How to become an IC in the international PSD/FP business.

[medic484]

thanks Expatmedic

[Guy]

Originally Posted by medic484

Ive been a Paramedic for over ten years and would like to go in a differnt direction now overseas and remote medic would fit well I think , not sure if I would fit in though ive no military backround
is it possible to get a job as a paramedic/medic with the community served on this forum?
is there anything I can do training wise to be a better candidate
any advice would be appreciated or I should just turn my focus elsewhere
like offshore medic or flight medic medical rescue groups
thanks

Take a "remote" medicine course. The equipment/practices that you usually work with will "not" be the same.

Stay safe.

[medic484]

Great feedback thanks , I have a better understanding of the skills needed and where my weaknesses are now, much appreciated.

[Expatmedic]

Also, there was a Surgical Skills for Paramedics course out of the UK sponsored by the Royal College of Surgeons, I never attended, but I know people who did and heard nothing but good things.

It taught:

Sewing, Chest Tubes, Cutdowns, Central Lines, Escharotomy etc.

And find an ED PA to start shadowing.

[wandering_idiot]

medic484,

PM inbound

[medic484]

I've been looking around at remote medical training and found a few courses in the States, nothing as cool as expatmedics UK course chest tubes, cut downs and central line etc; but advanced provider courses. wilderness/remote,offshore and some leaning more tactical . Would anyone suggest a training site or provider thats well thought of by this community. Shadow a PA I like that.

[Guy]

Medical Person In Charge certs before attempting any "advance" medical-care such as was mentioned earlier.

Stay safe.

[999yards]

I appreciate the oppurtunity to post in this thread as I do not have the experiences that qualifies me to post in the others.

I only have four years military, not SF just a Seabee, with only four months in Iraq and four years in law enforcement, still current and serving as SRT Designated Marksman. Not very appealing to recruiters I know. I do however have years of experience (1000yard matches) and recent formal training with a precision rifle. I have seen the WPS course of fire for DDM and can most certainly qualify. I don't know anything about the other crew serve type weapons such as M249, M240B, we did not have those in the Seabees just M60 and 50cal.

My question is; do I need PSS experience to be considered for employement as a DDM? The only job postings I have seen for DDM are labeled as PSS/DDM.

Are there any companies that hire for Static DDM only?

I have been told by a WPS contracted company to send in my resume after explaining to the recruiter my limited experience. Is that a normal response?

Thank You.

[Jong]

Originally Posted by 999yards

I have been told by a WPS contracted company to send in my resume after explaining to the recruiter my limited experience. Is that a normal response?

Thank You.

Maybe it is just jetlag that I have right now, but is this stupid question day and I just missed the notification? What other response do you think a recruiter would tell you other than piss off?

[Expatmedic]

Originally Posted by 999yards

I have been told by a WPS contracted company to send in my resume after explaining to the recruiter my limited experience. Is that a normal response?

Thank You.

Are you unhappy that after explaining your specific experience, that the recruiter still asked for your resume? This may just be a canned response, but it is better than "no, we do not need you at all".

Others may have a different POV.

[999yards]

Must be stupid question day. Why wouldn't he simply say don't bother you don't have enough experience.

[Expatmedic]

Originally Posted by 999yards

Must be stupid question day. Why wouldn't he simply say don't bother you don't have enough experience.

Perhaps you are of some use, some place? I hope your life's plan is to not always sell your self short. Others, can chime in on WPS contracts and give you a very real take on if you are qualified or not. In the meantime, search some of the very excellent threads about this issue to give you an idea as to how your creds and skill set stack up.

[SOTB]

Originally Posted by 999yards

Must be stupid question day. Why wouldn't he simply say don't bother you don't have enough experience.

You may have the required experience for the current contract specifications. Whether it is enough to sincerely do a good job once you get out there is another question -- and one that the recruiters (in their defense) may not be equipped to answer, no matter what your past experience looks like.

In short, if you want the job, and if the company will hire you, then do what you want....

[999yards]

EXPATMEDIC,
Not selling myself short. Being honest and not exagerating my experience. Thanks for your input.

SOTB,
I really appreciate your time. Lots of good info in your answer. Thank You.

[Expatmedic]

Originally Posted by 999yards

EXPATMEDIC,
Not selling myself short. Being honest and not exagerating my experience. Thanks for your input.

I understand, and I think I came accross as a bit of a jackass, so I apologize. It seemed as if in two consecutive posts your were selling your self short, when at this point there was just no need to do that.

