Bro, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is not rural. Go out to Mckean or Forest Counties if you want to see rural.

10% is significant sure, but the 3,500 I was actually off by is only a 20 cent/hour difference. So let's talk about effect size.

Having worked for services that cover parts of 7 counties in PA, that's not representative of most medics (in PA). The most I ever made was 13.50 with the low being 10.20. That's with a BS, extra language, instructor, and 3 years as a medic, 3 as an EMT, and 8 as a FF/EMR.

The factory down the street starts people out at around $16/hour. You don't even need an HSD or GED.

as for the shortage of medics it's a completely different job in most places.

So is electrician and plumber. Those were both in my list. I was matching what the person above me said to not get to far off track (which is a null point now). Compensation is a big part of why there is a medic shortage and why there is a firefighter shortage in smaller areas. For electricians and plumbers (this is my fault because I thought this and didn't write it in my original comment), they are also well paid and there is still a shortage. Why? Because of this attitude that college is for everyone and is the only way to make a decent living.

I'm trying to argue that trades shouldn't be lowly compensated OR have low prestige. Either one of those can lead to a shortage. Firefighting is something that in many cases (go back through and note my use of words like many/some/most). I never said that ALL things are like this, but that some are. There are some departments with shortages, and it's tied to compensation, management and culture.