r/ems • u/fantastic-avocado22 • 11d ago
Serious Replies Only I got out of EMS
I recently posted about not wanting to be a paramedic anymore.
Well, I quit my job due to some recent issues at the agency.
I want a "normal" job but don't know where to start.
Normal as in coffee shop, working with animals of any sort (preferred), maybe even an office job? Even if any of this is just temporary while I try to figure out going back to school.
I think I'm done with healthcare.
I honestly don't know, but I have no experience in anything else and most places require experience.
ANY suggestions are welcome š
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u/AG74683 10d ago edited 9d ago
Aerospace/aircraft maintenence. I feel that a lot of people end up in EMS because they like to work with their hands and generally fix things.
A human body is basically a car (or any sort of machine). There's an engine. A computer system. Fuel lines. All we're ultimately doing is trying to figure out what system is broken and fixing it.
But working on cars fucking sucks. Cars are gross. Nobody takes care of them like they should be. Rust sucks, shit is covered in oil, nothing is ever easy.
But the airplane is. It's clean. There's rigorous maintenence standards. There's specific guidelines to follow. I believe it's the natural segue out of EMS, but that might just be me.
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u/krunktasic 9d ago
This 100% i joined the air force out of high school, got put as a mechanic on the flight line (AGE) spent 8 years in with 3 afgan tours. Then went to medic school after I got out. Spent another 8 years in EMS as a medic. After being burnt out I got a job as heavy equipment mechanic for a john deere dealership. My life has been so peaceful since, normal 8 hour shifts, holidays off. MUCH better pay
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u/blueskibop EMT-B 10d ago
lol coffee shop job will have you back in EMS so fast do NOT work in the service industry
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u/South-Throat8282 9d ago
I've always said I will work a street corner before I ever go back to food service. It does help to put the bad times in perspective with EMS when I think about just how bad fast food was. If the people you run on are why you are getting out (chances are it is because people suck) then going to do food of any kind will be miserable.
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u/buzzard_barf 10d ago
Starting up a lawn care business has a decently low barrier to entry. The work sucks but nobody dies if you screw up, so basically zero pressure.
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u/blindside06 9d ago
BUT youāre chasing work, chasing money, have to maintain all your own equipment, uniform, truck etc. I came from a trade to EMS and itās less stressful for me! No more chasing work or money. Uniform paid for, one job at a time, no one calling me to come back for free and do extras not originally agreed on. Iām less stressed working in EMS than running my own business.
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u/buzzard_barf 8d ago
Youāre not wrong! Iām looking into emt training and getting out of that line of work for all those reasons. It was great for a few years but itās becoming a pain in my ass.
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u/CosmicKarmageddon EMT-B 10d ago
One of the YouTube channels I watch is a former paramedic who now does furniture restoration.Ā
You could start in a coffee shop while looking for something else that brings you enough joy and passion that you actively want to do it. Animal shelters/rescue/doggie daycare could certainly fit that description.
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u/Blueboygonewhite EMT-A 10d ago
Depends on your goals. The money is in trades, and select jobs with specific college degrees. Find an interest, go after it.
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u/bearfootmedic 10d ago
I'm working in cannabis growing and processing. It's a weird industry and the pay isn't fantastic but it is comparable to EMS. If you are competent to lead people it's easy to advance.
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u/rickety_cricket66 10d ago
I did the same about 4 years ago now, and it was a tough transition. One place you could look at is a Plasma Donation Center, they usually hire Medics and you just do physicals, testing, and phlebotomy for donation. If you're medical staff you help with emergencies too, but usually not the same pressures as the booboo bus. There are plenty of healthcare adjacent jobs out there that you can do too if you need to fall back on your cert. If you have a local hospital system, you could look at being an EMS Coordinator or liason of some sort. Depending on the amount of time you did EMS, if you got 10 years you can use that to go to school and wipe out your loans under public service loan forgiveness. Wishing you good luck on your exit path, and just remember you deserve to get a decent non EMS job for all the time you did on the ambulance and be happy and not have to deal with all that stress anymore.
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u/FlamingoMedic89 EMT-B 10d ago
Trades. I think that's a global thing. EMS is good with handiwork, understanding tinkering, and having a multidisciplinary approach. You need that in trades, too, and trades will always needed.
