How to Become a Paramedic - Career Path and Job Description

Get Matched With Paramedic Programs

What is a Paramedic and What do They Do?

Few professions are as important, exciting, or rewarding as that of a paramedic. Their shifts are often adrenaline-filled and highly fulfilling. Paramedics are first on the scene for accidents, assist heart attack victims, and even help deliver babies.

Paramedics can work for fire departments, ambulance services, or in remote areas, providing rescue and triage to injured hikers, hunters, and others. Most, however, serve in urban or suburban areas, helping patients survive until they reach the hospital, where doctors and nurses continue their care.

Compare Popular Online Paramedic Programs

Search Programs

Steps to Becoming a Paramedic

A paramedic is a healthcare professional often first on the scene of emergencies, providing triage care for heart attacks, strokes, accidents, and more. They often revive patients and transport them to hospitals for further care. The role is intense but highly rewarding.

Paramedics often face dangers on the job, such as responding to violent scenes with perpetrators still at large or dealing with mentally ill individuals prone to outbursts. As first responders, they encounter unknown risks, like fuel leaks at accident scenes that could lead to explosions.

Paramedics save lives regularly, often delivering patients to the hospital with a pulse, which marks their job as done. Despite the stress and pressure, it remains an incredibly rewarding profession.

These heroics rely on excellent training. Paramedics must be thoroughly prepared academically and practically before earning state licensure. While certification requirements vary by state, all are rigorous, ensuring paramedics are calm, capable professionals under pressure.

Step 1: High School and Other Education Requirements
Step 2: Internship or Apprentice
Step 3: Licensing & EMT Certifications
Step 4: Continuing Education and License Maintenance

Step 1: High School and Other Education Requirements

The first step to becoming a paramedic is earning a high school diploma or GED. A strong foundation in science, particularly biology, chemistry, and anatomy, is essential for understanding the medical concepts taught in paramedic programs. Courses in math and communication are also valuable, as paramedics need to perform calculations for medication dosages and effectively communicate with patients and healthcare professionals. Additionally, consider taking health science or first aid classes, if available. Gaining CPR certification during high school can also give you a head start on meeting entry requirements for EMT training programs.

Find Your Online Paramedic Program

Step 2: Licensing & Certifications

Paramedics all must study and train hard to earn a license from their state. The process is rigorous, to match the profession. However, each state has their own specific guidelines and certification requirements.

To become a paramedic, candidates must complete a paramedic education program, ideally accredited by CAAHEP. This training prepares them for certification with the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians and is often offered at community colleges.

Since paramedics are the highest level of emergency medical technicians, their training is typically longer, often taking up to two years. Some begin with an EMT basic course, which may include wilderness EMT training or volunteer experience, before advancing to paramedic training. These courses and experiences teach vital life-saving skills.

After completing their paramedic courses, candidates typically must pass a comprehensive licensure exam. This often consists of two parts: a cognitive exam, which is usually a written or electronic test, and a practical exam that simulates emergency situations. The practical exam is stressful, but a well-prepared candidate should be able to assess patients and deliver emergency care effectively.

Step 3: Externship or Apprentice

A key part of any medical training is the all-important, hands-on portion of one's education. In this stage, paramedic students will learn to apply what they learned in the classroom. After all, nothing can substitute a real-world application of this training. When an apprentice is out in the field, or in a hospital, treating patients, their training can solidify as it is applied in a real-world situation.

Step 4: Continuing Education and License Maintenance

To maintain a paramedic license, most states require that licensed professionals continue to gain continuing education throughout their career. As a rule of thumb, prospective paramedics should plan on completing around 30 hours of additional training for each licensure period. Some states are sure to have specific requirements for those hours, such as renewing CPR/ACLS certification or an ethics course.

Paramedics can use this opportunity to start studying related fields. For instance, some paramedics take courses in nursing, which they might later apply towards an RN or LPN certification. Some even take pre-med courses and later apply to medical school. This way, they are able to gain invaluable experience providing medical care while building towards other professions in the medical community.

Training and experience as a paramedic can be invaluable for those who want to become RNs or ER doctors, among other specialties. In fact, working as a paramedic can help a professional discover exactly what sort of specialty area they wish to pursue. That is, certain experiences might lead to a pediatric specialty while others may become passionate about heart surgery after treating multiple patients in the throes of cardiac arrest.

Where Do Paramedics Work and Who Do They Work For?

Paramedics usually work for hospitals and ambulance services. They spend their shifts in an ambulance, driving to answer the calls of people experiencing emergencies. Paramedics apply emergency medical care and then take those people to the nearest hospital for advanced medical care. Paramedics find that there are more jobs available in larger urban areas, which tend to have more hospitals and more patients to care for.

