Post Miltary career options.

[Cdnrednk]

Time is coming up for me (approx 18 months) to be finished my initial 6 year contract.
Looks like I'll be a QL3 at the end of it, due to my work tempo and the upcoming July 5s being cancelled. I'll doubt they will let me start my 5s in the winter course having only a few months left of my contract once that is over without me re-signing early to make it worth their while.
Have a tour completed, no MCSP shifts (I set up my own through personal contacts but my chain denied it).
Was planning on taking my 5s this summer, then doing the aemca and following through to challenging to be a paramedic in Ontario. However, my plans obviously won't go to the way I had them layed out... The job market for PCPs in Ontario doesn't appear to be the strongest either since I'll try to get back to Southern Ontario.

Looking for options, suggestions etc.
Pre-military I was a mechanic apprentice, worked construction, operated heavy machinery etc. I enjoy hands on work and mechanical work, but I like the "excitement" and diversity we can get in our field so any job that keeps me in the same four walls will drive me crazy.
Reasons I don't want to extend my contract are just the personal things and would like to have the ability to "control" my own life a little bit more than what I can right now and make plans for my own future. Will miss parts of the job and some of the people.

 

[mariomike]

Was planning on taking my 5s this summer, then doing the aemca and following through to challenging to be a paramedic in Ontario.

The job market for PCPs in Ontario doesn't appear to be the strongest either since I'll try to get back to Southern Ontario.

I see the employment forecast as good. The call volume has skyrocketed far beyond the population increase since I joined, and I see no indication of it slowing down.
Also, the recruits now are older than when we joined, which means they reach retirement age faster, thus speeding up turnover.

"We're making it known that we need more Paramedics here at Toronto EMS.":
http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/110061--proposed-budget-fallout-ems-say-they-need-more-paramedics

"The 'Baby Boom' generation is aging. As it does so, all of those 'boomers' become net consumers of health care, driving up demand for services. Simultaneously, all of those 'boomers' employed by the service in the early 1970s are reaching the end of their careers and retiring. Since subsequent generations are typically much smaller, the service is experiencing difficulty in recruiting suitably trained replacement staff, just as demand for services is increasing.":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_EMS#Challenges

 

[Occam]

Just a comment from me to the OP - I hope you don't expect a lot of sympathy that the scheduling of your QL5 course didn't allow you to finish the training just in time for you to be able to bail on the CF.  While I don't begrudge anyone the right to release at any time in accordance with their terms of service, it just stinks that you would occupy a space on what is likely a highly sought after course when you have no intention of returning some service to the CF.  I really wish the CF would address some of the retention problems by making people incur obligatory service for in-demand training.

My  :2c:

 

[Cdnleaf]

18 months is a long time to figure something out, who knows you may end up in.  Attend a SCAN seminar, identify as you've done above, the things you are interested in and go for it.  All the best / good luck.

 

[mariomike]

Not to disagree with Occam, but perhaps there is some confusion among Med Tech applicants as to what their Paramedic status will be when they release from the CF.
"When you graduate from Chilliwack, you will be certified as a Level 1 Primary Care Paramedic.":
CF Medical Technician recruiting video.

From another poster:
"The issue I've found is that I was licensed in BC upon completion of my PCP. Now I'm posted in Ontario and I asked about challenging the Ontario exam to become licensed here. I was told that the unit will only pay for QL5's to do this. I also haven't received any opportunities for MCSP, and I've been posted for over 2 years now. So now my license in BC has expired and I do not hold any sort of qualification in Ontario. I'd hoped the military would have been more supportive of keeping us Med Tech's licensed so that the training we'd received would be more useful.":
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/threads/81858/post-1009607.html#msg1009607

 

[Occam]

I have no idea what equivalencies exist between Med Techs and civvie Paramedics, and that wasn't really the focus of my earlier post.  I simply expressed some dismay that someone would accept significant training if they know that they have no intentions on serving for a reasonable period of time after the completion of said training.  I'm currently in a position where the occasional one-week course gets tossed at me, and it directly benefits the CF in my current employment.  However, were any career coursing such as a year-long French course get thrown my way, I would politely decline it as my chain of command is well aware that I am seeking other employment after a long career in the CF.  In my opinion (which is not currently shared by CF policy), if the OP is going to get a higher level of civilian equivalency for their Med Tech QL5 training, then it would be fair to impose some period of obligatory service in return for the training.  That goes for any trade, not just Med Techs.  Training isn't cheap.