Experince and Employment (rookie)

[RLeo]

Hello , Everyone . Quick question. I live in Atlanta GA. I have acquired all the licenses that is required to begin my career as a EMT I, all that I'm missing is what I need the most EXPERIENCE!!! But it seems that all the companies in Atlanta want people with 2 to 5 years on the job. Can some give me a way to proceed with my job hunt PLEASE ! I'm starting to think I wasted my time going to school and continuing my education as I prepare to start paramedic school in july. All I'm looking for is the same opportunity as every member in emt city ,and every nurse or doctor in the medical profession . We all have to start at the bottom and earn your/our way up ? I begging to get in on the bottom ! Thank You and God Bless.

[TJZ]

I am noticing this as well and I am just a basic. It looks to me as if my best option is working for a transport service. At least they will get me experience and reimburse for paramedic so not all bad

[FormerEMSLT297]

Dust will probably want to kill me but, volunteer somewhere in a 9-1-1 system. that will get you exp. in "real calls" or as someone else said there is always the transport service.

You did however in no way "waste your time" if you do not find anythingon the BLS level , finish medic school and you will. EMT's area dime a dozen, but medics are harder to come by.

Good luck

[Dustdevil]

Well, I don't really believe that either of them are of any significant experiential value. And both of them actually have the potential to adversely effect your development as a paramedic student. But the question here really isn't what is good for your professional development. The question is what is likely to help you get a job. And if the agencies you aspire to work for are so backwards as to believe that "paying your dues" is a necessary thing for applicants, then you really have no choice but to take it wherever you can get it.

If an agency considers transfer experience equal to volly EMS experience when considering you for a job, then I would certainly choose transfer work over volly time. It's really a no-brainer. At least you get paid for your work at a transfer job. And everytime you make a run as a volly, you are ensuring that your community continues to think that EMS isn't worth paying for, further limiting your future job and earning prospects. Volunteering is shooting your own career in the foot, which is a hard thing to respect as an intelligent choice.

Something often overlooked is hospital experience. Some agencies value it. Some completely discount it. It will always be a very positive thing for you, but you'll want to find out if the agencies you are interested in count it as "experience" before you put your eggs into that basket.

Of course, the other option would be to realise that such an agency probably sucks and isn't worth working for, and to look elsewhere, where management is more progressive and professional, and is devoted to developing their own employees instead of just taking whatever some volly squad turned out.

But yeah... if you care only about your ability to get one job at one agency, and the quality of your professional development -- as well as the development of the profession as a whole -- is meaningless to you, then by all means, do what you have to do.