Are you a first responder looking to make a career change but aren’t sure where to look? Consider Stryker! We connected with many current employees who are/were first responders who have found their dream job, using their experience as a first responder, at Stryker.
From EMT-B to Operations
Prior to joining Stryker, Chris was an EMT-B specializing in cardiac events and trauma. He joined Stryker because he was getting burned out and looking to further his career in the medical field. He discovered an opportunity within Stryker’s Endoscopy business and has been here for the past 15 years! We connected with Chris to learn more about his career at Stryker.
How is your role at Stryker similar to your career as an EMT-B?
There is still the sense of urgently making sure the doctors have everything they need. Making sure that we supply our customers with everything they need to be sure the patient is taken care of at the highest quality.
What do you enjoy most about working at Stryker?
The network and family feeling. This is the first place I have ever worked where whoever I call within the company makes me feel like family.
Do you have any advice for current first responders who are looking to make a career change?
Getting out of the front lines to be more a sideline provider is still just as (if not more) rewarding.
From EMT to Customer Service Rep
Prior to joining Stryker, Savanna was an EMT for 2.5 years responding to emergencies in Orange County, California. She joined Stryker because she was familiar with the products, and had met some sales reps. She was impressed by Stryker’s position on the ‘America’s Best Companies to Work For’ list and the company culture so she decided to pursue a career with us! We connected with Savanna to learn more about her career at Stryker.
How is your role at Stryker different from your career as an EMT?
The work I do now is important in a very different way. While I am behind the scenes, I am responsible for ensuring that sales representatives have the items they need when they need it, which is very important in ensuring procedures run smoothly.
What do you enjoy most about working at Stryker?
I most enjoy the feeling that everyone on my team works together to support each other and create the best outcomes possible for our customers and their patients while cultivating a great work environment.
Do you have any advice for current first responders who are looking to make a career change?
The skills you have built and strengthened during your time as a first responder are invaluable and unique. Find a career that utilizes these and make them known during the hiring process.
From Detective to Trauma Sales Rep
Prior to joining Stryker, Matt began his career as a police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he worked as a narcotics investigator, conducting thousands of undercover operations. Later, he was selected to the Tulsa Police Department Homicide Unit where he was a featured detective on the hit television series, “The First 48” on A&E. We sat down with Matt to learn more about his journey from a detective and tv star, to a trauma sales rep.
What made you decide on a career change?
In June of 2016, I was on the top of a mountain in New Mexico and began to think I was ready to move on. I wasn’t sure what was next, but I knew it was time. I was tired of being around the evil, tired of being the human garbage man, tired of telling people their family members were dead, tired of getting beat up on a daily basis by the public, witnesses, victims, and taking that time away from my family.
Why did you choose Stryker?
From the conversations I had with a variety of people, I knew this was the place for me. The majority of the people at Stryker were similar to my squad of police officers. Very team-oriented, very close relationships and they all worked together to achieve common goals.
How is your sales role similar to your career as a detective?
The hours I worked as a policeman were crazy, weird and I was always on call – which is the same as my role in Trauma Sales. I think this is a large part of the hesitation for people to get into trauma. Rolling into a trauma role from being a detective was an easy transition for me since I had been on call for a decade and worked midnight shifts, evening shifts, and day shifts throughout my career.
Policemen are also trained to think on their feet, problem solve in seconds, calm situations, and takeover rooms to make everyone safe. This translates well into my role in the OR. When cases get into situations where we need to be able to problem-solve, or people look to you for answers, policemen are used to being in that situation.
Do you have any advice for current first responders who are looking to make a career change?
My advice would be to look at other avenues out there that you may not have considered. There are so many things out there that could change your life forever. You can still help people, serve, and have that same feeling you did at the end of your shift - that you’ve helped someone today. That you helped someone on the worst day of their life get better in a safer and more lucrative environment.
From Parademic to Sales Rep
Prior to joining Stryker, Richard spent eight years working as a full-time paramedic before becoming a sales rep with Physio-Control (now part of Stryker). Today, Richard is a Medical Sales Enablement Manager in the EMEA region. We connected with Richard to learn more about his career at Stryker.
How is your role at Stryker different from your career as a paramedic?
At Stryker, I have very little patient contact, but I am able to share best practices and knowledge with health care providers who deliver excellent patient care.
What do you enjoy most about working at Stryker?
What I enjoy most is that every day, we are not just making healthcare better but saving people’s lives.
Do you have any advice for current first responders who are looking to make a career change?
Believe in yourself and go for it!
