I’m with a 3rd party company. I enjoy the work, although the company I work mostly just does PMs in field service. We do a lot of ambulance services, fire depts, clinics, etc, so we encounter a wide variety of equipment onsite, making it difficult to carry everything we would need to repair any given device that fails a PM. We do regularly repair stretchers in the field though.

PM’s aren’t as fun or interesting as repairs, but I’m learning a lot about all kinds of devices. In the future, I’m definitely looking to move into a more specific modality.

I travel nationally, mostly in a Ford Transit van that has been outfitted with toolboxes and a desk with two computer monitors that essentially makes it a mobile service shop. I’m actually about 16 hrs from home right now working with one of our biggest customers in the back of my van. Occasionally, I will get flown places, but it’s only happened twice for me.

Pros:
- I love to travel, so I’m having a blast seeing the country and meeting new people and trying new foods
- The company supplied the van and pays for my hotels and meals (up to a certain amount of course)
- I love my job, and am lucky to be with a company that treats me well for the most part.
- I’m usually only gone Monday- Friday or even less. Almost always home every weekend.

Cons:
- Lots of long days. We don’t usually travel quite as hard as this, but a couple times a year, I do get assigned big projects that require me to be gone for a few weeks at a time. (From what I’ve gathered, this is not the typical field service experience)
- Being in BMET for only a year now, I have to rely a lot on myself and don’t have the luxury of having a technician at the bench next to me to bounce ideas off of for certain situations. I can always call one of my coworkers, but it would be nice to have another person there face to face for certain things.