Advice welcome

[Dixieladyff]

Here is what I am trying to decided, what would you do? And if I need to ask myself anything I have left out please let me know.

I work for a big corporate ambulance company. The pay is good 10.00/hr which for where I live is great pay.

I have a job offer for a smaller company at 8.80/hr.

The smaller company is miles closer to home so mileage is really not a problem.

Nor is the insurance because I am on my husbands insurance.

The bigger company, I enjoy working with my partner and will be sad to leave him. He is a great guy who has stood behind me and taught me much. However I get tired of the company playing partner swap game. (whenever someone doesn't show up for work they usually take my partner and use him to fill in for the missing medic.) They also do not offer any holiday bonus, of course we get holiday pay but I am talking Christmas bonus things like that. The big company also has a habit of doing things that only benefits them. The big company lied to me saying they would give me a work shift that worked around my going to medic school, in result that didn't happen and I had to put off medic school until next go around. (Grrrrrr this really made me unhappy) Big company is more transports, I work a ALS truck but seldom have a ALS call, most of what I do is nursing home totes and discharges from hospitals. On a 1 hr shift I usually have about 13 or so runs, do not get to report back to the station at all, We are under staffed which we have been that way for a while, more and more of our employees are leaving because of things. In short the company is flying by the seat of its pants, and giving us a good line so we will come in and work for them. The big company also is more city, covers all major hospitals, and major nursing homes. The reputation of this company has become one of a laughing stock. Also the trucks for this company are old, wore out and known for breaking down. I have been broken down on the side of the road in 4 different trucks on the same day before. (No lie, I swear.) Company offers a 300.00 clothing allowance a yr.

The smaller company, my hubby works for them and has worked for them since the day they opened the doors 11 yrs ago. We would be working at different stations and on different shifts. It is very family orientated, I know most everyone who works for them and already know who the bad seeds are. The offer a 500.00 gift card to walmart for a Christmas bonus for full time employees, and has been there in the past for me and my husband both (even though I have not been a employee with them yet). They work in the rural part of the country so transport time is longer, however they do more ALS work because of this. However the call volume is much smaller, on a average 24 hr shift the usual call volume is 8 to 10 runs. They only do discharges from 1 small hospital, and only cover 3 to 4 nursing homes. They also have the reputation of only hiring the best. Because they are smaller, the BS is usually dealt with in a quick manner. The oldest truck this company has is 5 yrs old and will be replaced in 4-6 weeks, the new truck is on order. They do not offer a clothing allowance but provide the uniform just not the boots or belt.

In all honesty I was going to work for the smaller company to start with, but I wanted to prove to everyone that I could make it without my husbands name backing me, which is why I went to the big company to start with. However, I have accomplished that goal and have medics from both companies asking to be my partner.

The only other thing I can think of is at the bigger company I can also work a BLS truck which gives me the chance to do more pt care, but at the same time, at the smaller company I already know they will hold to their word about working out a schedule for medic school, and have agreed to make sure that I have at least 1 off day every 3 days that matches with my hubby,(he works a 24 for them and a 12 for a local fire department. Which in all, will be more than we have now sometimes, my schedule is 3 16s (tuesday, thursday, & saturday) which brings me to another point if I go with the smaller company I will have some saturdays off they work strictly A, B, or C, shift. Also, if one of us is sick or injured the other can cover and we do not loose any pay, also good since we have 3 children.

Also, posting is a issue. When we post for the big company it is either at a hospital or a gas station. Which can be very dangerous at night considering the city. At the smaller company you post at another station, never in a dangerous area.

So what would you do?

[JakeEMTP]

Wow Dix, what a dilemma! I will not for one minute try and tell you what to do. I can tell what I might do. The smaller company would work for me. I much prefer the more " family " atmosphere to the larger services. My personal well being is paramount. I would consider the difference in pay, weigh it against being stationed as opposed to riding around all day, the opportunity to attend medic school and their willingness to work with me on that. I would also consider the shifts. A lower call volume isn't necessarily a bad thing when attending school.

I hope it helped you some and good luck with you're decision.

[MedicMal]

well from the way you described each company to me it sounds like you've made your decision

MedicMal

[JPINFV]

Cliff notes version, if I read that correctly:

Big Company:

Pros: Pay, high volume, you like your current partner

Cons: Mostly BLS transfer work (discharges... Do they do any ER calls from the SNFs?), they lie (my recomendation to everyone else. Pick your priorities before work. If they try to make you choose between work and school then stick with what your choice is and tell them to take a hike), no holiday bonus, further away, and posting at unsafe and random locations.

Small company:

Pro: Better rep, newer units, less BS, they will work with your schedule, your hubby works there, holiday bonus, closer, and posting at actual stations (or at least better spots)

Con: Less pay, mostly ALS transfers (less play for the basic), longer transports.

And there is a question about this?

[Dustdevil]

And there is a question about this?

Haha! You took the words right out of my mouth! :thumbleft:

Seriously, you're just joking with us, right?

[emtannie]

I agree with medicmal. I think you have made your decision.

Go with your gut instinct. I think you are looking for someone to verify your decision for you. In your gut you know which one you want...take a deep breath and go for it. Are you worried that people will think you got the job because your husband works there? I suspect your quality of work will prove that wrong in short order.

Good luck with your decision,

[Scaramedic]

The smaller company is miles closer to home so mileage is really not a problem.

How may miles closer? At $3+ a gallon that might just make up for the pay difference. :?

Peace,

Marty

:thumbleft:

[akflightmedic]

Even as fickle as I am when it comes to my next job, there is no decision to be made.

I know what I would do based on what you said. However, you must make your own decision and based on what you wrote, I think you already have...

Good Luck!

[island emt]

Just be sure to leave the evil empire on good terms. you never know when you might need or want to be rehired. Working for a smaller family run service can be a nice change , but it can also have problems due to the closeness of the relationships between employees. GO for it. . >:-]

[Star09]

Ummm....I'm with MedicMal, it sounds like you know where you want to go based on that post.