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So we have been in Florida for 1.5 years now. I have really tried to give it a chance here, but I just hate it. There are NO jobs for paramedics who aren't firefighters and even if you are dually trained you spend years trying to find a job. Unless you want to kill yourself and your back running your ass off for 10-12 bucks an hour for a taxi.. er I mean private ambulance service...you are out of luck. Thanks to a recent episode of SVT (new onset) I am completely disqualified from any fire job or even fire academy. I have been passed over for even the ER tech jobs, despite a medic license in two states, a nurse aide cert, and five years of EMS experience. We have no hopes of leaving any time soon because my other half can't find a job anywhere else. And despite a 3.5 GPA and healthcare experience, I have been rejected from nursing school three times. What the hell more do they want? I truly get angry when I see the fire department pass by on the roads. I am sure there are some good medics down here, but all of them I have had any interaction with so far are a bunch of mouth breathing corn-fed testosterone factories that don't seem to know their ass from a hole in the ground, but by God they are fucking firefighters so they have a job. Never mind the fact that there are practically NO structure fires in S. Florida, since it is all stone construction and few ignition sources since it stays eighty degrees plus year round. I have seen more true structure fires and a medic in Carolina than many of these people do in their whole careers. It is just sickening. Someone please give me some advice.

Sounds like you both need to start applying to large municipal 3rd service agencies that aren't going to go away anytime soon- the A/TCs, Wake, Ada, Lee, etc....... Edit: speak of the devil.... http://www.emtcity.com/index.php/topic/18954-job-opportunity-lee-county-ems/page__pid__247823#entry247823

Come on up to the Boston area there are tons of EMT-B jobs. Cant throw a rock around here with out hiting a IFT- BLS truck. If thats not an option for you go volly with a local serivce till you can get though medic school.

Honestly, if that is your attitude, Don't become a volunteer. Yes, it will be hard to volunteer while you are working another paid job, but it is what lots of us needed to do to get our foot in the door. Most places will not hire you until you are 21 (some 20.5). In my experience, private agencies (the ones who are more likely to have jobs available) do not do a great job of training- my training was only 6 days long, and it terrifies me that someone brand new to EMS can come into my agency, have 6 days of training, and then be released as a provider. I volunteered for a year before I got a paid job (I also was not old enough), and I am so grateful for my experience volunteering. I had mentors who wanted to teach me and make me a better provider. Had I not had prior EMS experience, I WOULD NOT be comfortable now being an EMT, after such a short amount field training. But as I said, the private agencies are looking at the bottom line. They need more providers and do not want to pay for a longer field training time when you are only the 3rd person on the ambulance instead of clearing you to practice as a basic. IMO, you need to look at why you really want to do this. Are you in EMS simply for an 'easy' job and money? If so, get out now. Hate to be the one to break it to you, but you will never make 'good' money in EMS. However if you are in it for your love of EMS, then it won't be to much of a burden to volunteer first, while you build up your experience and wait till you get a little older to be hirable in most places. +medic mentioned IFT BLS trucks. That is another option job wise, if they would hire someone your age, but I know multiple people working IFT who also volunteer in a 911 system, just for more experience, and again, to make those connections that will be useful when you are looking for a different job. Long story short: yes, it will be hard work, but it is what you make of it. Your time spent volunteering should not suck, you should look at it as an opportunity to grow as an EMT, and be making a great impression on all you interact with so they can think "wow, I really want EMTDavid to work for us". Make those impressions and gain experience now, and in a few years, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a paid EMS job.

Best advice is to go to Paramedic School. As pointed out, the market is saturated, the only places EMTBs are used is usually rural (volunteer), and you are too young for most insurors to cover you as a driver. Make sure you keep your driving record spotless. By the time you complete school, you will be of age, and will be more hirable as a medic. Its not only that schools have flooded the market with EMTBs, but you have to realize that all the fire monkeys who were forced to Be EMT-Is but never used it, immediately put it to use when the construction industry tanked (most of them had some side business related to construction or housing).