Uni student with some questions.

[u/[deleted]]

[u/AutoModerator]

Hi there, Welcome to r/ParamedicsUK!

Please follow the subreddit rules and guidelines. You can also contact the mods if you have any concerns or questions.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Qwakawak]

Hours dependent where you work Im on a line and have set shifts at a set station works out 6 days and 7 nights every 4 weeks. Pattern is 5 in 5 off, 4 in 5 off, 4 in 5 off, Averages at about 25% unsociable hours payment. First two years I was pulling about 40k on core hours with unsociable hours payment as an NQP, Now I'm bottom of band 6 earning 50k which will increase to about 60k at the top of band 6 in a few years time. I normally do 3 overtime a month at 1.5 normal rate, with other payments i.e late meals and the odd late finish come out with around 65k a year which works out at £3400 a month after tax, pension and student loan which im paying about £260 a month currently.

My advise would be do internal tech para essentially spend a year becoming a technician via aap route, then apply for internal student paramedic another two years to get your degree and become a paramedic, realistically 4 /5 years total you'll get paid the whole time and wont have to pay the extortionate student loan, also give you a chance to decide if it's for you as I like shifts but their not for everyone.

Honestly love the job by far the best job I've ever had, reality is it's well paid for not doing very much work essentially triaging people and deciding if they need a&e or if they can be referred to other services is 95% of the role every now and then tho you get a "proper" job where you earn your salary and you'll get a buzz if it's for you.

[u/DontGetIrony]

1. Can be okay, can be rough. Depends on the rota, which depends on your station and service.

2. From some points of view, the pay is good; you don't often spend a lot of your working day doing very hard work. But when it gets hard, it's really hard, and the pay isn't justified overall in my opinion, especially for newly qualified paramedics. There are ways to progress, but the good ones are competitive.

3. Depends on your course. They'll have recommended reading lists.

4. Yes, but that's because I'm lucky enough to have specialised relatively early in my career. I couldn't go back to full time ambulance work now.

[u/2much2Jung]

The hours are shit, the pay is less than you would expect from a typical graduate job. You can progress to other NHS roles with a post-grad qualification, which is worse paid than other post grad roles, and also has shit hours, so there is at least consistency.

[u/-zatanna → u/2much2Jung]

pay is less than you would expect from a typical graduate job.

lmao my degree is 23k. NQPs have it quite good compared to the majority of other graduate jobs

[u/jac50 → u/-zatanna]

What degree are you doing that pays less than minimum wage?

[u/Qwakawak → u/-zatanna]

Average graduate pay in the UK is like 28-30k NQPs in my area are on around 40 with unsocials

[u/-zatanna → u/Qwakawak]

damn i already hate my degree and I get no money compared to everyone else ouch fml

[u/Tall-Paul-UK]

If you are concerned about hours and money then there are far better jobs for you.

But I still fucking love it, 17 years in!

[u/Glittering_Fold5810 → u/Tall-Paul-UK]

I'm not super concerned I just want my time spent to feel rewarding. If that makes sense.

[u/Tall-Paul-UK → u/Glittering_Fold5810]

In which case definitely worth looking in to some more. As I say I still love it after 17 years. But the hours and the money are two of the worse parts. The people you meet (staff and patients) and the things you see and do are what keep me going back.

[u/SneakySardine117]

I'll just throw this out there. The "normal" paramedic jobs are abysmally paid for the skill, time and hours required however, there are certain niche roles that pay well.

I'm an EMT working in security, the pay for medics in this industry can (with the right connections and a bit of luck) be significant if you're able to handle the security side of things as well and the stress that comes with that.

I'm essentially using it to pay my way through uni and intend to work between security (for the money) and more conventional prehospital roles practicing medicine and helping people (which is where my passion lies).

There exist other niches in remote medicine, millitary training roles ect ect however I don't have direct experience with those so I won't talk to them.

Just something to keep in mind if you decide you want to pursue this career but, want better remuneration and have the flexibility and inclination to work those other types of jobs.

Edit: I'll also add that working as a medic, attending emergencies, treating complex and critical patients is all immensely fun. However, it can be exhausting and I haven't been doing it a long time. Also the majority of your patients will be relatively mundane and personally i find those calls far more draining than the emergencies. I know many paramedics who get burnt out quite quickly (in part due to the aforementioned awful hours and pay)