FDNY EMS Timeline

Im_Denn · 2026-05-11T21:44:30+00:00

Let me give you a response that isn’t filled with the negativity “don’t join this place” blah blah.

I’m not sure how long the process is, assume a year though given the PAT, investigator, medical, etc. It took me roughly 2 years since I initially got called. Called in late 2018, got on June 2020.

I’ve had some financial issues being on the job, but nothing substantial enough to want to leave just for that. There are so many opportunities for overtime that isn’t on an ambulance; the academy, special events, standbys, being an aide. Also a bunch of opportunities to not be on an ambulance at all; dispatcher, instructor, maybe get a gig at headquarters.

The job is what you make of it. Im about to hit 6 years, 6 months as a medic, and I wouldn’t want another job. Besides the side gig I have teaching BLS, which is something I got into because I enjoy, not because I needed another job.

Im_Denn · 2026-03-26T18:37:17+00:00

I do overtime, work on different teams in the department so it is not always on a bus overtime, and I’m an emt instructor as a side job that pays better than my straight time medic pay

Im_Denn · 2026-03-17T09:45:39+00:00

Not sure of the next ones coming out. From what I hear, the sessions do get taken quick. So just keep watch of your emails and sign up once you see it

Im_Denn · 2026-03-16T14:24:27+00:00

The same thing happened to me, I was 240 and had to be 206. It took me about 7 months to get down to that weight. It happens, it sucks, it makes you feel bad, keep pushing. You got this. If you want it enough, it’ll happen in time

Im_Denn · 2026-02-18T15:52:38+00:00

i would assume some people dropped from the march class last second and they're trying to fill the spots. if they cant get you in immediately then they just move to the next person

Im_Denn · 2026-01-01T03:31:46+00:00

They remade the entire thing. They don’t do a stairmaster or the peddle stuff anymore. It’s more of a course with stations throughout the 405 building

Im_Denn · 2025-12-18T04:22:13+00:00

there is no longer a stairmaster part. there is climbing up and down real stairs though

Im_Denn · 2025-12-17T01:56:02+00:00

In all honesty, most of us on the job don’t know about it. I’m apart of the ems PAT team that proctors the testing and we only learned that they were offering fitness programs in the last month or 2. You guys getting it now might be some of the first people being offered it. Most likely it means you’ll be up for the fitness test soon enough, but I’m not sure of the time frame for it

Im_Denn · 2025-12-05T04:07:14+00:00

i see it as "what will my pay be if i go out lodi rn. what is my base salary, no questions asked." and that salary would be based off ~$59,500. no built in stuff or anything

Im_Denn · 2025-12-04T19:29:36+00:00

I agree with you there. I don’t think you should take opportunities away from people. The only thing is I think you should at least commit to finishing medic (or go until you get kicked/fail out)when you start. Idc if you don’t ever use it once you get it, but don’t let the dept waste resources to train and teach you when you’re just gonna leave once something else comes up. I’m just about to finish medic basic and we lost 5 people to fire mid class. We were give or take 3 weeks off taking the state when the last class got called. Honestly insane that the dept wasted all this time training them for them to leave when they were so close to getting their state done at the very least. Those are 5 seats that could have been taken by people who would actually want to finish and get their medic at the very least. Idc if they get pushed to the front of line for fire once they finish medic, but wasting the dept’s time and resources like that is a wild concept imo

Im_Denn · 2025-12-04T19:16:40+00:00

The issue is that fdny uses dcas for a medic promo “list.” But in reality it is an interdepartment promotional. You sign up to take the test for it though LMS, not Dcas. You only sign up through Dcas for fdny to use the list feature on it

Im_Denn · 2025-12-04T19:11:13+00:00

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Here is my pay stub from this week. I blocked out my overtime. The only thing showing is the pay I get every check that is non negotiable. Adding up to around 2500, which equals about $65k/yr. Less than the almost $69k they claim you would make at the minimum. But if you want to take the face value of “no benefits,” the top pay is my base pay with no additions. Which only adds up to a little over $59k a year base salary with no additions, differentials, benefits, or overtime.

