Paramedics
Administer basic or advanced emergency medical care and assess injuries and illnesses. May administer medication intravenously, use equipment such as EKGs, or administer advanced life support to sick or injured individuals.
- Median annual earnings
- $60,633
- Projected change
- +7.1%
- Typical education
- Certificate
- Employment
- 120.94K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
42.6% of the workforce
Growing to 129.49K by 2035
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Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
The work
What paramedics do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Administer drugs, orally or by injection, or perform intravenous procedures.
- Administer first aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured persons in prehospital settings.
- Assess nature and extent of illness or injury to establish and prioritize medical procedures.
- Attend training classes to maintain certification licensure, keep abreast of new developments in the field, or maintain existing knowledge.
- Comfort and reassure patients.
- Coordinate with treatment center personnel to obtain patients' vital statistics and medical history, to determine the circumstances of the emergency, and to administer emergency treatment.
- Coordinate work with other emergency medical team members or police or fire department personnel.
- Instruct emergency medical response team about emergency interventions to ensure correct application of procedures.
- Observe, record, and report to physician the patient's condition or injury, the treatment provided, and reactions to drugs or treatment.
- Operate equipment, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), external defibrillators, or bag valve mask resuscitators, in advanced life support environments.
- Perform emergency cardiac care, such as cardioversion and manual defibrillation.
- Perform emergency invasive intervention before delivering patient to an acute care facility.
- Perform emergency pharmacological interventions.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $44,156
- 25th percentile
- $49,600
- 50th percentile
- $60,633
- 75th percentile
- $73,708
- 90th percentile
- $85,526
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $60,633 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
8,551 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Certificate
- 42.6%
- Some college
- 29.9%
- Associate degree
- 11.8%
- High school diploma or less
- 10.9%
- Bachelor's degree
- 4.9%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Paramedics8,340 postings
- 02Flight Paramedics1,098 postings
- 03Emergency Medical Technician Paramedics779 postings
- 04Emergency Department Paramedics611 postings
- 05Emergency Response Managers598 postings
- 06Critical Care Paramedics370 postings
- 07Lead Paramedics205 postings
- 08Emergency Medical Technicians - Basic169 postings
- 09Paramedic Nurses169 postings
- 10Emergency Medical Technicians137 postings
- 11Paramedic Specialists135 postings
- 12Ambulance Drivers124 postings
- 13Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians77 postings
- 14Emergency Room Paramedics65 postings
- 15Critical Care Transport Registered Nurses58 postings
- 16Directors of Ambulatory Services58 postings
- 17Medic Emergency Medical Technicians56 postings
- 18Rapid Response Registered Nurses55 postings
- 19Critical Care Flight Paramedics43 postings
- 20Paramedic Instructors41 postings
Top employers
- 01Lehigh Valley Health Network1,994 postings
- 02AMR1,784 postings
- 03Global Medical Response795 postings
- 04BioLife Plasma Services524 postings
- 05HCA Healthcare336 postings
- 06Takeda Pharmaceutical Company148 postings
- 07AdventHealth145 postings
- 08Presbyterian Healthcare Services145 postings
- 09Air Methods128 postings
- 10Air Evac Lifeteam93 postings
- 11Piedmont Healthcare86 postings
- 12Mercy82 postings
- 13Trinity Health82 postings
- 14Life Flight Network81 postings
- 15Atrium Health79 postings
- 16Ascension78 postings
- 17City Ambulance Service77 postings
- 18Geisinger Health System71 postings
- 19Wellstar Health System69 postings
- 20Rochester Regional Health67 postings
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