WANTED Full-Time Paramedics in Bishop, CA

AndrewArroz wrote:

My guess, though, is that private ambulance services in CA charge a lot of money and have margins that would allow them to pay more than $14-15 an hour for someone with a lot of training, a state  license, and life-or-death decisionmaking responsiblities.

I'm not putting your business experience into question. In fact I only just skimmed your quick resume enough to know, you know more about business things than I do. And you're right, your friends in fire is not relevant to this topic, as fire is a completely different and extremely lucrative ball game. Mmm sweet sweet tax dollars.

Unfortunately (and believe me, I sincerely mean unfortunately) your guess is just wrong. The skills you've outlined that sound like they would make an attractive and extremely qualified candidate for this position are actually just simply SOME of the minimum requirements one is expected to have before applying for a job in this field. I agree that it doesn't seem natural, but that's the way it is at the moment.

EDIT: tried to be/sound like less of a dick on the internet

webdog wrote:

The link said 48/72 shifts. The post states with pay starting at $418/shift. That’s only $8.70/hr. Even in EMS that’s absurd 

Good catch. His post says 24s which given the numbers would be great. The link says 48-72s... I wonder which it is. Any comment Langus?

I worked on Iron County Ambulance in Cedar City Utah for 5 years. Loved that job and it has opened more doors and gave me so much life experience that it is impossible to quantify. When I ran on the ambulance they had a 1st crew that took all 911 calls and a 2nd crew for back up in case another 911 call came in, or for medical transports (hospital, airport, geriatric homes). When on call, (so not actually responding to a 911 call) I got paid $0.50 cents an hour. We did 12 hour shifts. When on 2nd crew it was common to do a 12 hour shift without a single call. I would make literally $6.00 for an entire 12 hour shift, and then the government would take taxes out.  Talk about dirt bag'n it. I did eventually become homeless for awhile, and luckily the small college town had this cool outdoor shop that had a huge 4 season mountain hardware tent in their parking lot. The owner had a big spot light in it to brighten it up at night and I would sneak in after the shop had closed, unplug the light from the extension chord and charge my pager, cell phone and sleep .  One morning I woke up to the pager going off and rushed off, forgetting to plug the light back in. While in the store the next day I over heard the owner talking about it and I confessed. He took it well, and didn't mind, then the next time I showed up to the tent there was bed in it and a note from the owner who said if the cops ever hassled me to give him a call!  Ultimately the job was awesome, I made $13 an hour when on actually responding to a call. If one was in in Bishop a lot of planning, coordinating, and research could get done while on the clock, and since they do 24 hour shift it sounds like you live, eat, sleep at the shed, betting paid for the full 24 hours, so there are worse situations out there....like mine was. 

Dakota from North Dakota wrote:

I'm not putting your business experience into question. In fact I only just skimmed your quick resume enough to know, you know more about business things than I do. And you're right, your friends in fire is not relevant to this topic, as fire is a completely different and extremely lucrative ball game. Mmm sweet sweet tax dollars.

Unfortunately (and believe me, I sincerely mean unfortunately) your guess is just wrong. The skills you've outlined that sound like they would make an attractive and extremely qualified candidate for this position are actually just simply SOME of the minimum requirements one is expected to have before applying for a job in this field. I agree that it doesn't seem natural, but that's the way it is at the moment.

EDIT: tried to be/sound like less of a dick on the internet

I didn't see your original post but you don't sound like a dick at all. My guess, though, was about the margins in the private ambulance business, not about the ability of job candidates to demand more. I'm looking at this from the POV of someone who hires people, FWIW, not the POV of a job candidate.

Put differently, employers often pay what they HAVE to, not what they're able to. But that can backfire, in terms of burnout and churn.

Personally, I hope the day I need a paramedic he or she is feeling well-rewarded and happy with his/her job.

