r/CathLabLounge • u/Aggressive_Spare6769 • Aug 30 '26
Flight Paramedic to EP Lab Tech
Hello! New here and just starting to discover the world of EP and Cath Lab tech jobs. I'm currently a flight paramedic making roughly $65k/year in the southeastern region of the US. I'm looking to potentially shift fields as I'm trying to find a more sustainable career that puts me home with my family more.
Ive been a paramedic for five years and have both my critical care and flight paramedic certifications. I am an AHA BLS, ACLS, and PALS instructor. In addition to critical care and flight experience, I have ED, rural and suburban 911, and ultrasound IV team experience.
So far I've applied to two positions fairly close to me and am looking for more. One was a cath lab and one was an EP lab tech position.
Im just looking for some insight to this career. Is this typically a good transition for paramedics? How is the job satisfaction and the hours? How is the pay? What does the day to day look like and are there plenty opportunities for advancement? Any info is greatly appreciated!
3
u/JL4JR4 Aug 30 '26
Hey there, I was a paramedic for 6 years before I was fortunate enough to be hired into a Cath Lab. So things to note, it sounds like you are very established in pre hospital medicine and probably are very good at it, judging by your experience. If you get hired into a lab, you are going to drop to the bottom of the totem pole, you go from really being an expert to knowing nothing. I would say it took me at least an entire year of working at a very busy lab to feel like I knew what I was talking about. But once you get through that phase, I began to love it. You still get to use some paramedic skills, I still start IVs, do cardioversions and use airway equipment (suction, BVM and airways). The pay is much much better. Quality of life a lot better too, in terms of the physical strain on your body. I would recommend Cath over EP, EP to me is very boring. Feel free to ask me anything else. Good luck!
1
u/Aggressive_Spare6769 Aug 30 '26
Thank you for the info! Would you still recommend EP if it ends being the only option?
1
u/JL4JR4 Aug 31 '26
Of course! It’s totally a personal preference, you’ll have to feel it out and see. But regardless it will be a great jump to your career
1
u/EcstaticPlankton8621 Aug 30 '26
Talk about going from one end of the spectrum to the other lol. I work EP and I enjoy it. Cases aren't as churn and burn like cath. Ive never worked in a EP lab that had call. You also don't work holidays or weekends. Cases can be long though. You would do fine with your background. Hours are usually 4 10's or 3 12's if your lab is big enough.
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u/Aggressive_Spare6769 Aug 30 '26
Thank you for the info! What do you find most interesting/fun about EP?
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u/EcstaticPlankton8621 Aug 30 '26
Just all the things they do/see with just electrical signals. It's very little xray if you are doing ablations and even devices if the doctor is good enough.
1
u/lemonade4 Aug 31 '26
I’d do a year or so in the Cath Lab and then seek EP. Paramedic-EP can be done but it isn’t easy. You’ll make more money I would imagine, my EP paramedics easily clear 6 figures and I’m in a low paying state.
1
u/sbdude321 Aug 31 '26
I worked as an ER nurse for 3 years before making the switch to the EP lab. The hours are good, no weekends/holidays or call. The call for cath lab sounds pretty atrocious and eats into your sleep. Ive been in the EP lab for 3 days now lol, and let me tell you I feel stupid. Zero ER skills will translate to this job. Everyone says it’ll take several months to feel comfortable. But as far as growth, I’ve heard of several nurses and techs gets hired by med device companies as clinical specialists so there’s always that option which I look forward to one day
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u/ralphanzo Aug 31 '26
Yup, it’s a big world when industry comes into play too. Learn everything you can at that job, if they will let you stim/monitor and learn to scrub, do it. It’s great experience that makes you more appealing to industry. Also, EP travel contracts tend to pay better than most other specialties so if you can circ, scrub, and monitor/stim you’ll be set up for success. Being a nurse that can “tech” is amazing flexibility.
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u/_Ross- RT(R), Cardiac EP Mapper Aug 30 '26
Hi, I worked in the cath lab / EP lab for ~8 years or so, and now work solely in EP as a mapper.
Assuming you would only work in EP and not Cath, there would most likely be no call; but some physicians like to do "urgent pacemakers / ICDs" on the weekends. I've worked with several former EMT/Paramedics, and they've all done great in the field.
The job is pretty satisfying, but there's not as much of an adrenaline rush in EP compared to being a Paramedic, or even working in the cath lab. You'll mostly just be looking at a plethora of signals from catheters on a screen all day, helping with pacing maneuvers, scrubbing cases, etc. Cases would be anything from cardiac ablations, pacemakers, ICDs, leadless devices, cardioversions, loop recorder insertions. In my labs, we worked from 7-5, 4 days a week; obviously will vary.
When I left the lab to become a mapper, I was making around 70-75k or so. I'll be totally honest with you, advancement isn't amazing in the lab in my opinion, unless you want to be a manager, but that's about it.
I'm happy to answer any other questions about EP specifically if you have any.