The salaries of EMT and Paramedic workers, commonly referred to as emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, like most other jobs, depends on a multitude of factors. Some of these include state, locale, on the job experience, and many more, which we’ll get into below. Many people today are investigating new careers and one of the first things they want to know is how much a paramedic salary is.
Bust first, let’s get into exactly what EMS professionals do on a day to day basis. EMTs and Paramedics are the first response team when a call is made to 911 after a car accident, when someone has a heart attack, stroke, or other life threatening situation, when women unexpectedly go into a labor when they can’t reach the hospital (emergency births), and a multitude of other situations.
They are responsible for sustaining the lives of accident victims and transporting them to the hospital emergency room, or the closest medical facility available, where a physician takes over. In many cases, this requires critical care where the patient is suffering from life threatening illness or injury. Duties include performing CPR, basic first aid, splinting, controlling bleeding, and even administering medications in the case of a paramedic. EMTs typically aren’t trained for or authorized to administer drugs in EMT school, but they typically are teamed with a paramedic, so patients that require medication are taken care of.
As for salaries, EMT Basics (the first level of EMS) typically earns around $13 – $15 per hour, which adds up to about $26,000 per year. They can typically earn as much as $35,000 – $40,000 depending on performance and experience, location, etc. Paramedics can earn up to $60,000 or $70,000, but are required to complete another 2 years of medic training, which is quite grueling study sometimes compared to the first year of medical school. Some states obviously pay more, such as California, Hawaii and Alaska, where EMTs will earn $40,000 – $45,000 per year. Another city that offers higher pay for EMS workers is Denver Colorado.
For those who would like to learn become a paramedic, the first thing to do is become an EMT Basic by enrolling in EMS classes at a local community college. After one year, one must pass the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) exam, at which point they may seek out jobs at local EMS service providers. After completing at least one year of work as an EMT-B, one can then choose to become an EMT-Intermediate/Advanced, or to enroll in a paramedic program.
