RockAndSage
WKR
It depends on what your goals are. Max money per hour? Not worth the squeeze, no. But lifestyle and longer-term goals can definitely make it worthwhile.
Depending on the company or locale, you can find plenty of Paramedic jobs where you're working 12 or 24hr shifts - with multiple days in a row off. If someone's into hunting, having a situation where you can work a few days, and then take 4 or 5 days off without burning vacation time can be pretty awesome.
Also, what kind of medicine do you want to practice? Each has its trade-offs. Nursing might pay more, but you'll be limited in the specifics of what you can do and the decisions you personally get to make, especially at the entry-level, and depending on your field of practice. And you will have plenty of people hovering over you, from chain of command to admin drones. EMS, you roll out on a call, take care of the patient, deliver to hospital, and you're done with care - all the interesting sh*t, little of the tedium, little to no hospital politics. The point here is, determine what's interesting to you personally, and what type of lifestyle you would like to live.
Being a Paramedic can also be an excellent stepping-stone while you pursue additional education and qualifications. Flight medic/nurse, Physician's Assistant, Licensed Nurse Practitioner, etc - you can chart out a variety of paths, while having plenty of time and money to take care of your education. Definitely one of the better jobs in navigating that. Plus, it will give you access to people who can further inform you on the details of that work, what it takes, pros and cons, etc. I know several people who are making more money net at various levels of nursing than the MDs they answer to, with far less of the educational expenses and a fraction of the liability exposure and insurance requirements.
If you're willing to move and live anywhere, you can also probably find your dream-job as a fire-medic, LE, etc, eventually.