While most paramedics work in urban and suburban areas, some also work deep in the wild. A wilderness emergency medical technician is a specialist in the emergency medical care field who is specially trained to rescue hikers and other adventurers who encounter trouble in the forest or other wilderness environments. Regardless of where they work, paramedics are more likely than most professionals to have irregular schedules. Many ambulance workers, for instance, have to work nights, weekends, and many holidays. After all, people experience healthcare emergencies around the clock.

Why Become a Paramedic?

People become paramedics for a wide range of reasons. Some are considering medical school and thus take a job as a paramedic to help gain experience. Others might pursue the profession because it is often fast-paced, intense, and rewarding. Work as a paramedic is also great preparation for work as an ER nurse.

On top of these reasons, paramedics often make a good salary, receive ample benefits packages, and generally find an economically successful life in the profession. They also find that there are positions available in every town and city of the nation. Thus, many young paramedics spend a few years traveling, working as they go. In fact, much like nurses, there are so-called travel paramedics who are placed with ambulance services or hospitals by employment agencies that facilitate any licensure or other issues. Thus, the career of a paramedic offers a great deal of flexibility for those who want it.

Find Online Paramedic Schools

Professional Organizations

There are several associations available for emergency medical professionals. No matter what the precise nature of the organization, these associations help all members grow and develop in their field. These organizations offer members special certifications, educational opportunities, and professional advocacy, among other benefits. In fact, members invariably find fellowship, leadership opportunities, and special publications as a result of membership in these groups. No career is complete without membership in a professional organization. In fact, even students find that these organizations offer them benefits they may not want to pass up. With special student rates, aspiring paramedics can join and begin dabbling in the real-world side of the emergency medical profession and move toward gaining certifications that can help them succeed.

International Association of Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics
This is a labor union for paramedics and emergency medical technicians that spans the globe. This organization lobbies and fights for their members to have proper salaries and working conditions. Members are protected by a strong cadre of labor attorneys and more.
National EMS Management Association
Emergency medical professionals are welcome to join this national organization, where they will find special certifications, job openings, and learning opportunities, among other benefits. Members are also able to receive special association publications. Their goal is for all members to be excellent leaders in the EMS profession.
National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians
The NAEMT is a vital part of the emergency medical community. Their members are able to take advantage of educational opportunities, advocacy, and numerous association publications. They even offer a healthy list of webinars and podcasts that will keep paramedics informed and growing in their field.

Paramedic Career, Salary and Advancement Outlook

For those starting out in the profession, including those still in school, the matters of salary and long-term job prospects loom large. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects data on all careers, and their prognosis for paramedics is positive. However, their statistics group EMTs and Paramedics under the same umbrella, which may not reflect the reality for either group. That is, the BLS shows that the median salary for these professions is around $44,780 while many states and municipalities tend to pay paramedics on a separate scale, which is often more than EMTs.

Search Programs Offering Paramedic Majors

Meanwhile, the BLS shows that paramedics earn an average salary that exceeds $57,000. Keep in mind that this number is culled from national statistics. Paramedics in large cities or wealthier towns may be paid far more. Further, it's often the case that paramedics who work for fire departments are paid far better, and have better overall working conditions, than paramedics who work for private ambulance services. For comparison, the BLS reports that the median salary for firefighters is over $57,120 per year. Thus, a significant amount of all salaries in that field are more than that. Again, emergency personnel are paid differently according to what their local area can support.

Apart from salary, the BLS report shows that emergency personnel are expected to increase their numbers by 6% between 2023 and 2033. This figure is characterized as being faster than average, which bodes well for aspiring emergency professionals.

Find Paramedic Jobs Near You

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an EMT/paramedic do?

An EMT is someone that provides emergency care and advanced life support to patients on-site and then transports them to a medical facility.

How to do you become a paramedic?

The first step to become a paramedic is to complete an education program that is accredited by the CAAHEP. These programs generally take 2 years to complete. After you complete your program, you will need to complete an apprenticeship or an internship and pass a comprehensive paramedic licensure examination in accordance with your state's laws.

What other jobs can an EMT or paramedic do?

The following is a list of jobs that can be performed with EMT certification and training:

Emergency first responder
Primary care paramedic
Patient transfer
Military medical technician
Search and rescue technician
Firefighter
Medical attendant

Can you be begin the process to become an EMT while still in high school?

You can be admitted into the EMT paramedic program when you are at least 17 and in the final year of high school as long as you meet the admission requirements. At 18 you will elidable to become a certified EMT

What are typical hours like for an EMT?

Typically an EMT will work 12 hour shifts; one shift during the day and one at night. Hours can be longer depending on how the calls go throughout your shift. EMTs may also be responsible for working nights, weekends, and holidays.

Becoming a Paramedic Careers & Salary Outlook