Kids & Careers!
Who would you like to meet? • James: a firefighter engineer • Ian: a provincial police officer • Scott: a county police officer • Sean: a city planner • Dave: a senior software engineer • Kathy: a customs manager • Rosie: an international sales manager • David: a process engineer • Drew: a school department head • John: a director of computer services • Steve: a paramedic • Amy: a physical therapist Kidsnewsroom would like you to meet Steve! Below are the questions (Q.)we asked about his career and the answers (A.) he gave us! Q. How old are you? A. I'm 32. Q. In what city do you work? A. I work in Manassas, Virginia. Q. What type of company do you work for? A. I work for the county department of fire and rescue. Q. What is your job title? A. I'm a paramedic. Q. At what times does your work day begin and end? A. I'm on a 24-hour shift that begins at 6 am and ends at 6 am the next morning. Q. How many days per week do you work? A. Usually 2 or 3 days per week. I work one day, then I'm off for two days, then I work for another day, then I'm off for two days. Then, it repeats! Every few weeks I get a 5-day break, and twice a year I get an 8-day break. Q. What is your office like? A. I work in a fire and rescue station; it's a special building shared by about 15 people. There are firefighters, paramedics and a station officer (the boss!). Much of my time is spent on the medic unit (an ambulance). Q. What kind of clothes do you wear to work? A. I wear a uniform that consists of a grey polo shirt with a fire and rescue patch on it and my last name and title stitched on it. I wear navy blue work pants, a black belt and black shiny boots. I have what is called a "job shirt" for colder weather; it is a thick sweatshirt with a zipper at the neck, the patch and my name and title. We also have navy blue work jackets. I wear the same thing every day! On special occasions like funerals or promotions, I wear a dress uniform; it is a navy blue suit with a pressed white shirt and a black tie. This "class A" uniform also consists of a silver name tag and a silver badge. Q. Who do you work with? A. I usually work with a partner who is also a paramedic. Sometimes, there are three of us working on the medic unit. Q. Tell us about your education and how it has prepared you for this job. A. I have a degree in mechanical engineering. And although it doesn't directly relate to the work I do now, it did prepare me for some of the analytical aspects of my job. After working for a few years in the fire department, I went through about a year of intensive classroom and practical training to learn to be a paramedic. In paramedic class, we learned about human anatomy and physiology (we basically learned what the body parts are and how they work). We also learned how to treat common injuries and illnesses. The most interesting part of what I do is relating to people. Q. What should a kid do NOW to prepare for your kind of job in the future? A. The most important thing is to work hard in school and develop a good work ethic. It's important, when you're a paramedic, to be detail-oriented because people are often forced to put their lives in your hands. There is a ton of information available on the Internet and in libraries to show you everything you need to know to become a paramedic. It's never too early to start learning. Q. Do you have any other advice for kids who are thinking about having your type of career? A. It will help if you keep your driving record clean, stay away from committing crimes and don't put yourself in a position where people would question your integrity. Q. What skills or subjects are important to your job? A. The sciences, including chemistry, biology and physics, are probably the most important subjects. It also helps if you like math. Q. What are the top ten things that you normally do at work each day? A. 1. Inspecting and cleaning the emergency medical equipment. 2. Doing physical exercise. 3. Practicing important job functions such as how to care for elderly patients and how to treat a heart attack patient... things like that. 4. Teaching citizens first aid awareness. 5. Responding to emergency calls. 6. Eating meals. 7. Working on the medic unit to fix mechanical problems. 8. Cleaning the fire station. 9. Doing fire safety inspections at businesses in the area. 10. Sleeping at night! Thanks, Steve! It was nice getting to know you!