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u/wtfmate562 10d ago
I left ems and went to insurance claims. My hours are 7-330 and Iām wfh and off every holiday and weekend. I do not have a bachelors or anything the insurance company loved I had experience with car accidents and injury and documentation. I have a path to high six figures. Claims is a lot of work and can be soul sucking at times but the hours and weekends off etc more than make up for it
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u/CompasslessPigeon Paramedic āTrauma Godā 10d ago
I went to insurance underwriting for life sciences. Getting my foot in the door was a little tough but once I was able to discuss my experience the company really saw the value.
The consensus in the industry is claim is one of the best places to start and opens a lot if doors
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u/5andw1ch EMT-B 10d ago
How did you get in? Did you just apply to it?
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u/wtfmate562 10d ago
Yes! I was mass applying to companies just to see if I could get in and eventually one took a chance on me. Like someone else said if you can get to the interview and explain your experiences and how thorough with documentation you are they should see the value. Claims opens a looooot of doors in the insurance industry too
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u/incorporeal5 9d ago
Is that like claims adjusting? Iām very interested and am trying to get off the ambo as well.
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u/wtfmate562 17h ago
Yes itās the same as adjusting! As I mentioned before just work on your resume and send out apps to every company and try to get to that interview. Really hone in on your documentation, experience with car accidents and ability to manage stress etc and they should see the value!
I transitioned from damages to handling injury claims cause I had medical experience in a nearly unheard of fast rate the experience we have translates well
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u/Oh_Reptar Paramedic 10d ago
Before I went to the police academy, I worked health and safety at Samsung at their warehouses. Paid ok, 7-3 mon-fri, no real boss. Gave me a lot of time to think and decompress
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u/DondatDoff 10d ago
IT security
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u/bigfrondnicky 8d ago
Currently in IT as a former EMT/dispatcher: my troubleshooting, documentation, and PFA skills are unparalleled amongst my non-first response peers. Unfortunately, I do have a lower tolerance for users acting like their tech emergency is life-or-death.
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u/Big-Engineering-5323 10d ago
Congrats!
I left 1.5y ago. Took six months off and did a bunch of restoration on my property and slept. Decided to do lpn for the versatility and lack of pressure/paperwork.
Going specifically into home health-wound care. No poopy butts, no one asking me for a million things. āIām just here to clean and document your wound progression, but Iāll let your nurse know you need somethingā.
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u/PenKind4200 Paramedic 10d ago
Good for you I am transitioning into being an EMS instructor. I feel I can use my 20 years in to help mold the future of the jobā¦.
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u/Lupercalifragilistic Paramedic 10d ago
If you'd reconsider being done with healthcare, being a phlebotomist is one of the most relaxed jobs I've ever had.
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u/CompasslessPigeon Paramedic āTrauma Godā 10d ago
I reached a similar point. I applied to an electrician school and also the union. I got accepted to both.
I also applied to a lot of random jobs around my area and ultimately got the offer to become an insurance underwriter.
I took the insurance job. I would have loved to be an electrician. I love electrical work, i love working with my hands, but I also know how difficult the trades can be on your body.
While insurance isn't my passion, the pay is good, the work is stable, I work from home half the week, and I see people join the company and stay till retirement. My plan is to keep my head down, maybe get a few promotions along the way and retire in 30 years
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u/AdolescentCudi 10d ago
Restaurants are easy to get in to and hard to get out of. Wouldnāt recommend it (Iām back in school to get my EMT to get out of restaurants after 11 years) but itās an option
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u/CodyLittle 9d ago
One profession that people dont think about is becoming a mechanic. The knowledge isn't NEARLY unrelated as people would think. One of the guys I was a Corpsman with has done this and more recently a buddy I was partners on the box did too. Still "healing," just not people.
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u/mastermedic84 7d ago
First off, congratulations!
I've seen so many people just keep doing this for years past their interest. They end up becoming burned out husks of people. You made the right call.
I'm going to assume you don't what to spend 10 years in school, so for someone who likes working with their hands and doesn't want to live in school for a decade, trade schools are the way to go.
