The starting EMT salary is estimated at $19,868 per year, with the opportunity to climb up to $48,439 per year. This job includes bonuses that are granted according to the earlier reminded factors as well that mainly tend to be started from $19.74 per year and up to $2,052 per year. The profit sharing that is added to the paychecks reaches at $54.52 yearly, this leading in the end at a total annual wage that is comprised from $20,409 per year and up to $49,010 per year.
How much does an EMT make?
The EMT salary in the United States is influenced a lot by the number of factors that can be seen in the facility, in which you are being hired as an EMT and the area where you are working. The experience that one has gained in this professional field is another of the influential factors, when it comes to getting a lower or a higher salary. Also, the years of training and how you are using the skills that you earn along the years will make a huge difference.
The median average salary in the US for an EMT reaches at about $34,000 per year, while the highest ten percent of the population working in this field will earn a salary of $50,100 or more, yearly. The lowest salary that one can earn when we talk about an EMT can reach at about $24,030 or even more per year.
The middle part of the emergency medical technician will earn a wage comprised between $27,080 and up to $36,080 per year. An EMT earning is also influenced by the hours that one is working for. If you are working on extended time, then your hours are being paid and your salary for this overtime is higher than the salary of an EMT who only fulfills the basic hours of work.
The education, as mentioned earlier, will bring you to another level of salary since the responsibilities are higher than for those having a basic level. When working as an EMT, you have to know that you will benefit for having some supplementary bonuses, such as pension or disability bonuses, social security, healthcare benefits and so on.
With these benefits added to one’s salary, the package obtained will rise up to $47,510 and much higher, depending on the job one has to do as a healthcare provider. The certification is one of the most important decisions that will grant you your future salary.
The difference can be seen in the levels of employments. For example, a basic EMT will gain a salary reaching between $20,100 and up to $50,100. This will vary according to each state in the US, while working in this field of medical emergencies as an Intermediate EMT, your salary can be comprised between $19,540 and $39,540 per year.
If you are an EMT Paramedic, then your salary based on the fact that now in your line of duty you are more advanced and skilled, you’ll earn per year an income comprised between $19,700 and $56,000.
The facilities and the medical industry will also divide salaries according to the level of EMT. If you are working in the federal government as an EMT Paramedic, then you’ll earn a salary comprised between $31,200 and $65,200. If you are working from the position of an Intermediate EMT, then you can expect a salary of about $22,300 and up to $29,300, while a basic EMT will earn a salary comprised between $25,050 and $41,050 per year.
These numbers are continuing to increase or decrease, according to the facilities and the levels of EMT, the years of experience and the demanding from the population. Another key element that will influence the salary is the state, since there are well paid jobs and poorly paid jobs in this line of work as an EMT.
The best paid salary for an EMT can be found in states like Alaska, Nevada, and Washington, New York and so on. For example, an EMT salary in New York reaches to $39,120 per year, and even more. Meanwhile in Nevada it can reach to $30,100 and even more.
There are also different types of salaries, if you consider each and every level that can be found and achieved in the learning process of an EMT. With these influential factors and the economic flux, your salary in this profession will be impacted.
Salary of an EMT in 2017
The median payment for a basic EMT in the United States, for the year 2017 is estimated to reach out at around $30,605 per year, according to the latest salary data surveys provided by PayScale.com. One of the most influential factors that determines the salaries for this particular group is the specific or particular firm in which individual has found work. The impact in the economic flux of an income is also driven by the particular city, as well as tenure, years of experience and a few other factors. The vast majority of individuals responding to these salary data surveys were registered to be men rather than women.
When it comes to the years of experience in the field, the incomes vary as well due to the level of qualification. This is not one of the significant impact factors, but is one that will on a long term bring a few differences in the incomes. For instance, an entry-level EMT or else known as an EMT-B – or EMT Basic – with up to 5 years of experience in the field gains around $26,010 per year. At the same time, one with 5 and up to 10 years in the field can expect to earn somewhere at around $31,010 per year.
Those who have been in this profession for 10 and up to 20 years and have earned plenty of experience in this career will gain the same payment as those with less years worked in this career field, the estimated figures being exactly the same – meaning $31,010 per year. However, the veterans in this profession with more than 20 years of working activity and with plenty of job experience will take home a little bit more with a few thousands, leading to an established income of $34,010 per year.
Similar or related job titles offer various incomes according to the nature of the job itself. For instance, a Caregiver takes home an average income that reaches somewhere at around $22,224 per year. At the same time, an Emergency Room Technician can expect at a median annual income that reaches somewhere at around $33,028 per year. A Certified Nurse Assistant can expect to earn a median annual income of around $23,909 per year. On the other hand, a Licensed Practical Nurse gains around $40,751 per year.
