Hello I recently got EMT certified in July in the Sacramento area, and I'm having a hard time getting my first EMT job. I've applied to basically every IFT company and other EMT positions I can find, around sac and out of sac but hardly anyone is reaching out or getting back to me.
I'm hoping to eventually get into 911 EMS, but right now I'm just trying to get my foot in the door and gain some experience.
I lifeguarded for about two years if that’s relevant, I've been following up on applications and trying different approaches, but I'm still not having much luck.
I have reliable transportation, and I'm willing to commute for work. I'm also open to other entry-level EMS positions if that's what it takes to get started.
For those of you working in EMS, how did you get your first EMT job? Are there any companies in the Sacramento area that are actually hiring new EMTs? Is the job market just really competitive right now, or could I be doing something wrong with my applications?
Any advice, recommendations, or leads would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hey guys!

22F, going through EMT school right now. Really enjoying classes.

Hear me out. I'm not interested in treating randos unless it's life or limb.

I'm moreso interested in having a small kit on me (when I'm certified, although I'm already interested in having a small first aid and CPR kit, as I'm a CNA and can legally carry those) when friends or family have issues.

I like hiking and plan on doing more of it. I plan on eventually biking. My partner has somewhat severe seizures. I don't think that being the "group first aid person" is really a bad idea, especially for treating myself or people I know well. For example, someone falling while hiking and hurting themselves would be something I could assess immediately. I could apply direct pressure or a tourniquet if necessary (and once my training is over.) But it would absolutely not be just a kit in my car for everyday life lol.

Here's what I'm considering. Anything with a question mark afterwards is something I'm very unsure about and I might have an explanation.

• Pocket mask
• Pocket BVM (?)
• Tourniquet, CAT Gen 7
• Sterile Gauze
• Triangular bandage (? but tbf we haven't fully covered trauma yet!)
• Band-Aids
• PPE and Standard Precaution Equipment (Hand sanitizer, Alcohol, etc)
• Packing gauze
• Chest seal with valve (I will learn more about them later on, so I do not know enough to have perfect info yet. But I hike where some people hunt.)
• Sharpie lol
• Shears
• Penlight (Mostly for my bf's seizures)
• A small amount of saline
• Ace bandage (For small injuries like sprained ankles on hikes)

I feel like it sounds like a lot, but all of these are small items that will fit into a makeup bag lol.

So is this a good list? What do you carry?

EDIT: I mentioned being a CNA because we are trained in first aid in my state. However, that really only is "until a nurse arrives." I honestly don't even know why I wrote that, I think I need to take a break from studying for a day or so..

To rephrase, I was interested in carrying something small for immediate, dangerous care until 911 arrives when I'm doing things that might have a higher incidence of danger. I think I lost my point in there. I also wanted to carry a couple of quality-of-life things on hikes (like the ace bandage) for small, common injuries on myself and my very close loved ones.

I landed my first EMT job after I finished school a week ago. I did my first shift and all of the information is very overwhelming. I don’t know any hospital layouts, I don’t know some of the supplies in the ambulance, and I feel like the more I work the more I realize I don’t know. Any advice? Maybe it’s imposter syndrome but I feel like I don’t know anything sometimes.

Hi everyone, first off I hope this post doesn't come off corny I don't wanna sound like a larper or anything I just find TEMS super cool. I'm currently an EMT-B planning on pursuing paramedic school and medical school in the future, and recently I've been awe struck by TEMS. I watch this guy called PrepMedic and everything he talked about sounded super cool.

At one point I did consider enlisting as a 68W, but then I got on ADHD meds and now I can't join. I wish I knew before I started meds but anyways I find TEMS super cool and was wondering how to enter that type of career? I know most SWAT officers had to do 4 years of patrol duty here in California, so would I have to be a cop before I can apply?

hello!

so, im visibly queer and an emt student. most of my friends who arent in ems are queer as well. but i was somewhat curious, if any paramedics/emts have found that taking gender affirming hormones can change a patients vital signs? and how that might affect a situation in an emergency?

like i have a friend who is a trans man, and his baseline blood pressure has gone up since going on testosterone.

also, are testosterone or estrogen a contraindication for any medication as well?

hope this makes sense! its 2am and im studying haha

Hey guys, I have an interview with McCormick for their special events position this coming Wednesday, anyone who’s interviewed recently have any tips or things I should study, I’ve been doing IFT for a year and a half so I haven’t used hardly any of my skills or trauma assessing

Any tips or help appreciated

When I took my EMT pt evaluation a few years back, I don’t remember this being on the NREMT skill sheets. What does it mean exactly?

