Advice! part-time EMT or CNA jobs (postbacc student)

[smz1234]

Hey all!

First post here! I'm a career-changing/non-trad applicant. I graduated 2 years ago with a business degree and have since realized - through volunteering and shadowing - that medicine is the field I want to be in. I was working at a marketing firm and taking night classes until a couple months ago, when I finally took the leap to go back to school full time and finish pre-req's.

Over this summer, I took an EMT course and loved it. I applied to a couple jobs afterward, and was offered one, but only if I worked full time. There's 4 ambulance companies that service the general area I live in, and the company I had an offer from was the only one that let's new EMTs start part-time. I turned the offer down because a full time/rotating schedule would make taking classes hard (and as far as a med school app is concerned - emt experience is less essential than doing well in pre-req's)

I'm realizing now though, that my chances of finding a part time EMT gig for PT contact during post bacc are looking slim. I'd love to work as an ER tech and saw a few part time slots open, so I have been applying to those. I've heard though, that ER tech jobs expect a couple years of experience, which I don't have as a new grad.

I'm considering taking a CNA and/or phlebotomy class. I don't want to spend too much money on certs, but both phlebotomy and CNA are quick and not too expensive. It seems like there's a lot of jobs open for CNAs, and many are part time.

Which brings me to my questions:
- how stupid is it to not use my EMT cert? especially since I liked the class and ride-alongs a lot.
- is the best route to take a CNA and/or phlebotomy class?
- how likely am I to get a part time, hospital based job with a CNA and no experience?
- ^same question for phlebotomy
- any other ideas?
- OR should I put classes on hold and work as an EMT full time for a while? I don't think this is ideal, but neither is being unemployed....

Anyone who's been in a similar situation, I'd love advice. Thanks so much

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[Cornfed101]

We actually had a pretty similar situation so I will tell you what I did. I did a 3 trimester post bacc starting in January 2018 and first trimester I just lived off loans (not ideal, but whatever). Second trimester I worked as a morning stocker at a big warehouse store because it was good money and I could work 25 hours a week while taking full time classes.

3rd trimester I actually held two jobs, both of which might be an option in your situation. I first worked as an ED scribe. This was a good job that was pretty flexible on hours, but my advice on scribing would be to get a job directly with an outpatient clinic, not through a scribe company. You will get paid roughly twice as much. I only held this job for about two months because I got another job working as an ophthalmic technician at a group practice where I live. I’ve been working there for the past year. It has been fantastic. I see 20+ patients a day, do histories, external eye exam, check interocular pressures, do refractions, special testing, etc.. In my state I didn’t need any previous experience or certification. I would check with outpatient clinics in your area for similar jobs. You have a business degree so if you can get an interview then I think you can convince them that you will be an asset. That’s all I did and I got this job with no experience. You could likely do that with a CNA job, but hospitals are often more strict than clinics.

 

[Cornfed101]

Also, to not use the EMT cert is fine. I got a degree in mechanical engineering and didn’t use it, so that’s a lot worse!