Emergency Medical Technology

Types of Degrees Emergency Medical Technology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many emergency medical technology/technician (emt paramedic) graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	17,349
Undergraduate Certificate	5,811
Associate Degree	3,686
Bachelor’s Degree	372

What Emergency Medical Technology Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to emergency medical technology/technician (emt paramedic) were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic) Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in emergency medical technology/technician (emt paramedic) should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Skills for Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic) Majors

A major in emergency medical technology/technician (emt paramedic) prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Abilities for Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic) Majors

A major in emergency medical technology/technician (emt paramedic) will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Emergency Medical Technology Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with emergency medical technology/technician (emt paramedic):

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics	15.1%	$34,320

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Emergency Medical Technology?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 63% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of emergency medical technology/technician (emt paramedic) majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	46
Black or African American	157
Hispanic or Latino	602
White	2,601
International Students	18
Other Races/Ethnicities	262

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic), too. About 0.5% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Emergency Medical Technology Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (Emt Paramedic) majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $37,760 to $122,320 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Emergency Medical Technology

Some careers associated with emergency medical technology/technician (emt paramedic) require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for emergency medical technology/technician (emt paramedic) careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	7.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	30.0%
Some College Courses	20.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	9.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	7.4%
Master’s Degree	11.7%
Doctoral Degree	8.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	6.2%

Online Emergency Medical Technology Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	443	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	5	0
Associate’s Degree	513	7
Bachelor’s Degree	4	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	3	2
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Emergency Medical Technology Worth It?

The median salary for a emergency medical technology/technician (emt paramedic) grad is $37,760 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Trades Related to Emergency Medical Technology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to emergency medical technology/technician (emt paramedic).

Major	Number of Grads
Physician Assistant	12,000
Radiologic Technology	10,633
Surgical Technology	7,412
Respiratory Care Therapy	6,569
Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician	6,160
Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapy	4,080
Athletic Training	3,408
Other Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	2,012
Cardiovascular Technology/Technologist	1,367
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology	773
Electrocardiograph Technology/Technician	652
Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist	575
Electroneurodiagnostic/Electroencephalographic Technology/Technologist	391
Polysomnography	233
Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist	147
Mammography Technician/Technology	109
Cardiopulmonary Technology	51
Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician	48
Hearing Instrument Specialist	18
Orthopedic Technology	17
Gene/Genetic Therapy	10

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.