[Chemical]

Thank you for that insight. you post actually answered a few questions of mine and is appreciated.

Originally Posted by SouthernShooter

Lots of great information here gents. I would like to add a couple of pointers on how to succeed in the FP/Static side of the house.

You are being evaluated from the moment you are BoG (Boots on Ground). Please heed the advice above and know that this is a small community and the PMs/CMs talk. If you come in to a static contract acting as if you're the end all of security contractors, you will not make a good impression. Just absorb as much as you possibly can and get to work. Work ethic and trustworthiness is rewarded above all else in my experience and best of all they speak for themselves. No boasting required.

Do what is asked of you. Meet your deliverables, show up on time and above all remain professional. You don't have to come in and light the world on fire with your "great ideas". Just do the job and stick to sharpening the FP fundamentals of your assigned venue/AO.

Don't complain. Bring up issues in a professional manner, but make the effort to show some initiative and provide a solution. Due to the competitiveness of the industry, many contracts have limited resources and everyone needs to chip in to make things work.

Remember, companies like to hire internally for higher positions if possible. If you are a highly qualified individual but couldn't get into the PSD world, being personally vouched for by your leadership will go along way to meeting that goal. When emergent openings occur or a big contract is awarded; company leadership will want a solid person or core of experienced personnel personally vouched for by their management team(s). Highly qualified static guys/gals with a solid work ethic are the 1st to go. Mainly because they are the cheapest to replace. Remember, your manager is putting his/her name on the line recommending you. Leave no doubt that you will not tarnish their reputation by vouching for you.

I'll trot back off into the sunset. I just wanted to share some of my experience to hopefully repay a small amount of the bandwidth that I have used while perusing this great site.

[Chemical]

"Your post actually answered a few questions of mine and is appreciated."

I'm having issues with typos today.

[warrensa]

Hi to all and, respectfully, if I can, my .02 worth,

I've come from a Military Background, then Law Enforcement, then using a combination of the skills drawn from the both ended up in the Research / Intel and Analyst side of the business. Not what I had intended but soon found I had a nack for it so stayed on in that field.

Whilst definetely the PSD 'shooters' side of the business may seem to have all the glamour and fame, there's more than 1 cog to make the machine work.
- With that I haven't deployed to the sandbox and most of my work is Govt based here in - and occasionaly outside of - Australia.

At the time I left the Military and L.E. the industry was already heading up and up, and the perception was that if you weren't a U.S. or U.K. citizen the ods were pretty much stacked up against you.

With that there are plenty of Aussies working abroad now, with various comapnies setting up an office here. My path into contracting wasn't an up and up affair - but alot of up and sideways, sometimes even down, but from each position I've held, I've put in everything and made sure when I left I had done enough to earn a referral and network with those that stayed on, and those that left and departed on their own endeavours.

Being in Canberra, is a benefit - much like being in London, Washington or wherever the Countries capital is you are located. The Govt base is huge, on-going training is a must for them and Govt being Govt, theyre attending also - so when it's time for a coffee break, lunch, or whenever, network!

So in closing, as an independent give you room to manoveour, freedom to pick and choose, and work by your own guidelines (within the companies policies).

Though again, in emphasis - NETWORK.

There is no shortcut. No perfect training school. No niche capability that isn't being filled by someone else. Take the hits, and learn from it. Not everythings up and up - you may have to take a sideways or downwards hit to leapfrog to the next position.

Again only my .02 worth.....I've only been an Independent coming up a year.

[pulphero]

So, the last brigade enters Kuwait. American combat forces pretty much gone, most ecspecially in numbers but industry and maybe DoS(?) concerns still there. As far as I can tell from scanning news reports (which may not help at all) Iraq still remains ostensibly stable but with prolific violence now leaning more to criminality. I also honestly can't tell if the local government there really hates IC companies or if they are just protesting for political reasons while wanting to keep them around, even as a necessary evil (in their eyes).

So from my position of un-clarity; will less big army troops = more IC's (not counting DoD jobs when there's less DoD) or will Iraq transition into a PSD/FP-less society. It seems possible theoretically that a power vacuum left by combat forces could be filled by contractors--if the need were there and start a 2nd 'boom' or is this chapter closed?

I have no idea how to enter that question into the search engine so if I'm missing whole threads on page 3 or 10 or something, I apologize.

[allen.is.haynes]

pulp...plain English dude....make it a simple question, what is it that you want to know? less than 100 words please...looking for simplicity here.