According to the salary data information provided by Indeed.com, the established income for an EMT has an average of around $31,821 per year with an hourly wage that reaches at $13.03 per hour. The salaries also vary from a state to another or from a region to another. For instance, in Massachusetts, the reported incomes tend to be above the national average, with reported yearly salaries of around $35,991 per year. At the same time, in New York, the earnings exceed $40,252 per year. On the other hand, in Indiana, the reported earnings are below the national average reaching only at around $28,834 per year.
The employment growth for EMTs as well as for Paramedics up to the year 2024 is projected to be at a 24% rate of increase according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This increase rate is established due to the number of cases, as well as due to the number of demands for healthcare services. There has also been a steady increase in demands for patient care. Thus, it is certain that as EMT you will get job opportunities in the near future, but also in the present, making it a very stable career choice for anybody who would like to work in this field.
EMT salary in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom
- A salary for an EMT in Canada will reach at an annual average comprised between CAD$24,730 and CAD$75,980, not to mention the fact that the levels of experience will be of great contribution concerning the salary. Additionally, working as an EMT has good parts, since you’ll get a bonus accredited to your finances around CAD$4,980. The salary for a medical emergency technician is influenced based on these factors and many others. The earnings for this healthcare provider will be estimated at an income level being comprised between CAD$27,160 and CAD$66,310 per year.
- For instance, in Australia, an EMT will receive an annual salary that ranges from AU$24,165 to AU$89,710, but also a bonus will be added to his or her account that will be of about AU$43,987. Considering the salaries per year, the earnings of an EMT will be estimated to reach at an income comprised between AU$30,155 and up to AU$123,760.
- In the United Kingdom, an emergency medical technician will gain an average salary that reaches at £21,980 per year and the median salary will be estimated to reach at £19,890 per year. One of the decisive factors that will influence the salary of an EMT in the United Kingdom is the age that is quoted differently. For example, those who are of twenty years and more will receive an income of about £16,650, while those having thirty and even more will reach at a yearly salary of about £21,605.
EMT Career
An EMT or an emergency medical technician is a healthcare professional who offers aid in various cases of emergencies. They receive the necessary training to respond to emergency situations that involve accidents, injuries and other medical problems.
Job description of an EMT
According to the levels in which an EMT is trained, his main duties in the line of this job will vary but in general lines they are the ones who will help patients in various death circumstances, with injuries and so on by responding to the emergencies medical situations. Their job also includes transporting the patients to the nearest healthcare facilities. They also need to give patients first aid, to face stressful situations, to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation in some cases, to understand the nature of the illness or the injury that the patient confronts with.
Among many other day by day duties, an emergency medical technician has to have some skills that are really necessary, so that the whole aid care for any patient will go without problems. This professional has to make sure that the scene where an accident took place is secure. With some occasions, he has to learn how to drive the ambulance and use all the necessary equipment.
It is also important to acknowledge the steps that he has to follow when he deals with a patient’s life, where every decision is very important. His responsibilities involve from his part the responsibility of having developed communicational skills, which can lead to saving one’s life. One of the most important things to do is to determine the patient’s physical state, and to see whether he had any conditions that might have affected his life earlier. These aspects are issues like any kind of illnesses, recent or old injuries and so on.
How to become an EMT?
There are many career opportunities, and if becoming an EMT is your life dream then you should know that everything starts from high school and continues in the years of training that follow. First it will be for the best to find out, by doing some research on the emergency medical technician job and career, what conditions stand in front of you. Don’t hesitate to search online for useful information on how to become an EMT and what this job involves.
Or, you can go to meet a real EMT who could give you some useful tips on what his job involves and he could also introduce you in the field of these healthcare providers. According to each state, there are laws and requirements that you have to fulfill so that you might become an EMT certified professional and have the right to practice.
Here are some useful steps that will make you advance in your training as becoming an EMT. First, you need to earn a CPR certification that will help you a lot to face many cases, when dealing with medical emergencies. It will also lead you to the path of becoming one of these professionals.
In some of the institutions that offer training programs as EMT, the CPR certification is also included but in others, this option is not included. So, before enrolling, do a research on which courses you can follow. For a better understanding and an easier way to discover where you can achieve a CPR certification, contact the local Red Cross in the area where you are.
Since your training continues, apply for an emergency medical technician accredited training program. This program, in the US and according to each state, means that you’ll have to go to a certification drill that will take through three of the levels. These levels will get your access in the line of the EMT. The levels include EMT-basic level, Intermediate level and the Paramedic level.
You can also become, if you want, an EMT-B or, with other words, a basic EMT who has to take a number of hours comprised between thirty and sixty, hours that consist in courses of emergency skills and sometimes you’ll also be required to earn practical experience in an emergency facility room.
The courses that you are going to receive are mainly based on different types of skill development, such as the way to properly use the medical and emergency equipment, how to deal with various healthcare situations like traumas, fractures, burns, illnesses or childbirth and so on. Also, you’ll learn the method of administering oxygen to the patients who need it.
