Hey folks.

I'm a graphic designer by trade but I'm undergoing some medical training as a possible complete career change or at least a part time career change so I can design what I want.... not what I have to.

So, I'm looking for input from anyone that's out there on what you're doing, how you like it, pay, hours, job availability... etc.

I finished my certified medical assistant program. I gave my doctor all my paper work today to get everything signed off. Then I have to find an externship (if any of you have doctors for friends or family please talk to them for me. Externships are IMPOSSIBLE for me to find out here because 1. I don't speak spanish. A must in Watsonville, Salinas... everywhere over here. 2. Cabrillo has Santa Cruz county on lock down.)

Soon as I'm done with that I take the cert. test and I'm done.

I've been looking in to what direction I want to go and I just can't make up my mind... and I have to. Now.

I've been going between 3 things for YEARS. Paramedic. Trauma/ER Nursing. Rad Tech.

I figure the CMA is a decent first step for all of those but I really don't have much desire to be a medical assistant if I don't have to. At least not full time.
I'm leaning toward Paramedic right now because I can bridge to nursing later. Rad Tech is cool too but I think I might get bored.

I saw a guy get hit on the freeway a couple weeks ago and my heart rate didn't even go up. I was calmer than both of the CHP's that I beat to the scene. One dude was tripping. I could see his hands shaking. I've personally helped at a couple fatal and near fatal accidents. I talked to a woman that was dying right in front of me literally twisted in two. I like to help people.



so... help me find an externship and talk to me about what you're doing!

And if you need any design and production work let a dude know. I've just signed on a 3rd client but I can take a LOT more work right now. From custom illustrations to taking your art and making it printable.



LATERS!

 

I was an EMT. That's really all I can offer. It's been a long time and I'm actually glad I didn't go that route.

 

firefighting!!

Only cause im doing it too

 

ohhh... medical... i read MEDEVIL...

nm...

 

I know the jobs are slim to none out there right now but it is a thought. How do you like it?

That I would get in to paramedics and then take a shot at being a fire medic. I'm already getting old and it's pretty damn scary to think of a complete and VERY drastic career change. Especially when I'm good at what I do and was making a damn good living at it for a while. I was on pace for well over $80k in 2005 when I left AT&T to hit the small agency market.

Part of what I like about being a Rad Tech and Paramedic is I can keep doing design while I'm doing it. I don't know what kind of schedule fire medics have. I know they make pretty good scratch though. Like $70k plus O.T.

I just really enjoy helping people and I enjoy a challenge. Part of why I got burned out on design back in 05' was because I could do what took most people 40-50 hours a week to do in 20 hours. So I'd sit on i-club all damned day or honda tech. I had like 10k posts on superhonda back in the day. LOL!

 

Ray- quite a few options out there for the EMT/Medic route.

Been an EMT for almost 10years, with the time split between busses and Fire.

Shoot me a PM and I can probably answer most of your questions.

Bo

 

Screw that. Lets get a beer! Name a time and place.

 

thats always a solution!

 

Shoot me a couple hour heads up of when you'll be up this way and I can usually meet up. Rockbottom in the Pruneyard is right down the street from our place

 

Will do. You still have my cell? I got a new phone and I'm missing some of my contacts.

 

I do not have first hand experience with this, but my sister is an EMT and is currently studying to be a nurse. From my conversations with her, she was contemplating going to either be a paramedic or nurse and she decided to skip being a paramedic altogether just because it is a different career path in a sense than nursing and it wasn't worth the time to go from one to the next.

Also, working as an EMT, she doesn't earn an amazing amount of money, but she does well for herself being single. I am guessing that Solsurfer will probably give you the same spiel.

What company you work for Surfer? And I am assuming you work in the South Bay

 

Monterey and Santa Cruz counties...Only recently moved to the south bay.


Oh and Ray- PM.

 

I don't know anything about Paramedicine...

PM inbound

 

Paramedic positions are pretty hard to find in CA, and fire fighting is even harder. Great career once your in, but the key is getting in. Couple of my instructors said they had to volunteer up to 6 years before they could finally get hired. Some get hired on the first try, some two years... all depends.

 

i have a couple of buds that have recently became RN's.Two graduated from HPU with Nursing Degrees, one from CCSF with a Nursing AA.

The Nursing AA found a job as an ER nurse in 6 months, and one of the HPU grads found work with his mom at SFGeneral doing pre-surgery. The other HPU grad took almost a year to land a position in Hayward as he's still training in not sure which dept he'll be in.

One word of advice is if you really wanna be in the medical field you can't really be picky right now. You'll be doing some general nursing stuff for the first years then you'll be locked down to a department like my friend who is doing pre-surg work and getting paid BANK.

But usually once you get in, as long as you're a hard working and not afraid of all the risks, you'll get paid well and have a lifelong career.

I have another friend who is now a director of a pediatric unit in socal and she's only 26! She put in her work, was a ***** when she needed to be, leaned out the department and the hospital offered her the highest position when it became available.

I'm filipino, i know a lot of nurses/people in the med field.

I don't know many people who are paramedics, but I have an ex-coworker of mine leave her position to train with firefighters, and now she's an EMT for Royal Ambulance.