when I was 18 years old.

I love the fact that every single day that I go to work, I will have an impact on someones life. Even if a patient dies, I can still have a positive and caring influence on their family.

I started my career working a 24/48 hour shift. I now work day shifts. I don't work as many hours as I used to because I'm pregnant, but when I was promoted to a supervisor, I typically worked about 100 (sometimes more) hours a week. I am still a supervisor, but I am now a Training Officer as well - I only spend about 10 hours a week on the ambulance, but I spend about 50 hours in the offices.

What do I dislike about my job? Nothing. The pay was pretty crappy when I worked for a county. But, the benefits were great. When I went to work at a private service, the pay is great and the benefits are great as well.

Also, when I was at the county on 24/48 shifts, I had to take a second job to work on my day's off from the county. With the private service, the pay was good enough that I didn't have to take on a second job.

Best of luck and I hope this information helps!

Answer 2

Hi! I've been a paramedic for about a year now. I love helping people; it sounds silly, but it's true.
There's nothing more fun than riding lights and sirens to a call :)
The pay is relatively low compared to the amount of responsibility, and it would be nice to get paid better, but I guess it's that way in any job.
Sometimes the mental and emotional stress (not to mention physical stress, such as backaches and the like) can get to be a bit much.

I work 24 hours on/ 48 hours off (a pretty common shift in EMS)