Klimbien wrote:

I worked on Iron County Ambulance in Cedar City Utah for 5 years. Loved that job and it has opened more doors and gave me so much life experience that it is impossible to quantify. When I ran on the ambulance they had a 1st crew that took all 911 calls and a 2nd crew for back up in case another 911 call came in, or for medical transports (hospital, airport, geriatric homes). When on call, (so not actually responding to a 911 call) I got paid $0.50 cents an hour. We did 12 hour shifts. When on 2nd crew it was common to do a 12 hour shift without a single call. I would make literally $6.00 for an entire 12 hour shift, and then the government would take taxes out.  Talk about dirt bag'n it. I did eventually become homeless for awhile, and luckily the small college town had this cool outdoor shop that had a huge 4 season mountain hardware tent in their parking lot. The owner had a big spot light in it to brighten it up at night and I would sneak in after the shop had closed, unplug the light from the extension chord and charge my pager, cell phone and sleep .  One morning I woke up to the pager going off and rushed off, forgetting to plug the light back in. While in the store the next day I over heard the owner talking about it and I confessed. He took it well, and didn't mind, then the next time I showed up to the tent there was bed in it and a note from the owner who said if the cops ever hassled me to give him a call!  Ultimately the job was awesome, I made $13 an hour when on actually responding to a call. If one was in in Bishop a lot of planning, coordinating, and research could get done while on the clock, and since they do 24 hour shift it sounds like you live, eat, sleep at the shed, betting paid for the full 24 hours, so there are worse situations out there....like mine was. 

Pretty sure the situation you describe was blatantly illegal, even for Utah.

The pay for the job is CA minimum wage, $11.15/hr, on an 8hr pay scheme. So that comes down to 8hrs at $11.15 ($89.20), 4hrs at time and a half ($66.90) and 12 hrs at double time ($267.60) for a grand total of $423.70. As minimum wage goes up every year (as someone already stated, minimum wage will be $15/hr in 2022) everyone gets a pay raise, in addition to annual performance evals with pay raises. The reason I quote the pay as a "shift pay" is that OT does not start >40hrs/wk, it only comes into effect >8hrs/day. So, whether you work one or three 24 hr shifts a week, the pay is the same. 

The problem with Bishop is the economy is not, and likely never will be, steadily expanding. We draw few permanent residents annually, and even fewer experienced paramedics. In addition, I think it is not a reach to say that most paramedics in CA would rather work for the fire service rather than private ambulance. Most seasonal "tourists" in the area come for the boulders but don't stay long. There is really very little to do here besides climb (and no I don't just mean bouldering), ski, run, hunt or fish. Bishop is 4hrs from Reno and Las Vegas and that is just too far from a metropolitan area for most folks. 

Yes, the cost of living in Bishop is high. Groceries and fuel are more expensive than most cities in CA (just filled up my car with reg gas for $3.34/ga). Houses (for purchase) are absurd-not going to go into this topic on this thread. Rent, however, is not terrible. Most single units are $600-700/mo. A room in a house is frequently ~$400-450/mo. I am in the enviable position of paying $350/mo (with utilities) for a room in a 2BR house, but no I don't need a roommate and I will not tell you where I live. On the plus side, there are VERY few places to blow your $. Sunrises (against your will...while picking up Grandma with a UTI at 5am) are free, and there is more granite and sunny days than you will know what to do with! I have lived here 6+yrs and still wake up every day psyched for the unparalleled Sierra access.

AndrewArroz wrote:

Pretty sure the situation you describe was blatantly illegal, even for Utah.

Something else that EMS is working towards rectifying in a lot of areas is transitioning from a volunteer based model to a paid one. I think a lot of the crap pay situation started when the other options were to work for a service that you didn't get paid at all.

AndrewArroz wrote:

Pretty sure the situation you describe was blatantly illegal, even for Utah.

At least I got a pay check every 2 weeks...actually I think it was just monthly. But I know that the fire fighters in Iron County, at that time, only got paid like once or maybe twice a year. Typically a good sized check, but thats how it got done. They were volunteer though. 

Sorry for hijacking the thread, but we have an opening in Ouray: OCEMS Paramedic Posting  I know some may find pay bismal, but it's FT with benefits and actually super decent by local standards.  You can still find something to buy in Ouray proper if you're patient enough to wait and see for the right  opportunity, year around climbing (real rocks). PM me if you want to find out more about living/working in Ouray.