emergency medical technician

paramedic

emt-basic

human resources generalist

customer service representative

NORCAL Ambulance

After almost 5 years at NorCal as an EMT, I can say that overall this is a fantastic company to work for. There are plenty of stations throughout Northern CA and the Bay area to work from and opportunities to work ALS, CCT, NICU/PICU for those with the desire to expand and get more experience. NorCal is very understanding for those in school for paramedic, nursing, etc  even offering scholarships throughout the year. Their scheduling department is often able to work well with you to get the schedule you need or make trades if there's a last minute changes. After a few months, most BLS calls will get smoother and the job becomes second nature with occasionally during the week a hot call will come over and you really get to use your brain. Sometimes even getting long transports going to LA, Redding, or rarely but sometimes out of state. Or you get to work on a rig with a paramedic or nurse and really get to learn as most are very willing to teach EMT's especially those with desire to go to medic or nursing school. 

The company always tries to put on events or appreciation days with baseball games in Sacramento, company holiday party, or even just having the culture department randomly drop off donuts at station. Management is very reasonable most of the time and as long as you meet them half way they will work with you through just about everything.  Plus with the world of EMS, overtime is usually easy to come by and usually will get held over on shift a couple times a week during busy times. Also, almost all the ambulances are power gurneys with some auto-loaders to save the back and all equipment is usually fairly new and maintained well. One small downside in recent times is due to shortage of EMS in general getting shifts covered can be tricky, but the company has been heavily recruiting and expanding which has made shifts getting filled much better in the past year.

The company benefits are very good for health insurance, 401k, etc. and the pay was just increased not too long ago making it an even much better place to work for. And the owners, management and supervisors often will make stops into stations to check in and they overall are always very welcoming and positive. Norcal also has an in-house school for all the recertifications and classes we could need at discounted or sometimes even free cost. 

For anyone who is just starting out in EMS prior to going 911 or into a fire department, or just looking to change from another EMS provider/field, NorCal is a great place to work and I can honestly say I have very much enjoyed working there for almost 5 years. They do try to focus on their team members as much as possible and have grown tremendously in the past 5 years.  Norcal was a great place for me to get tremendous experience and I'm sure others will enjoy the company just as much.

My interest in EMS and Fire Service was initiated several years ago in a deadly car accident in which I lost a family member. The experience of such trauma and the treatment I reviewed while being rescued inspired me to search for opportunities to give back however I could. Three years ago I was given the opportunity when I found a volunteer program for a National Ski Patrol position. The on the job training and education built a solid foundation of health and safety services that coupled with my personal passion to protect and serve allowed me to excel in my role and contribute greatly to my team. The experience was immensely motivating and I remember skiing down the mountain on my first day thinking “I have a purpose here”. It was then I knew I wanted to work in the industry full time.
My time on the mountain made me realize how badly I wanted to learn about helping people in emergency situations so I went to college and earned my EMT certificate while working for a private Ambulance company. I work in 4 counties including Stockton allowing for a wide variety of experience in situational hazards, company protocols, and teamwork. I pride myself on my ability to successfully managing the different county protocols and engage with the hospital personnel in order to assure the highest quality of care possible. My experience as an EMT as developed a strong understanding of the importance of team work, accurate and reliable communications, hard work, follow through, sacrifice, and a commitment to my team to always be at best and performs at the highest levels. To assure I am present and focused I practice yoga and various types of fitness to keep my mind and body strong. Coupled with various on the job training's in diverse rescue fields I have learned the importance of seeking opportunities to improve, taking input from my team, and always acting with integrity. My experiences have demonstrated accountability, teamwork, communication, and passion, and professionalism.

Pros: 
There are lots of good coworkers and some supervisors are ok (others are a lot stricter and you don't want to get on their bad side)
Hydraulic gurneys and autoload equipment on rigs
Always open shifts and you can get lots of OT approved because only a small handful of people actually pick up extra shifts
Lots of stations available to work at
Mostly 8 and 10hr shifts available


Cons:
Low pay (15/hr starting out as of October 2018) and really low yearly pay raises; don't work here for the money. 
Disorganized
Certain dispatchers are really rude
Scheduling sends out an average of 10 emails per day for open shifts and will text you every other day to pick up shifts
Hard to find someone to pick up your shift if you're within two weeks of the date you need off
Barely any Code 2 transports, at least 99% are all IFT (no emergent experience)
Oh and dont plan anything after your shift, because there's a good chance you will get a call 30 minutes before you're supposed to be off
You better enjoy driving, some calls have 4 hour long transports


This company has good equipment on rigs and that makes it nice to work here. For the most part, the people working here are pretty nice but the company has expanded really fast as of late and they hire just about anyone so you could end up working with some bad partners. With the recent expansion, the quality of the dispatchers has dropped a lot, so get ready to get sent out to calls you're already half an hour late to. Overall, if you're just starting out and you want some nice equipment on rigs and don't mind getting paid about the same or slightly less than other companies join NorCal.  

My main advice is to get the experience you need from this job and then get out. This company offers no career advancements within the company and their quality has been trending downward in the last year.

Overall NORCAL is the best IFT company that you can work for. The pay is decent (Could be better considering how much the company itself makes). They provide lots of snacks and cold drinks during the summer. Scheduling is very flexible and they honor seniority very well. The people complaining about scheduling are the ones who try to change their schedule too often or before their 90 day probation period.