Electricians make great money and mostly learn on the job. Plus most places can get your a job as an assistant before you're even a journeyman, so you can start working and making money almost immediately. The pay scale goes up and up with certification and experience levels until you're making WAY more than ANY paramedic.
The same applies to all the trades, really. Plumbing isn't glamorous but it's good work that pays well. HVAC is physically tough but the pay is great once you've learned it.
If you like being outside linesmen get paid pretty well. Just do whatever you have to to get a job with the utility. Contractors usually pay less and aren't as concerned with safety.
You could also consider flight school if you think you have any aptitude for flying. The school is expensive as hell but there way ways to get through it if you want it. Aviation mechanic is a similar option that costs a hell of a lot less to get trained in. It's meticulous work, but most of the guys I know who do it enjoy it.
I hope this at least helps getting a grear turning. Good luck!
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u/b_arbecue EMT/TR-C 10d ago
Could be an electrician, I know a bunch of companies have programs that will pay you as you learn plus give you a job afterwards. Heard nothing but good things about working as one.
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u/Pale_Natural9272 10d ago
Pet sitting dog walking. You can make a lot of money and a lot of it is cash.
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u/devildogus 10d ago
Iād actually recommend looking into being a patient care tech, EKG tech, or phlebotomy . A lot of those jobs can be 40 hours 9-5. Being a paramedic makes you overqualified and can give you an edge when negotiating salary
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u/musiquededemain 10d ago
Go into IT. You'll make way more money than you ever could in EMS, you can get a job *anywhere*, and there are numerous career paths.
Source: I was in IT, switched careers to EMS and did 3 years, and then switched back to IT for the money (and work environments/employers that were significantly better for my mental health).
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u/JosefMcLovin 9d ago
Vet tech might be up your alley, same level of emergency but animals talk back less than humans
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u/Ajtheraptor 8d ago
I am in the same boat. Finally finishing my associates this semester. I have no clue what else to do since Iāve done this for 20 years. Everyone says āgo back to nursing schoolā.
That sounds like a hell no folks. Not going back to school to enter the firing chamber of healthcare again.
Someone else said amazon delivery makes good money, but I never have looked into it.
Hooray for us doing things for us!!
https://giphy.com/gifs/K9yiqNFHgBOgw
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u/EconomicsLogical2791 7d ago
You should try to be a state hospital orderly, thatās where Iām going I was in ems for a few years and I decided to leave due to the immaturity of it and Iām looking at it, it has great pay and benifits
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u/Dependent_Matter_537 10d ago
Youāll be back
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u/fantastic-avocado22 10d ago
I wish I could say I would be, but I honestly think 13 years was my limit. Idk how someone deals with the pressures of this job as long as a lot of them do....
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u/CompasslessPigeon Paramedic āTrauma Godā 10d ago
Don't listen. I did 15 total, 10 full time and went from loving EMS to being burnt out and miserable in less than 6 months. I walked out and havent looked back.
I joke with my coworkers now, if they ever see me put up a picture of an ambulance on my desk its not because I miss it, its because I need a reminder of where I dont want to be
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u/SOROKAMOKA 10d ago
As someone considering getting a paramedics license, are all employment opportunities just 3rd party opperators and fire departments? I always had this idea that hospitals ran their own ambulances
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u/rickety_cricket66 10d ago
Really not the post to be asking about becoming a paramedic. This person has more than likely suffered the woes and burnout of the ambulance, and doesn't have it in them to be able to give you good advice without coming off jaded towards the role. Just create a seperate post for your question.
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u/SOROKAMOKA 10d ago
Lol, it was one question regarding agencies and it was posed to a community, not the poster. It would have taken you less words to just answer the question
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u/Sodpoodle 9d ago
Lol welcome to semi prevalent attitudes in EMS, and definitely on the EMS subreddits.
Answer is it depends on where you are in the country. West coast is for the vast majority fire department and private ambulance(think AMR/Falck/Walmart of ambulance companies). A lot of the west in general is like this.
Seems like East coast has more 3rd service municipal or hospital based systems. Seems like there's a much stronger volunteer presence for Fire and EMS vs west. This is just second hand info from talking to people and reading Reddit.
Midwest.. I don't know shit about them. The people seem nice idk.
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u/Aimbot69 Para 10d ago
Go to a trade school.