15 years in EMS and the job finally got me. An ever increasing lack of GAF from management. Poor pay, poor treatment, and a management change about a year ago that made it all worse.

My only advice to anyone looking to become a paramedic. Don't. At least never work for a private. Fire looks down on you. Hospital staff and nurses look down on you. Patients treat you like an Uber. They will take everything from you and give nothing back. You will be injured, you will be broken, your home life will suffer, and you will be broke. You are disposable, you are expendable, and they let you know it.

FWIW I got a job at Amazon stuffing boxes. The pay and benefits are better. All without the 3 1/2 years of college or the degree. Go figure.

To those sticking it out. God bless you. To those who got out, I tip my hat to you. To the smart ones who went PD or fire. Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't regret not going that route when I was younger. I was more preoccupied with chasing women than I was a career, and I paid the price for it.

To all of you. Stay safe and good luck. As for me, the next time I see the inside of an ambulance, I'll be dying.

Burnout is real. Been there.

All the advice I can offer is to be good to yourself and reset. Perhaps think about other ways you can use that cert and keep it current for as long as you can. You never know when it will come in handy (or be useful in a future endeavor).

Do a paramedic to RN bridge program. Bang a bunch of hot young RN/CNA/LPNs...profit.

Your first mistake was even considering the mere notion that people could to be even remotely decent to you. At least now you know beyond the pale that the human race is by and large nothing but a steaming pile of watery fly-festering dogshit. The important thing now is just not to forget this. I feel you… people suck, bad. REALLY bad.

I've always been appalled at how little you guys make. Even full-on paramedics are payed shit. Really says a lot about how little society actually regards human life. Profits first.

My advice- If you still want to develop medical skills, perhaps switch over to the veterinary side of the house. You're still part of a team accomplishing admirable, rewarding things but you're not dealing with miserable entitled assholes so much. And who doesn't love furry little animals?

Also- With your extensive EMT background, the construction and industrial safety industry is a natural progression. Lots of ex- EMS, FD, LE, and mil in the ranks. That's what I do. It can pay pretty well. It's an exploding industry too, lots of work. PM me if you have any questions.

Good luck w/Amazon. I know they offer a pretty good package(no pun intended) straight out of the gate, but from what I've seen you WILL earn it. Very draconian and top heavy corporate structure. If anything it's a really secure line of work while you shift gears and figure out new horizons so it's all good.

I was a volunteer EMT here in the Midwest for about 5 years. Burnout is indeed real.

Geez, OP, thanks for the morning upper with my coffee.  

Good on you for recognizing and getting out.

Op - sorry to hear that.  I’m in the city as police, and our paramedics/emt’s are grossly overworked and underpaid.  I’ve always admired all of you and the job you do.  You are the front line and if you don’t keep people alive then the hospital doesn’t get a chance.  We have had 67 homicides so far this year, along with roughly 220 non fatal shootings.  You all stay busy where I work and perform miracles.  So if no one else says it, thank you.  

Totally understand the burn out.  With 14 years on the PD I feel the same way.  Best of luck to you.  Don’t box yourself in in the job search, you are capable of a lot and have some real awesome skills!  Go forth and conquer.

I am going to send you a pm.

I've started to respond to this at least 4-5 times.

I hate that this happened to you. I hate it even worse for your community. The only people that burn out are ones that are competent and care. You've invested a lot of sweat and blood equity in those certs; please, maintain them for at least a year.

There is work outside of emergency response, and with time to decompress you may find an opportunity that lets you serve in a meaningful way without having to deal with people who have their Tenncare number memorized.

Whatever you wind up doing, I don't know you; but thank you for all the time you've invested away from your family in public service. Nobody can ever take that away from you.

Like someone else suggested do the paramedic to RN course.  My wife was a paramedic in Indy for 15yrs & after listening to her bitch I told her to just go & do it & she couldn't be happier.  Graduated & almost doubled her salary.  Good for you, you earned it.

Sorry to hear it. Private/management will always pay you nothing, will work you until you can't do it and they will do nothing to help other than replace you. I worked private for many years to supplement my income on the f.d. and even prior to getting my f.d. career. At first I loved it but couldn't wait to leave it. Not the job but the way you are treated on all sides. The best day of my life was quitting the private side. The problem with the private side is they will get a warm body to fill the position and not care how they do. Training is at best minimal and the trainers don't really have any real world experience, at least some of the ones I worked with. I have seen it many times and some of my "partners" would brag of what they can do, only to be proven wrong by their own actions. I have had numerous partners that bragged to me about never pushing a med in the years they have been on. That is one of the reasons hospitals look down on them. They look at the group as a bunch of people who just want a job without having to do the job and lump us all together. I am not saying you should push meds just because but do so when the pt. needs it. It's funny with the fire guys looking down on you as most of us get their start working for a private company. Almost every guy I know on numerous f.d. have worked the private side first. Many forget where they  came from. The private ambulance company I worked for also responded with f.d. for "BLS" calls and the f.d. never went to a nursing home call unless it was for a full arrest and even then. It was a total mess and was amazing at the failure on all sides.

