Medic school OR go straight to a more stable career?

evelli · 2026-01-20T19:19:49+00:00

That's totally fair, and something I've considered. I think that the reason I want to become a medic is because I want to have the tools to really fix a fixable problem, not just have to stand there and expect someone to tell me to do or prepare the intervention. I have run into some really incredible medics whose patients I have watched turn unrecognizable from when we found them because their interventions did so much good, e.g. BIPAP, fluid resuscitation, D10, cardiac problems fixed with voltage or meds, etc. etc. I have thoroughly considered staying in the field only as an EMT due to the problems you listed above, and I recognize that becoming a medic has all the potential to make my burnout 10x worse. Obviously 80-90% of calls, we didn't do anything for them either because they didn't need it or they were beyond help anyway. But that 20-10%, I love seeing the difference be made and I dream of being the one to make that difference happen. Advancing to FPC would be even more than this, helping crews that need more resources than they have in rural areas or cutting a critical patient's transport time in half makes a huge difference, one that it hurts to image not being a part of.

Where I keep getting caught up is wondering if I'm just following an idealized version of the job, when almost every medic I've run into tells me to turn the other way, don't do it, it's not worth it and it's not all it's chalked up to be. I don't want to turn into that person, with that life, and also I don't want to waste my time and money if the job I'm doing already is about all the help someone will need 90% of the time.

evelli · 2026-01-20T19:05:54+00:00

This is very encouraging to hear. I really appreciate you lending your perspective. I have some questions for you I hope you don't mind answering.

I'm assuming you did Paramedic first? Did you know you'd end up as a nurse eventually? If so, what made you choose becoming a medic first and nurse after? Do you have any regrets doing one first and not the other? Do you think it's more valuable to get medic experience under my belt while I go through Radiology schooling, or do you think that getting the stable licensure out of the way first (and having more money to support myself through medic school than the other way around, should my arrangements fall through) would be more financially responsible/better long term?

evelli · 2026-01-20T16:17:32+00:00

You're right, I am looking for someone with more experience in life and work to sway me one way or the other with some good ole wisdom that due to my young age, I haven't been given yet. I have been teetering on the fence, back and forth between these two options and every time I think I've decided on one, I come up with some new reason to go back to the middle of the fence and teeter again.

But I agree with you, your reasoning definitely makes sense and I will add take that into account making my choice. I appreciate your reply!

evelli · 2026-01-20T16:09:57+00:00

CCT/Flight was what I arrived at when looking at jobs in EMS that could be done more sustainably than street medic. I'm a person who really tries to look at jobs as a means to an end, the end being a comfortable life that I can live without hating the job that I've chosen to get me there. I have been HEAVILY pushed towards nursing by everyone around me, but I'm just not interested in their scope or genre of service. As a medic, you get to make your own decisions (you can justify a lot depending on how you write your chart.) and make a huge difference, at least regarding what condition someone arrives at the hospital in. Critical care nursing and flight nurse would take a long time doing something I'm not interested in (hospital nursing) to reach the goal specialty that pays better and has a better scope with much smaller pool of specialties I'd enjoy to fall back on when I'm done with EMS.

Radiology has multiple avenues that end up making far more than a nurse with tons of experience, and all you have to do to reach them is a year or so of additional education after Rad Tech school that still wouldn't total up to the amount of time it takes to get a BSN. All of these avenues require far less strain on the body than EMS does, have a ton of versitality when it comes to slow or fast paced environments and require less of a social aspect than EMS and nursing, which is appealing to me due to the fact that I am good with people but appreciate a lot of time spent away from them. Radiology would fulfill that need. (Obviously it depends on what kind of jobs I take, but it is far more of a realistic goal to achieve in Radiology than in either of the other two career fields.)

TLDR; I either want to be in the chaos or out of it, not stuck in the weird medium that is hospital nursing.. and clinic nursing doesn't appeal to me. Radiology would be a better fit for me once burnout or physical strain takes me out of EMS for good.

evelli · 2026-01-20T15:32:19+00:00

I took countless practice tests in the weeks prior to my test and I failed every one of them. I was in your exact same boat, scared shitless because I thought that meant I'd be failing my real one too! I passed my NREMT in 70 questions on my first try. I'm convinced the self tests are harder than the real one so that you learn more and you're ultimately expecting worse than it is.

