Your friends informed you well. You totally seem to understand what you are getting yourself into. It is a good jumping off point.I'd heard that from a friend of mine. He started as an EMT and now he's a Surgical Tech. He said that it's a good starting off point to see if the medical field is where you want to be. He also said that as an EMT you see some of the most horrible things, so if you can handle that, you're good to go anywhere else in the field LOL!
But I thought of EMT for now because the schooling for it is only 8 weeks, and it's only on Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to 5pm. That's good cause I can still work during the week. I want to stay in the fields of helping people, even though some think Corrections don't help people, it's performing a service to the community. EMT's definitely help the community!
Go for it girl.