To advance in your career opportunity, you’ll have to pass the NREMT or the National Registry EMT-Basic exam that will give you more open doors to enter on. But for this, you’ll have to fulfil some requirements, such as being eighteen years old or even older, showing proof that you’ve earned CPR certification and also that you can do it well at the EMT-basic level. It is also essential that you have completed an EMT training program that offered accredited certification.
The last requirement that will vary according to each state is to take the EMT-B psychomotor exam. This exam will test your physical abilities that you have gained across your training program and experience. So, be really prepared for this!
But if you really want to become an EMT, your process is not finished yet. Try to search for jobs in the public or private domain, where EMT-Bs are needed. The experience that you gain is really valuable, so you can continue in advancing through the levels of intermediate EMT and EMT-II.
As you advance in this line, you’ll see that your responsibilities will also grow because an EMT-II is now required to know how to administer IVs and how to use necessary medical equipment like defibrillators in cases of cardiac arrest and so on.
The process to become an EMT-II is a lot like the process of an EMT-B, but you are required to do more coursework. When you’ve achieved all the levels and you finally became an EMT, then you should know that now you will be the first to interact with patients at the scene of the accidents and in other various situations. This also involves his or her family, so you must have strong skills of being emotional and being able to communicate intelligently and openly.
Work Environment and Schedule
As an EMT you can find work in various settings, from the area of hospital, to the fire or police departments, and in the private area sector and so on. As an EMT, you’ll never know when an emergency intervenes, so the schedule for an EMT involves twenty four hour days and seven days per week at the work ground.
This will be reaching, for an EMT, to a number of forty of fifty worked hours per week, not to mention that you’ll have to do night shifts as well. Working as an EMT you have to be able to work on holidays and on weekends, because the emergencies will never stop coming. So, you have to be present any time.
An EMT will have to have gained the proper skill of having developed his physical appearance, because you’ll do a lot of lifting and moving and you’ll work on any type of weather.
Pros and cons of being an EMT
As an EMT, you’ll be the first to respond to an emergency situation that needs medical aid. The cases and the situations that you’re dealing with involving heart attacks, shooting or even car accidents and many more. Once you are present at the site of the emergency, you’ll have to work to stabilize the condition of the victims. If the patients are too sick or too injured, you’ll have to transport them to the nearest medical facility.
Before starting on this path, you should surely check the pros and cons that can be found in this job and then decide if you want to advance and become an EMT. The variety in this job can be found daily so you won’t have time to be bored at all, the experience that you’ll go through will be different and interesting.
The growth in this field is remarkably good since the demanding is growing fast due to the many unexpected circumstances and hazards that many times appear and also because of the aging population that confronts with many healthy issues. The best rewarding, in this case, is being able to help the people who have just suffered serious trauma, physical and emotional. You’ll be at their side during the whole procedure, and you’ll be the one that saved their lives.
The cons that result from this job involves many times a continuous stress due to, not knowing what you’ll find when you are going to an emergency site and due to patients that have various reactions. The sites in which you are going to work are different involving accidents or gunshot places and other events, for this you’ll have to be really prepared.
This job involves a lot of bending, lifting and standing on your feet for a long period. The fact that you are present at that site can affect your health as well. This is because many times there is a high risk of being exposed to various diseases or infections as well as you could get injured or even attacked.
The education that you’ll have to go through involves a high school diploma, and then it is followed by the training. This training usually consists of three levels: EMT-Basic, then EMT-Intermediate and the last one in this classification is the Paramedic. Once your training program is completed, you’ll need a license to be able to practice. The costs of these training can be pretty expensive and time-consuming at the same, and at the end of that it will result in some serious financial debt.
EMT job growth
The projected growth for an EMT for the year 2017 is estimated to be between 18% and 25%. The employment rates are also estimated to grow faster than the usual rates due to the nature of the job and the number of cases that gather up.
Through the year 2017, the job prospects seem to be favorable because there will be a need for replacement of those workers that seem to leave the job because of the limited potential for advancement, or because of the low income or any other factors that might affect them.
The job growth is very good especially for in the private ambulance services and in the cities that include and involve the highest number of cases and job opportunities. You will find out that the job growth is more likely to manifest in the highest paying cities that offer a lot more prospects than in the small cities with a limited number of emergencies.
Based on the salary levels the highest paying cities for EMTs are to be found in Seattle and San Francisco. You job opportunities are based on several factors, and one of the most factors is the training and the professional designation that usually vary according to each state.
Conclusion on EMT salary
Every one of these health care providers has their lives on a standby to do what is best, so that other people might live and regain everything they have lost. Their health is primary for an EMT and the salary is according to each field, in which they are working. With the percentage of cases growing, an EMT salary will vary, but the future outlook is great for the next fifteen years or so, due to the increasing number of demanding and the continuous need for assistance and aid.