Felix Etterlin: "It's exciting being a rookie again”

Felix Etterlin, at the age of almost 38 years, why did you give up your well-paid job as a consultant to train to become a paramedic?

There was no clear trigger for this career change and no major psychological strain associated with it. I’m interested in lots of different things and just couldn’t see myself working in the same field for another 25 years.

After studying for a degree in environmental systems science, you worked as an environmental consultant specialising in soil conservation. Was this your dream job or did you just land in this field by chance?

When I was younger, I dreamed of becoming a vet, but seeing as I’m allergic to guinea pigs and afraid of dogs, I wasn’t very suitable for that. Because I always loved being outside and got good grades at school, especially in the natural sciences, I applied to study biology at university; then a friend convinced me to study environmental systems science at ETH. I found the start of the course a real drag. Previously, I had never learnt how to study systematically, had a really hard time and promptly failed my first exams.

But from them on, you raised your game?

(Laughs) No, I spent three months cycling across Madagascar. I had a friend who had written his dissertation about the Masoala Halle zoo and he encouraged me to join him on this adventure. It was when we were travelling through the rainforest and areas which were as dry as a bone that I first realised how privileged I was to be able to study and pick my own career; most of the people we met were living in poverty with no prospects for the future. This experience fundamentally changed my outlook. After that, I found it a lot easier to motivate myself to study and get through my course.

How did you then become an expert and consultant in soil conservation?

That too happened more by chance than being a conscious choice. The course included a mandatory work placement, so I sent off 16 applications and was finally accepted by the government department for the environment and energy in Lucerne. My first permanent job after graduating was as a research assistant at the government department for soil conservation for the canton of Zurich. I was interested in soil conservation. While people had long been talking about water conservation, no-one seemed bothered about the top metre of the earth’s crust even though it is home to vast quantities of plants, animals and fungi. And this soil, that we have to thank for everything we consume, is becoming increasingly scarce because it is being built over or polluted.

It sounds like you had clicked with your job.

Yes, I considered my work important and exciting, it stimulated me and I was able to build up a network and gain respect. However, it quickly became clear to me that working in stewardship is a very sobering matter. I would have liked more acknowledgement and a bit more dynamism. It sometimes depressed me that our “customers” rarely took a positive view of stewardship and simply saw us as eating up additional costs. It was at such times that I always used to consider doing something else. And I remembered how I always used to find first aid very exciting when I managed youth and sport courses for Pro Natura. I stumbled across a job description for a paramedic and found a way of getting a taste for the profession, spending four days with a first responder team in the canton of Zurich.

That was nine years ago – it clearly wasn't love at first sight.

To be honest, I was rather disappointed. I had imagined speeding around with blue lights flashing and spectacular rescue missions, while in reality we spent most of our time transporting old, polymorbid people around – from one hospital to another, from their homes to the hospital or from the hospital home to die. The blue flashing lights were only used on one of the four days, most of the time involved waiting around, killing time on our mobiles and the mood in the team was pretty bad. But despite this disenchanting experience, I couldn’t shake off the idea of making it a new career. I spent the next summer at Oberstockenalp in the Simme Valley, and again here I spent a lot of time considering all the options available to me, such as becoming a carpenter, a stove builder or a bike mechanic.

Why did it take seven years for you to switch careers?

Each time I got excited about a particular profession, I quickly saw the downside to it too. All this brooding also gave me a guilty conscience. I had qualms about jacking it in after a couple of years as I would have to undergo expensive training that would be paid for by the taxpayer. And my daily working life would be much more varied for a while if I changed job. But then I would see all the signs that it was time for me to get my teeth into something new and give the job of a paramedic a second chance.

What were these signs?

In 2016, I became a volunteer with the fire department; three years down the line I joined the First Responders for central Switzerland, a network of people, who are able to quickly provide first aid in the form of a cardiac massage if someone suffers a cardiac arrest. Also during this time, someone in our office fell through a false ceiling, was left hanging from a joist and had to be rescued by the emergency services. All this clearly showed me how directly useful the job of a paramedic is. The problem was that by then I had passed the age of 33, which in many cantons is the upper age limit for embarking on a new career. This upper limit has, however, since been removed for many of the emergency services, so I was able to start my training in 2021 after all.

How hard did you find it to go back to the very bottom of the career ladder again and only earn a fraction of your previous salary?

The annual salary that I will eventually earn in my new job is around two thirds of what I used to earn. When I started training, I was earning 1200 Swiss francs a month and this figure increases by a hundred francs with each subsequent year. Since I live with my partner, we don't have kids and I don’t lead an extravagant life, I don't find it too hard. I’m living on my savings and am convinced that this investment is more worthwhile than say buying your own home. I’m finding it really exciting being a rookie again. I’m learning lots of new things, especially medical things, and am able to deal with more and more different situations.

And you are no longer finding the reality of daily working life as a paramedic disenchanting?

No. Firstly, we have so much to do; sometimes it feels like we hardly have time to draw breath. And also, I now look at the profession differently from how I did nine years ago. The technical challenge and the medical aspects are still important, but the interpersonal side is just as important for me now. I have become more patient and more empathic and I don’t need the blue flashing lights any more. I now see every person we treat as a human too. For example, even a very drunk patient has their own baggage and deserves our support. At any rate, I have never regretted making the move and again feel an ease that I had temporarily lost somewhat.

What would you recommend to someone who fancies a change of career?

To be honest with yourself. You know if you are no longer enjoying your work, it’s not worth lying to yourself and simply not taking that step into the unknown out of fear.