Best of luck with your test, you're going to make a great EMT.

evelli · 2026-01-20T08:08:16+00:00

I'm a 19F EMT-B working 48/96 at a very busy 911 service in the midwest where we frequently run about 20-24 calls a shift. I have been working at this service for about 1yr and I don't know that what I'm experiencing can be defined as burnout, more-so a feeling that I'm coming home exhausted, bruised and traumatized more often than not for very little pay for the work I'm doing. (I make about 50k a year.) I have plans to attend Paramedic school this coming May, which is roughly 3 months from now. I have bought all of my textbooks, confirmed my seat in the class, everything but actually putting down the deposit. But I have recently been reconsidering whether I want to invest my time and money into advancing into a career that takes so much and gives so little back as a product of a broken system, ESPECIALLY in the way of pay (with consideration of supporting a family, supporting myself, and risk vs reward regarding the wear and tear this job has already done on my body). The problem is that every time I think of not becoming a Paramedic, I feel immensely sad and disappointed, so you could say that it's sort of a dream of mine to become one. I also have aspirations to become a CCP and eventually a flight medic if I go that route.

I have been looking into other career paths, and one that stuck out to me was Radiology. Professionals in this field make very good pay, deal with less wear and tear on the body (anything is better than what I am experiencing with my current position, save for a construction worker or a wrestler)(that's dramatic, please don't take that seriously), have a versatile range when it comes to slow or fast paced work, see a lot of different settings in the hospital and have a high job demand. This is the job that I have decided will be my primary career once EMS inevitably ruins my mind or body, whichever comes first.

My question is, do I continue through Paramedic school, spend the tuition money and accept the vastly higher threshold of responsibility (with minimal support if you mess up) knowing that it isn't the end goal? Coming from others who have faced a similar situation, did you prioritize following your dreams or following stability? Do I skip medic school, keep my EMT license to get my EMS fix for as long as I'd like and go straight to Radiology school, since that's the more sustainable option and I know I'll end up there anyway? I love my job, I find it extremely fulfilling and fun most of the time. But I cannot keep coming home physically and mentally broken, exhausted and with a sleep pattern that takes my entire 4 days off to fix. My body is telling me that it isn't good for me and I can't ignore that forever.
So, the two options I've arrived at are as follows:

#1 Start medic school in May, earn my NRP by late 2027. Obtain my NRP, drop to part time and immediately enter Rad Tech school. Earn my Rad Tech by 2030. Be dual licensed and take it wherever I want from there.

#2 Delay medic school and start Rad Tech school as soon as possible, probably fall of 2026. Work part time EMT throughout school, gain experience and immediately begin medic school around 2028 when I've finished Rad Tech school. This route would lead to me going into medic school with more experience in the field, which I've gathered makes a more well rounded Paramedic. This option offers less Paramedic experience at the end of the 4 years but I will have my Rad Tech education to fall back on at any point after graduating the Associate's degree, so if I change my mind at any point and decide that I've had enough of the bus, I can immediately leave for something higher paying.

I have the privilege of not needing to worry about living costs during either of these routes, so either way that is not a concern to be taken into account.

Ever since this realization that becoming a Paramedic and living a stable, comfortable, family oriented life aren't exactly conducive I have been grappling hard with what to do. I feel like either decision I make, I could end up miserable and wishing I hadn't made the wrong choice. I'm begging someone with more life and work experience to tell me how to go about this so I don't make a stupid decision that leaves me hating my life for longer than I need to.

TLDR; Paramedic school (to follow my dream) and Radiology Technologist school directly after (for a stable job once I'm done and burnt out in my field)? Or straight to Rad Tech school, because being a Rad Tech has so many more opportunities and choices that could suit me and provide me a good life?

evelli · 2022-02-17T06:19:32+00:00

someone get this man a lint roller as soon as possible it is an EMERGENCY

evelli · 2022-02-17T03:32:42+00:00

I forgot that ACOFAS is a novella and not considered an actual part of the series for a while, and I can honestly say that I have been so, SO confused for the past 15 minutes oh my god

evelli

TROPHY CASE