The culture could be better. The night crews are very hard to get along with. They are very clicky and if you aren’t “cool” they will quickly not like you and attempt to haze you out. They leave the station a mess and the ambulances as well. They should be supervised more closely but unfortunately it’s a night shift which makes it hard.

NICU/PICU is the same in terms of how tight knit they all are. Makes it impossible to get shifts and when you do it’s someone who definitely doesn’t want to be working with you.

Other specialties are amazing! I recommend CCT is your interested in Nursing and ALS if interested in Paramedic school.

Dispatchers …oh man they are absolutely horrible. These are prescheduled calls and you still end up being held over 2-3 hours every shift. If it were 911 then I would understand but otherwise it’s a dispatching error. They are supposed to be doing ride alongs at least once a year but they never do (I’m assuming it’s because they are all out of shape relaxing in their temperature controlled room with lots of snacks while they send you out on another call)

If you’re going to work here for a long time then I would do it while furthering your education. Otherwise don’t stay more than a year and look towards non-private companies such as Fire Departments.

Thanks for reading.

I have only worked at one IFT company, which is NORCAL. I had worked there for over two years and enjoyed my time overall. I had talked to a lot of other EMT's who worked at other IFT companies before and they said that NORCAL was the best one by far. The work environment really depends on what station you end up at. I worked in the West Bay at Foster City and really liked my partners and supervisors for the most part. The East Bay was a little more stand offish and I felt that they did not have the same standard of care when it came to keeping rigs clean and caring for patients. I have never worked at any of the Sac stations. My supervisors had my back and were helpful. I became an FTO after a year and a half and we got a $50 bonus every time we had a trainee. My biggest complaint was that sometimes communication with other departments was unsatisfactory. Everyone makes mistakes, but I felt that some of our dispatchers were not good at all. Scheduling and HR might take a while to get back to you, and they sometimes would change your schedule without telling you or asking you. Overall though, I would recommend working here if your looking to do IFT. 

This was the first job I’ve had where I didn’t dread coming to work. It is an amazing place to start out and the FTO days are designed to really get you feeling comfortable on the ambulance, especially if this is your first time in EMS. Like every workplace, people complain about it and there are some negative reviews on here, but seriously if you’ve worked in retail or fast food before this place is significantly better. Be kind to dispatch, scheduling, supervisors, and coworkers and you’ll enjoy being here. Understand that sometimes thing are just policy and don’t take your frustrations out on them. The stations have snacks most of the time and the common areas are really nice. The patient care overall is usually pretty simple and fairly low-stress but I still learn something new every day. You will be able to become familiar with hospital layouts, handover reports, patient care, driving an ambulance, gurney operations, PCRs, and other important skills for EMS here without the stress of critical patients. So much opportunity to advance into ALS/NICU/PICU/CCT or become an FTO. The worst part of my job is working with people who have been in IFT for 3 months and already have adapted the salty EMS attitudes, but as long as you learn that’s what you don’t want to be it is a great job overall. 

It's an IFT ambulance company - so no 911 calls.  Should a patient decompensate en route you can upgrade the transport to code 3, but for the most part you are transporting patients code 1 to and/or from hospitals, clinics, and residences.  A lot of my coworkers didn't struggle with burnout, but I wasn't one of them.  The job feels great when you get to utilize your EMT skills, or you find yourself in a part of California you never would have been to if you weren't dropping a patient off there.  Long-distance transfers can be treated like a paid road trip if your patient is pleasant enough.  The job attracts big personalities and I met some great people during my time there.  Prioritize self-care and a work/life balance and you'll be fine for a couple years!  IFT EMT's aren't paid much, but it's a stepping stone job that looks great on your resume.

NorCal Ambulance is a company that many people there call a "stepping stone", but depending on your wishes, could be a job for the rest of your career. In contrast to many shady IFT companies, NorCal ambulance treats its employees well and cultivates an active dedication to mastering clinical skills for all its staff. The attitude of "this is just an IFT company" is discouraged, the process to advance into higher positions or into ALS, CCT, and NICU/PICU is made transparent and accessible, and your coworkers will be pleasant 99% of the time. The flexibility of your schedule is wonderful as well. 

What's great, in my mind, about NorCal, is that isn't just a stepping stone like some might say, but was always somewhere I could see working for a long time in one role or another. I would recommend NorCal Ambulance as a place to work for any EMT in the Northern California area.  

This place has amazing coworkers and experience opportunities, however the pay is very very low. You do not get proper pay. If you have to use your own money for a company issue, they will not reimburse you correctly, they do not easily let you get a day off. If u plan a vacation dont expect to get the time off to go. You will always get held over so never make plans afterwards. If you enjoy helping people it will be the only true reason why you stay. dispatch is hours away from your location so they dont know truly how to navigate people around or understand the concept of traffic instead of teleportation. They also will try to tell you how to do your job with their ZERO medical knowledge.

I’m so grateful for this company, they paid for my EMT schooling and paid me to go to school so I can become an EMT for them, this year has not been the easiest , between losing my home to a DV situation and not having a home , this company has been the family I’ve needed to get me through this hard time. They literally paid me hourly to go to school, they paid for my entire school program through AHE , all my certifications and now I’m officially an EMT for their company !  Seeing their ad “get paid to be an emergency medical technician”. But now I can be the one to say it’s legit ! They’re even really flexible when it comes to scheduling this is a perfect company for schooling student's  ! Another great thing about this company is everyone is so friendly and they become family ,   Thank you so much norcal 

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Emergency medical technician 9 salaries reported	$21.33 per hour
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