Pros
If you are looking to go fire and you live in San Diego, then working with RM will give you the experience needed to go that route. Working for RM for a period of time is a "highly desirable" quality for SDFD. With RM having the San Diego 911 contract, you get to run 911 calls. This is not necessarily true for other ambulance service companies in the area.
Cons
Cons...dealing with dispatch, 90% of your shifts will be over 12 hours...some 13, some 14. You may not get a lunch break. I would say more than 50% of the time you will not get a lunch break. There is a union, but this is the Con section. They dont do much to help you. There are no accolades for doing the right thing for your patient out in the field. If you want to go the extra mile for someone and stand up for them because they cant stand up for themselves, well, you are kind of on your own for that one. Please dont let that stop you though. Back to dispatch. Way too much power. They play favorites. They will put you on a late call 15 min before you are supposed to clear for the night. They will try and run you all day and then put you on a lunch break 10 hours into your day. They have a nice little break room with snacks and coffee and such, but they throw you on calls without even a thought as to how you are doing. I dont believe they know what it is like to be in the field. Surely most of them would perish from starvation or caffeine withdrawls, but somehow, we make it through each day. Another con, pay is no bueno. Do not expect to get a job here and then go out and buy a new car or a home. You can pay your bills, buy a 7-eleven burrito and some coffee and buy a dollar scratcher. Then wait 2 weeks to get another paycheck.
