pursue PA or career fire department

[ItRainsItPours]

Hello, I am a 25 year old full time EMT at a private company. I have 30 credits with a ton of W's and a 2.2 GPA. Due to my low amount of credits I know I can get it up, likely by completing an additional 120 credits. Luckily these were at a community college so I only owe roughly 9k so far.

I was recently accepted into a free 24 month paramedic program. It is tuition free due to my work with the volunteer fire department. This program is ran by the career fire department, and the program director said if you pass the course and have no criminal background it is essentially an automatic in to the dept. 

I am at a crossroads now; do I buckle down and give PA my all or do I take the far shorter route into the FD?

 

 PA pros:

1. Intellectually more stimulating (not sure, just a gut feeling)

2. Safer (no flying through the town everyday, no entering drug dens and crime scenes etc, less exposure to hazardous materials)

3 . Variey. I feel like there's a specialty for everyone. FM, hospitalist, neuro, cards; I feel like I could find my niche easily

PA cons:
1. No guarantee, I have 11 W's (I know, I was a TOTAL slacker in my teens. I make no excuses for myself). PA school is incredibly competitive now. I also have geographic restrictions to the DMV due to family obligations.
2. Time commitment. I want to go to this paramedic program either way (need to increase my income and I am genuinely interested) so thats 24 months. There are some BA programs where those credits will transfer, so at the earliest I can finish a bachelors at 29. More likely at 30. I will also be working fulltime during this 'so those would be 4-5 hard years. I have a LOT of extra-curriculars (semi-professional musician, hikig/mountain biking, great friends etc) This is by far my biggest apprehension as I will sacrifice a lot going down this path. A balanced lifestyle is very important to me. I'm trying to decide if the juice is worth the squeeze.
3. Student loans. The most conservative estimates put me at 100k of debt. And thats with my free associates degree and in-state tuition for a BA after. Approximately $1000 a month payments on a 10 year plan. 

Fire dept pros:

1. Starting pay for ALS is 50k with a great benefits package. EMS Lieutenants (first promotion) start at 60k and as you move up the ladder its 100k plus. This is all with roughly 10k of loans.

2. I can start my life much sooner. Like I said I love my free time. Music is not a hobby, it is a passion. I am striving for mastery and it is my one true vice. I also play live, this is my favorite part of being a musician but the most time consuming when you factor in band practice. I'm in a long term relationship and have a solid group of friends. So being able to just work at 27 is very attractive. The schedule is 4 on 4 off.
3. I do love the fire dept. I love the camaraderie, the simultaneously informal and paramilitary culture, the rush of a true emergency. I work full time and go to school but still find the time to volunteer. It is fun!
4. Job security: second to none. Say again it is second to none. Atleast in my state there is a critical shortage of paramedics. And the career dept's here have a rather robust union.

Fire dept cons:
1. Less intellectually stimulating than medicine. Paramedics are high functioning people but it lacks the complexity of true medicine.
2. Stuck in shift work for life. If an ER or urgent care PA gets sick of shift work, she or he can work in FP 8-5. In the FD you better suck it up. This system isn't too busy so you do have the chance of sleeping some during night shifts. The schedule is 7a-5p two days, 24 hours off, 5p-7a two days, then four days off. Obviously if you promote to officer you arent running every call, just the serious ones (deaths, codes, MCI)
3. Potentially dangerous due to ambulance driving, toxic fumes from fires (this is fire based EMS but an EMS only position), other hazmat risks, possible assaults at crime scenes etc.

If I could push a button and become a PA now, thats what I'd do without question. But as you all know its not that simple. I think conservatively the earliest I could be a PA is 33. 4-5 years undergrad, application year, 28 months for PA school itsself. And thats 7-8 hard years. Where as I can start the FD at 26 or 27, have less debt but maybe less satisfcation? I'm not sure.

I know it's ultimately my decision. But since many PAs are non-traditional I figured you all  could lend me some perspective and wisdom. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
 

[rev ronin]

Go paramedic.  It's still the best pre-PA HCE out there, especially for EM.  You can do college classes while working fulltime as a medic, and go to PA school a little bit later and a LOT more prepared.

[ItRainsItPours]

I will go to paramedic school regardless. What I am trying to ascertain is if I should pursue PA afterwards (fulltime school/work at the same time) or go for the career department. I should have qualified that it does have to be either or, because the rotating shift of the career dept is not conducive to taking a bunch of science courses with labs (which I will need since I am not competitive currently for PA)

[rev ronin]

If you can go career, you can go PA even with the schedule.  You'll have to work your butt off, and likely not be able to take as many courses at once as some others, but going career fire absolutely does not mean giving up your dreams of being a PA.  We need more career fire PAs!

[MT2PA]

I will go to paramedic school regardless. What I am trying to ascertain is if I should pursue PA afterwards (fulltime school/work at the same time) or go for the career department. I should have qualified that it does have to be either or, because the rotating shift of the career dept is not conducive to taking a bunch of science courses with labs (which I will need since I am not competitive currently for PA)

 

I disagree that it has to be either/or.  You could easily work for several years (think 5-10) and reevaluate.  You could take your non-science courses that you'd need for a degree while working and if you decide later in life to pursue PA, spend a year or two taking the science courses with lab so they'll be fresh for your application as well has having great HCE for PA school and knowing if you actually want to pursue it.  

[fishbum]

You're trying to make a decision now based on how you *think* you're going to feel about working as a paramedic with the FD. That's not possible or even necessary. You won't know how it really is until you're doing it. So go to paramedic school and go to work, then re-evaluate, as stated above. 

 

For what it's worth, I took A BUNCH of classes while working 24/48 in EMS. It can be done. Take online classes when you can, and save up vacation time and/or do shift swaps if you need to go to a live class. 

[ItRainsItPours]

Thank you for the responses, they were very helpful

[jlumsden]

It sounds like you've made up your mind that you plan to do the paramedic coursework.  It's not a bad decision at all.  As for PA school, I would add that you don't have to decide now; in fact, you don't even have to decide until you are accepted to a PA program down the road.  

 

So until then, just work on excelling at your paramedic coursework.  Enjoy the hell out of it.  Once you are working, don't worry too much about work life balance.  You seem to be good at work life balance.  So build in activities that address the needs your work may not provide, such as the lack of intellectual stimulation you anticipate.

 

Best of luck.

[DoctorMedicalSciencePAC]

There is a PA who works in our hospital's ER who is also employed as a firefighter/paramedic. There is also one firefighter/paramedic in my PA current PA program who also plans on working for the FD even after he graduates and finds employment as a PA. Seems to be a great idea. My classmate though is still working fulltime in the fire department and during class he sometimes looks very tired from working the night before. Luckily for him he says he has plenty of downtime to study while getting paid at the same time!