From Search and Rescue Chief to Environmental Health and Safety Manager
Prior to joining Stryker, Robert was Chief for New Jersey Search and Rescue and an EMT. He joined Stryker because Stryker is in the same business: helping people in their time of need. We connected with Robert to learn more about his career at Stryker.
How is your role at Stryker similar to your career as a first responder?
In my new role as EHS Manager, I am using the same skill in helping people. I am responsible for the safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Mahwah, New Jersey facility.
What do you enjoy most about working at Stryker?
The commitment to make top-notch products that help people have a good quality of life.
Do you have any advice for current first responders who are looking to make a career change?
The discipline and confidence under pressure you attain being a first responder is a crucial asset to have no matter what career path you choose.
From EMT-B to Quality Engineering
Prior to joining Stryker, Satyam was an EMT-B who took care of patients in the community where he grew up in central New Jersey. During his 10 years as an EMT, he saved individuals from car accidents, stabilized and transported patients quickly to local hospitals for cardiac arrests, seizures, strokes, GI bleeds, and assaults. He even delivered two babies! We connected with Satyam to learn more about his career at Stryker.
Why did you choose to work at Stryker?
I was a volunteer EMT-B while pursuing my biomedical engineering degree at NJIT. The healthcare and medical device fields were already very attractive to me. Though Stryker was not my first employer out of college, the decision of working for a great company like Stryker was the goal. My previous company gave me exposure to orthopedic and extremity reconstruction devices, which made Stryker a growth opportunity for me.
How is your role at Stryker similar to your role as an EMT?
My role at Stryker allows me to interact with people to help align the company's vision of putting our customers first. These "customers" are the patients an EMT interacts with daily and therefore the patient-centric value is the same at Stryker and as an EMT. The value we bring in a patient's life is the same for an engineer at Stryker or as an EMT directly interfacing with a patient. Without life-saving devices made by Stryker, an EMT is not able to easily do their job. Whether indirect or direct, the value and influence of saving a life is the same through creating the device or utilizing it in a real-life situation.
Do you have any advice for current first responders who are looking to make a career change?
For every device we use as first responders, there is a team of people who have thought rigorously about the patient, the ease of use, the voice of the customer, the impact to quality of life, and a whole lot more. This team of people is Stryker or any other medical device manufacturer. Making a career change is difficult but understanding the overall value you will bring makes it a lot easier to embrace that change.
From EMS to Government Affairs
Prior to joining Stryker, Jim was a driver/lifter for the Allendale Volunteer Ambulance Corps in New Jersey. He joined Stryker because he was drawn to the caliber of people and the culture of growth and has been here for the past 20 years! We connected with Jim to learn more about his career at Stryker.
How is your role at Stryker different from your role as a first responder?
In my Government Affairs role at Stryker, I deal with a lot of issues related to how our products are covered and paid for in markets around the world, including the US. This is great because I see healthcare from the perspective of those that have to provide and pay for it. As a first responder, I get to see healthcare from the provider side - albeit through very brief interactions with patients. But they really are two perspectives into the same healthcare system here in the US.
What do you enjoy most about working at Stryker?
I enjoy the culture of the company and the smart, hard-working people I get to interact with. And I like how we work as a team, everyone looking out for everyone else to be sure we win as a team, not just individually.
Do you have any advice for current first responders who are looking to make a career change?
I think there are so many things that first responders do that position them well for work in a company like ours. Being smart and capable of working under urgent deadlines to figure out effective solutions are characteristics of all first responders, and those traits carry over to any job I can think of at Stryker. Also, having a culture of caring for others is important here, and all first responders bring this to the table. Highlighting those attributes in addition to role-specific skills makes an immediate connection to what makes Stryker so successful.
From Paramedic to Sales Specialist
Prior to joining Stryker, Adam was a Paramedic for 22 years in Poland. He joined Stryker because he was very familiar with the equipment and was always impressed with the quality of the products.
How is your role at Stryker similar to your role as a paramedic?
I teach people how to use a defibrillator or Lucas - showing the capabilities reminds me of how I taught new, young doctors, paramedics, and nurses. I speak the same language as our customers, I know their problems and how to solve them.
What do you enjoy most about working at Stryker?
What I like most is changing the face of emergency medical services in Poland. I remember what equipment we had, what problems we had, and now, thanks to Stryker, we play in a different league.
Do you have any advice for current first responders who are looking to make a career change?
Believe that you can change your life. You can spend more time with your family and still use your knowledge. You have to take the first step, that's where it all starts.
Interested in joining our family?
Check out our current job openings and apply today!