Healthcare Practitioners
Paramedics
Also called: Critical Care Paramedic, Firefighter Paramedic, First Responder, Flight Paramedic
US median pay
$60,600
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+5.7%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
4,300
102,200 employed
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Preparation 3/5 · Medium preparation
What this job is
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.
What they do day to day
- Perform emergency cardiac care, such as cardioversion and manual defibrillation.
- Perform emergency invasive intervention before delivering patient to an acute care facility.
- Coordinate work with other emergency medical team members or police or fire department personnel.
- Assess nature and extent of illness or injury to establish and prioritize medical procedures.
- Comfort and reassure patients.
- Administer first aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured persons in prehospital settings.
- Operate equipment, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), external defibrillators, or bag valve mask resuscitators, in advanced life support environments.
- Perform emergency pharmacological interventions.
- Administer drugs, orally or by injection, or perform intravenous procedures.
- Attend training classes to maintain certification licensure, keep abreast of new developments in the field, or maintain existing knowledge.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Service Orientation3.9/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.8/5
- Coordination3.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.4/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.2/5
- Persuasion3.1/5
- Instructing3.1/5
- Operation and Control3.0/5
Knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry4.5/5
- English Language4.2/5
- Public Safety and Security3.9/5
- Customer and Personal Service3.9/5
- Biology3.7/5
- Education and Training3.7/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 3 of 5 — Medium preparation. Usually vocational training, an associate's degree or an apprenticeship.
Typical entry education (BLS): Postsecondary nondegree award, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Who this job suits
Mostly Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.