What can I expect when I become a Paramedic?

Question

I'm 1st year college student studying towards my EMT certificate. However, I have somewhat of an idea of what to expect, I was just hoping that I could get more information as to what goes on daily. You know, the norms. Also, how much would I get paid because I've been on several sites and I dont have a clear answer. Can any paramedics help me out a little bit?

Answer 1

The pay varies depending on where you work, what kind of service you work for, and where in the country you work.
Bigger cities tend to pay more, private services (AMR, Rural/Metro) tend to pay less, fire departments pay more, and hospital or municipal based services tend to pay somewhere in the middle. From what I gather, the minimum pay is around $10 a hour (+ overtime), and the max pay is $20 an hour. There are a few jobs in EMS that pay fantastically; working as a medic on a oil rig ($300 a day), and working as a flight medic (very competitive job to obtain).

Your average day varies depending on where you work, but generally I run 911 calls and transfers as they come in, and when I'm not on a run, I get to clean and stock the ambulance, clean the base, catch up on paperwork, read, watch TV, etc.
I work a 24 hour on/ 48 hour off shift.

Hope this helps...