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Hi again. I wanted to let the comments accumulate and evolve abit before returning and replying. Well, here I am, i'm back! I must say, this is really very encouraging! Much of my deep held opinion has been confirmed by your many and thoughtfully written comments! Ok, I do owe you more detail now about myself, especially to you that wished to know more. Ask and you shall receive. First, to the member who stated I probably already know the profession does not pay particularly well.... oh yes! I know that is a fact. In 1977 I earned a whopping $5 per 12 hour shift, $5 bucks extra if I got a call between 8p-8a! It was as close as to a volunteer deal as you can get. I was the paid per call car of a small ma' and pa' shop. And yet still, it all had nothing to do with the money, I would have done if for free. At the time I worked a full-time job as a hospital steam plant engineer. That was from 8a-5p, Then when I got off work I picked up the ambulance and parked it in my driveway at home and took calls starting from 6pm to 7am, leaving just enough time to commute back to my day job starting in the morning. That was 5 days a week. At the end of my Friday overnight shift, I drove the ambulance back to our station Saturday morning and worked a 24 there until Sunday morning, when I got my one day a week off. For eight years. Sometimes people would say, 'wow, you sure don't get much rest with that schedule', to which I would reply, yes, that is true, sometimes I only get as little as 3 hours sleep... In MARCH! I left the profession in late 1985 after the paid per call car was turned full time and conflicted with my much better paying engineer job which had it's own set of hard to replace skill sets from the hospital's perspective. So that's where I stayed. In a sense I left with a large feeling of an unfulfilled mission. You see, then when I was younger, patient treatment was largely 'technical' and my energy and approach embraced that. I treated, packaged and delivered an 'object' to the ER, hopefully with the best ultimate outcome possible. Very infrequently did I view the patient as 'her children's mother', or a wife's 'lifetime partner and best friend', Sure, there were those calls that put that notion there unavoidably front and center, but it wasn't part of my 'treatment asset' as it were. And it wasn't going to be without a few decades extra years of life experience under my belt. Now, a renewed sense of wanting to give-back while leaving some permanent good results with just a few or even many who get to go home to their families, because I played a part in helping them do that. So, you see, for me it's time to step back into a higher level of commitment to the human condition after years of either bean-counting, shuffling papers, or writing computer code, all of which left me wondering, ok, what next? I live mostly on investment income now so I would not be fully depending on it for a living. I plan to use that 'breathing space' to more fully immerse without the pressure of making a living and learn to become the best with all the contemporary skill and see where I can take that to it's most useful end. And, oh yes, i'm also fully aware of the rampant politics that roils back and forth among the EMTs, the Fire Department personnel, the ER, physicians, etc. etc. All the various players. Been there done that and I doubt very much has changed in the respect. But now, I think I can just put that all in a better place with a larger balanced perspective to it all and just do what I know is best. It's been great to read each and every one of your replies. I hope to read even more. Thanks to everyone!

I am considering re-entering the EMS field as an EMT after many years away from it. I was an EMT-B for 8 years in the 70's to 80's working in a 911 first responder capacity. Much experience with patients under all manner and state of condition. A career that was immensely personally defining with a kind of satisfaction i've not since encountered in any subsequent profession I have held. That was then and this is now. I'm now 56 years of age and considering restarting the entire program from the bottom on up. Physically, I am in much better shape than 1/2 of those 1/2 my age that I see, so that is not an issue for ME. I would like to get some feedback about this from others. How will my age be viewed by potential employers? Are there other pluses and minuses that I should be well aware of as part of my decision making process under the current state of the profession. All (polite) input welcomed, pro or con. Thanks in advance for your time and advise.