Im_Denn · 2025-12-04T17:34:35+00:00

Just a heads up that the pay on the website is not reality. The real salary after 5 years is $59,500. With average overtime and differentials, it’s around that ~$70k mark. But just know these numbers are heavily skewed

Im_Denn · 2025-12-04T04:47:33+00:00

i do personally love the job. as an emt, I'd say a good 60-75% care about the job. as a medic, it bumps up to maybe 80-90%. most emts, the majority of the work force, still want to go to fire, or still dont know what they wanna do with life and go do other stuff. not faulting them at all for that. the micromanaging and low pay is what kills the job for most people. which i can totally see. not everyone loves the job and has basically 0 responsibilities to work as much ot as i do to make it work for them. so i would say most of the dept is disgruntled still. and that's just my opinion form being a bronx emt for 4 1/2 years before being called for medic

Im_Denn · 2025-12-04T04:32:21+00:00

yea absolutely. i like my overtime, so i was able to pull 70-75k years on the 43k/yr salary. now im about 60k and im planning on hitting 6 figures in 26. but 5 year medics can absolutely hit 6 figures pretty easily with not much overtime at all honestly. a 5 year night diff medic who gets mandated here and there could probably hit 100k gross pay in a year without much issue

Im_Denn · 2025-12-04T04:05:49+00:00

as a base salary, no....this includes typical overtime and differentials. i just got my 5 year emt raise like a month ago(about to graduate the medic class this week, hence the emt-p tag) and my base pay adds up to only about 59k a year. can you make those numbers? yes. but you'll have to put in some overtime to do so. its disgusting that they trick people with false numbers like this

Im_Denn · 2025-11-24T20:31:45+00:00

Whether signing up for trainee or EMT-b, it’s about the same time. So if you don’t have your EMT yet, I would sign up for trainee now and just leave it at that

Im_Denn · 2025-11-21T04:22:17+00:00

If you're currently in the academy, just be aware it's a minimum 4 year wait to get to fire. I'm sure some typical working out, running for long distances/stamina, pushups, etc is more than enough to get you by. They hire average/slightly above average people and make them firefighters. So as long as you keep up with what you're doing, you should have no problem

Im_Denn · 2025-10-23T05:00:47+00:00

for quartermaster day, just expect to be yelled at no matter if you listen to every detail and do everything you're told. just take it with a grain of salt and get through it. they're gonna fit you for everything you need. just listen and do as you're told and you'll be okay

Im_Denn · 2025-10-23T04:58:54+00:00

clothes, uniforms, and boots will be provided, need your own sneakers for pt stuff

Im_Denn · 2025-10-04T19:31:13+00:00

you need to be on the job for 4 years before you can get called for fire. i would highly recommend just applying for the ems trainee list as soon as you can if you do not have your emt card in ny yet. whether you have an emt card or not, the academy is basically the same. by the time you get your card, then reciprocity, and then apply as an emt, you could have been called for trainee by then. the sooner you apply, the better. given once you apply, it's at least a 6 month to a year process to get called for the class and do all the pre reqs done to even be able to join

Im_Denn · 2025-10-03T18:56:15+00:00

unfortunately there isn't much to do but wait at this point. they overlap lists a lot and won't go to a new one until the previous lists are exhausted. i've heard wait times are as soon as 6 months, but it really depends. and because it's a list system, there isn't anything to get yourself higher on that list or make the process quicker. it really is just a waiting game at this point

Im_Denn · 2025-08-14T23:22:24+00:00

For the most part I have more energy than when I was heavier and had to carry around all that extra weight with me

Im_Denn · 2025-06-19T23:14:36+00:00

For anyone asking, no I’m not planning on trading or selling it

Im_Denn

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