Considering paramedic training in my late forties, any honest experiences?

[careerconundrums]

I'm late 40s and realising that I'm no longer well suited to a desk job (if I ever was). There are aspects of my job that I do like but I don't think I want to spend the remaining 15 or more years of my career sitting in front of a screen for 7/8 hours a day. I work in a marketing role that is related to healthcare and it's often occurred to me that I might be happier doing something more hands-on. Clearly it's too late to train to be a doctor but I've been thinking a lot in the past few months about training as a paramedic, via the apprenticeship route. I'm physically fit, generally calm in a crisis, good with people, and I have quite a lot of experience of healthcare settings / hospitals both through my job and through family illness.

Are you a paramedic and if so what do you like/ not like about your job?

Also, any thoughts on any following v welcome too:
Did you do a degree or train via the apprenticeship route and, if the latter, how did you find it?
What's your day to day like?
Do you move a lot or is there a lot of sitting around?!
Is it what you expected?
Has it been easy to find work?
Would you choose the same path again?
How traumatic do you find the job?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Following as also have considered this many times. I would be great at it.

The poor salary and anti social hours have been enough to put me off so far

Have you considered police control. Apart from the shifts, its well paid, interesting work with a good career path and pension.

Well there’s no jobs atm so qualifying students aren’t being employed. May change in 3 years I guess.

Paramedic students about to graduate in parts of the UK have no jobs to go to. If would be worried about that prospect as a late 40s career changer.

I wouldn’t underestimate the impact of shift work and physical nature of the job.

Thanks for the response - I've read about this being an issue for people going down the degree path. Do you know if this is also the case for people going down the apprenticeship route i.e. AAP / EMT?

Thanks to everyone who has answered so far.

Anyone with direct experience of the job?

yes, I've been thinking about this. I think I'd be ok with the physical nature of the job – that is part of the appeal – but I have no experience of shift work (at least not for many many years).

As an ambulance crew for 10 years, I would avoid it like the plaque tbh. It's a physical job and shifts are killers, plus the pay is crap.

I trained privately and then worked as a private ECSW contracted to the NHS for 5 years then 5 as NHS. So glad I left. The ambulance service and good health do not go together.