EDIT: Thank you to those that provided helpful info and encouragement. And to those asking why Mom is posting, daughter doesn’t use Reddit. She is responsible and already hit the gym yesterday afternoon. She will also apply to hospital tech positions (she ultimately wants to be a nurse). In one of her college classes recently there was a fire alarm and the elevators stopped working. She grabbed another student and together they carried a classmate in a wheelchair down 2 flights of stairs to get out of the building. She was just taken by surprise yesterday. Now she knows what to expect, she wants to prepare. God forbid a parent wants to support their child!

My daughter failed a lift test today for an IFT job in the Bay Area. She’s a new EMT and was so excited to be offered her first position. Today she is devastated. She is petite at 5’ 3” and 110 lbs but had no trouble in her course or during her ride alongs.

But today she had to do a scoop stretcher lift with 40, 90 and 120 lbs. She completed the 90 but could not lift the 120. Then on the carry up and down steps, she did the 40 lbs but the tester wouldn’t even let her attempt the heavier weights. He even told her when he first saw her that he suspected she would have trouble as this company has the most rigorous lift tests he’s seen.

She thinks she will be allowed one deferral of her orientation and will be able to test again in a month. Any hope of being able to pass after just one month given her results today? She knows she’ll need to hit the gym with dead lift and squats practice. I just feel so badly for her, she was in tears at her test and just so torn up after. The company provided no information on what to expect at the test, so that didn’t help. It was all just a shock. I want to encourage her, but am trying to also be realistic here about what’s actually achievable.

Curious if anyone here has tried MedNarrate for writing their PCR narratives?

Full disclosure, I’m involved with the app, but I’ve been using it myself and really enjoy how much easier it makes putting narratives together. We’re offering 3 days free right now for anyone who wants to give it a shot.

Would genuinely like to hear what other EMS providers think about it, especially what could be improved.

I am an incoming student to an EMS program and I'm hoping to get some advice on what to target when I go the gym in preparation, or even specific exercises that work on the kinds of lifting and movement that are required.

For context, I'm a senior at a different university right now and have access to a decent student rec center, but I've really struggled with planning workouts and staying consistent in the past because of how much advice there is out there. It's really hard to figure out what's good and what's not without experience, and the gym is already a difficult environment to be a newbie in.

Thanks!

I've heard it can vary wildly between location, private vs public, ift vs 911. Just hoping to get a general idea.

About a month ago I had a chiefs interview with a fire department regarding an EMT position, it felt super amazing and very personal regarding my interview. Got an email stating that I’m certified to the hiring department for the position. I understand this means I’m not hired but what exactly are others experience with this. Have you gotten hired hearing that? Just want to know where I’m sitting at with this job. For more detail I took a written exam and a captains interview prior to the chiefs. For my written exam they gave me a final banded score of a 100 with rank 1 and placed on the eligibility list.

Hello all, I’ve been an EMT for almost a year and a half. Just wanted to come on here and share my experience for all the out of state providers looking to come over or anybody in the NYC area looking to join.

The program I did was AURA Prep, formerly known as RTI. It was a hybrid program that mimicked a college course schedule, lecture portion was online for the first half, that then transitioned to in person for skills portion and ride alongs. Got my certification shortly after the program ended in Jan 2025. I didn’t go straight into EMS because I still had a managerial role in different job sector.

Didn’t do any background research on IFT companies and landed on Seniorcare EMS first week of April with a starting pay of $20/HR. I was part-time there and worked overnights for the first 4-5 months. At night, for a 10 hour shift, it was mainly responding to emergency calls with the occasional ED discharge. I would average at 3-4 calls a night. I got a lot of experience and learned a lot on the job that my school glossed over. I was always on time, didn’t cause any issues. I kept my head down and put my best foot forward(I didn’t really interact with management or logistics ever).

I applied into the 911 system at Seniorcare and got pushed into it in September, five months after my hire date for an extra $2 shift differential. Worked out of H95 (TBHC) in Brooklyn North but got pulled into Brooklyn Central very often with the occasional Manhattan South job. Continuing my learning and furthering the experience I acquired.

I started applying to 1199 Union EMT positions at hospitals and landed one shortly after. I worked as per diem and moved to part time before my 6 month per diem probation was over. I now make roughly $36 an hour as an EMT-B after my differentials. I work damn near FT hours every week with occasional OT. I am very happy with the hospital I ended up at and think I’ve had a pretty average NYC EMT-B experience.

I don’t think EMS will be a long term place for me as I am going to start looking into careers within the hospital now that my 1199 Union helps cover college.

P.S. I can also give out a general guide on how to get interviews at NYU, Maimonides, Mount Sinai, Northwell, Presbyterian, and Jamaica/Flushing

Just passed the NREMT. I'm in CA, so all private EMS companies require you to have an ambulance drivers license add-on before you can start working. In order to be eligible for the license, I need to get a physical exam from a doctor and submit it to the DMV... but I can't get an appointment with a doctor in my town for another month, they're completely booked out.