Like others have said, there is a life outside the private side without having to go on a f.d.. Hospitals are one, as well as doctors offices and even dentists.

Appreciate the kind words. It does mean a lot.

I won't let my certs lapse. I worked too hard for them, between EMT, I-85, Medic and the degree courses from the college I'm into the schooling 3 and a half years, but I really never see myself returning to the job.

I'm doing the Amazon thing now getting paid the same with none of the bullshit. In fact, I'm taking home more money even being paid less per hour because I'm not paying for my health insurance for my family out of pocket like I had to do at the ambulance. So it's a win.

I'm currently in the early stages of starting my own business with a partner. If we can make this work out then I will be much better off than I ever would be as a Paramedic. I'll be doing something I actually enjoy also, so we'll see.

That job almost cost me my marriage. It cost me time and moments with my kids I will never get back. The stress from not making ends meet was constant. I don't miss it at all. A couple of people were sad to see me go, my FTO was vocal about it. Said they were losing a good medic, the words were nice, but fell on deaf ears. No one else batted an eye. Business as usual. I sat down with HR and my manager on my last day. Told them I'd go part time, they told me no part time positions were available. So I told them I was out. For giggles I looked at paramedic jobs in my AO a few days later while applying for jobs, would you be surprised that my old company had help wanted part time paramedic posts smeared on every job board like feces on a wall? But no, they had no part time spots open. I get it, they were sick of my burn out attitude. Funny thing is they never bothered to ask me what was wrong or why I felt the way I did. Just the beatings will continue until my morale improved or they showed me the door. Well, I didn't bother to leave ass cheeks on the glass on my way out. I'm better than that. Wish I could say the same for them.

I made it about that long- from around 1984 to 2001. I think the RN bridge program is a great idea.  RN open many different doors in areas of medicine.

I only made it about 3 years before walking away.

I think this part explains a bit about the problem. I don’t think you were all the problem or even the majority of the problem but clearly part of the problem was you. I’m not saying the place you worked for was a great place. A major sign of a morale problem anywhere is not one pissed off person quitting. It’s a bunch of pissed off people quitting. The fact you asked to stay on part time indicates to me you didn’t hate it completely. I left my last PD over bad leadership (new Chief) but I was so fed up with that place I would have never offered to stay on part time even if it was an option. I was fucking done with that place once I left and haven’t stepped foot in the door since I left even to visit people who I liked there. I visit them away from that place. My job now has people quit from time to time to pursue other careers but the majority of them return from time to time to visit. A few even come back to work with us once they find out the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere.

Emergency services is a career where lots of people burn out. Bad leadership speeds that process up but even with good leadership, some still burn out. Just the way it is.

I’m sorry for you that it ended on such a negative note. Hopefully you can put it behind you, learn things in the process, and come out a better person for it. One thing I firmly believe....good things come out of bad situations more often than not. I have found doors closing and felt frustrated but then discover I’m far better off for that door closing in my face.  It didn’t feel like it at the time but looking back on it, I’m glad things happened like they did.

I’ve learned as much, if not more, from the shitty leaders I have worked for than the good ones. The good leaders taught me what to do and the bad ones taught me what NOT to do. I didn’t enjoy all those lessons but the harsh lessons are more firmly branded on my brain.

Good luck!

The only reason I requested to stay part time was because that is the easiest way to maintain certification. If you are not actively employed by a company or municipality recerting licenses is a nut buster and a half. Certs and licenses expire every 2-3 years and require almost 100 hours of continuing education every time. Paying for that out of pocket when you are not employed runs into the thousands of dollars. It's free, except for the time spent, when you maintain a job. I can easily go with another company and maintain a part time job, but that requires going through new hire and an internship again, I dont want that.

I got out after 8 years. I still run around with the local Vol FD for shits and grins.

I don't miss working the bus one bit. I'll stick to working non-transport and deal with a lot less bullshit.

My breaking point was when I was forced to take a psych pt transfer 60 miles in the middle of a fucking ice storm. The ER refused to hold her until the storm passed because she might lose the bed and the attending wanted her the fuck outa his ED. It took 8 hours round trip and when I got back I got QA'd because I took too long on the call....

That and the never ending bullshit paperwork you're supposed to give and get signed from them. ABN's, NPP's, HIPPA acknowledgement forms, etc... I mean if I'm having a STEMI or bleeding to death I really don't give a fuck about some bullshit form.

Sorry for the rant. Your situation just struck a nerve...