I recently read in Maxim magazine that CareerCast.com ranked being an EMT as 195 out of 200 jobs surveyed. It ranked #6 in The 10 Worst Jobs of 2011.
Directly from the CareerCast.com summary:
On the other hand, jobs like EMT have considerably better hiring prospects, but rank among the 10 worst jobs of 2011 due to harsh working conditions, high stress and inexcusably low pay given the extremely important nature of the work.
Of course, if that’s not enough to make you doubt your choice of profession, Taxi Driver was ranked right above EMT.
Now I’m not trying to revive the great debates about better pay, better training, higher education, better working conditions, or any of the other debates that usually follows such an announcement of a statistical epiphany. I want to point out that the ranking is just that… a statistic.
One statistic that was left out of that survey was Job Satisfaction. In all fairness, CareerCast.com did publish a list of The 10 Most Satisfying Careers way back in January of 2011. While it should be noted that EMT does not appear in that list, they do happen to admit to this little fact about it:
However, before you seek out the fattest paycheck you can find, the NORC also notes that careers boasting the highest number of happy workers aren’t necessarily the best-paying. Instead, what truly makes employees feel satisfied is getting to help others, being creative or utilizing specialized technical expertise.
Being an EMT is still a field that predominantly helps others while utilizing specialized technical expertise. It’s a job where one can find personal satisfaction, which is something other careers have a tough time advertising.
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I liked the part about taxi driver being just above EMT. That is in essence all we really are. When my clinical preceptors in the ER ask what I used to do before PA school I tell them I drove a taxi. The main reason is that former medics/EMTs that go on to other healthcare professions often give off an air of “know-it-all-ness” before they really learn anyting at all, that turns preceptors off. It’s better they just think I am a taxi driver, which is essentially true.
Learn to spell the word “anything”. I doubt you were an EMT of any relevance if taxi driver is the take you have on it.
Medic 11 years, RRT 7, preceptor, mentor. I’ll put all my degrees up against whatever trade school education you’ve got any day of the week. BTW it was a typo on my android tab.
I am not sure what ambulance you worked on or what you did while you were there, but where i come from saving a life or being there for a family member who has just lost someone after you have done everything you could for that patient on the side of the road in a snow storm. none of that sounds like a taxi driver to me. That is only a few examples.
Glad you went to PA school because it sounds like you would not make the cut out in the real world.
Don’t come down on me for the profession tending to hire egomaniacal idiots. I was nearly denied entry into RT school because they had a string of paragod, arrogant, stupid, medics come through before me. After I graduated all As they admitted that fact to me and said they were mistaken. I just find it better now to admit I don’t know everything and not pretend that my preceptors care that I was a medic. I just don;t tell them what I did, and taxi driver was the closest descriptor to what we actually do, don’t kid yourself thinking your a lifesaver most days of the week.
It’s pretty obvious you’re no better. It’s funny you spout off about degrees and being so much better with them. While I agree holding a degree is great, I’ll be willing to bet my high school diploma that would write my way into any medical school cost more than your education as a whole, but I still became “just a medic” and I love my job. You must work in a very disgruntled system, with hatred burning on both sides of the fence. Our preceptors (physicians) encourage most of our ALS providers to further their medical education, and welcome them back to understudy. But seeing your attitude it’s no question why you almost didn’t get in. Stop making us all look bad because of your poor attitude. You ten gallon ego is bursting out of your one pint head.
You apparently have a reading comprehension problem. I in no way stated I hate EMS, actually love working shifts on the weekends, I plan on keeping on the rig after school. I was simply relating how Other medics have portrayed the profession negatively in schools I attended, and thus I don’t broadcast the fact that I’m a medic so I don’t come off as ‘that guy’. I thought it was homorous to compare us to cab drivers, apparently most of the wackers here had their feeling hurt by that.
Jimmy b
These other guys cant work for busy departments. I have been a firefighter paramedic for over 11 years. Now im an officer on the truck, but when you run 20 calls a day 3/4 of them are bs and you are really just a taxi driver. People know the system. I have had pts request certain hospitals just because they wanted a ride across the city. Im not underminding what we do as paramedics or that when the calls are bad we dont work our talls off. But when ur on ur 18th run of the day at 4 am after a couple working fires and a couple good ALS calls it is BS when some crack head wants to go to the hospital because they are “bored” have had it happen.
There is no personal satisfaction to be hand in this career field. You will be beat down for low pay. Spend sleepless nights taking people that arent even sick enough for a taxi to the hospital. And generally just get crapped on by society.
this is the only guy on here who had worked more than 5 years on a ambulance.
I was once told by an old man in my prior career field (i was a plumber for 15 years before getting into EMS) this lil tid-bit: when you accept a job, perform that job as if you were getting paid $1,000 a day!!! Otherwise don’t accept the position!!! Do it because you love it, not for the pay… I made more than double as a plumber than as an EMT.. but I hated my job… i would come home dirty, hot and tired EVERYDAY!!! Now being on the ambulance, or the MICU I look forward for going to work and I am sometimes quite sad when my shift is over… my wife has seen a marked improvement in my overall attitude… money is not everything my friends… saving a life or being the one that people turn to in an emergency even when they cant or dont rely on friends or family… now that’s everything!!!
Oh yeah, it was in Maxim……now that’s a credible source..
I both agree and disagree with the statement made about EMTs being taxi drivers. Most days it can feel like you are, where I live our run volume is very low compared to a big city EMS, also some EMS companies only use their EMTs to run basic transfers which in turn after so long can make you feel like well a taxi driver. I done many of very long basic transfers anywhere from a 20 min round trip to a 38 hour round trip. Transfers tend to make you feel like your skills and importance in the EMS field are not at all what you expected when you were handed that certificate and told congratulations. It really comes down to those rare occasions where you get the chance to save someones life and see the face of thier loved ones when after a tragic event has almost taken their family or friends lives that make it worth the 100 calls in between where you might feel like you drive a big yellow bus.
In my 17 years in EMS I have seen the EMS system abused to where a lot of days it is just a Taxi service, days where the oncoming crews only wanted to sleep all day and were mad when they had to do a response, and days where the response actually had a favorable outcome and made a difference in someones life. Sure there are those with inflated egos and para god syndromes, but I think most people enter into the career field with good intentions. Those that are proficient advance in the field and those that aren’t usually get out of it.
Just retired in 06 with 32 yr on the box in Nashville. One of the best jobs in the world. Wish I could have stayed on it. If you want to gripe about the job, find something else to do.
There’s certainly a lot to learn about this issue. I love all the points you made.