Would it be OK to start applying for jobs anyway, even without the ambulance drivers license, and include in my applications that I'm actively getting it and will have it before I start work? Or would it be better to wait a month to get the physical exam and the license before I start applying?

I know it will take a while to get hired and want to start work ASAP (but am worried that rushing into things will hurt my chances entirely.) Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance!

I love medicine. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to become a Paramedic. But Private EMS is absolute garbage in Las Vegas, and many other parts of the United States. Each and every private ambulance company in Las Vegas valley is trash. Why are these companies privately owned? Why are we not considered an essential service?

Where I work this is the starting pay and pay steps: For context full time operations is considered 3 12 hours shifts a week. First 8 hours of the shift is base pay, and last 4 hours of every shift is 1.5x that.

EMT starting pay: $12.83/hour
OT Pay: $19.24/hour

AEMT starting pay: I can’t remember exactly but it’s around $16.50/hour
OT Pay: $24.75/hour

Paramedic starting pay: $20.69/hour
OT Pay: $31.03/hour

Pay steps are generally yearly. Other than when you first become a Paramedic you get a pay step increase at 6 months, then 6 months after that. After that though I believe it’s once a year. The pay step is literally only 2% of your hourly wage.

I just think it’s crazy how people don’t talk about this enough. So many people I work with seem to be content about this. Quite frankly, it makes no sense. I think it is so EVIL how taken advantage of we are. The owners of the company are always going on luxurious vacations, while their workers are struggling to survive. It’s absolutely insane to me.

I'm going into week 5 of a 10 week EMT program, and I'm about to have my first ride-along on Monday. Because of my work schedule I've already been having some trouble keeping up with the other members of my class, like last week we were performing airways on mannequins and I was the only person in my group to have a critical fail (forgot to take BP before putting on a CPAP). I'm pretty nervous about my ride along, and I was hoping for any tips, or what to expect going in.

I am a brand new EMS student with ADHD, literally started 2 weeks ago, and of course the day before class started, I lost access to my medication due to the adderall shortage. Also, due to lack of transportation, I am taking a hybrid course that i knew would make studying more difficult for me, but at least i had my meds. On top of that i was completely out of commission for 3 days because my covid shot gave me terrible side effects and i was unable to study. Luckily our first in-person skill session is on CPR and I was a boy scout so i have at least some practice there, but I have fallen behind on the reading already. Most ADHD study tips have never worked for me and this is such an intense and important course, so I am coming here begging for any of your advice for studying. I don’t care how stupid it may sound writing it down I want to hear it. Please share it all. I know this is an important job so I really want to make sure I actually know everything and not just what gets me to pass the class.

Hey all. I’m active duty navy stationed in Guam. I have an “in” with the naval hospital to get into one of their quarterly emt courses, but because of my “real job” in the navy, taking a month off work to play student is a hard sell.

I’m trying to find an online didactic that would be willing to partner with naval hospital to let me do my in person stuff. Any ideas?

My other option is to try and do it in two week chunks in two consecutive quarters.

Hey everyone, just got my NY state EMT license a few months ago. I applied to a few places to get some experience first and got an offer from Empress EMS in Yonkers, NY and also from Senior Care. I am currently a little stuck on which one to choose. Empress EMS is a little longer of a drive for me but I don't really mind. I am assuming the private companies are about the same? If anyone has any experience from either one of them that would great! Thanks in advance.

I’ve been an EMT for about 6 months now. I would love to study more to be a better EMT and to be productive on my downtime during shifts. I am not feeling ready to go to AEMT or medic school yet.
I’ve been studying my state protocols and watching paramedic coach videos but I would love some suggestions on study resources or books I can look into.
Edit: I’m in the US

Here’s my potential study guide. And looking at it I’m wondering if all this memorization is necessary I have two weeks before my first midterm test and we just went through chapter 6 of 12th edition and it introduced a lot of anatomy and I barely know anything about anatomy as it is. I’m coming in pretty blank. Please let me know if I should go through with making these cards or if I need a different approach.

Looking to put together a bag, so I could events on the side. Concerts, sporting events, festivals, etc. During school our instructors were showing us their bags they use for events. They had full size backpacks, but now looking at it when I was buying gear it seems like their bags are overkill. I bought a bunch a BLS stuff and I’m pretty sure I could fit everything in the G3+ Medslinger.

Anyone else use this bag for events? Or will an employer look at my “smaller” bag as a red flag? I got majority of my stuff from North American rescue and the packaging of everything is nice and compressed.

hey everyone! i work in rural ems in canada doing ift. more often than not we don’t have access to a fridge or microwave. so this sets up my question, what lunch containers does everyone use? i have one from walmart it kinda sucks it doesn’t keep everything cold during my shift even loaded up with ice packs. i’d like to know what everyone’s tried and true is!! i don’t care about aesthetic or anything i just want my sandwich to not go bad. thanks everyone in advance! :)