Career Opportunities

An EMT or paramedic certification opens more doors than the ambulance. This page lists where people work, what the field looks like nationally, and where it can lead.

Where EMTs and paramedics work

• Ambulance services: 9-1-1 response, interfacility transfers and private ambulance companies.
• Fire departments: most large departments respond to medical calls, and many hire firefighters who are already EMTs or paramedics.
• Hospitals: emergency department technician and similar roles.
• Events and standby: concerts, sporting events and film sets.
• Critical care and air medical transport: flight paramedics move critically ill patients between hospitals, usually after extra training and certification.
• Education and management: instructors, field training officers, supervisors and emergency management.

The numbers

These figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and describe the whole country, not California specifically:

• Median pay (May 2025): about $44,470 a year for EMTs and about $60,600 for paramedics.
• Job outlook: employment is projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, faster than average, with about 18,200 openings a year, many from people leaving the field.
• Size of the field: about 284,100 jobs in 2025, around 181,900 EMTs and 102,200 paramedics (volunteers not counted).
• The work itself: physically demanding and stressful, with a high rate of injuries. Most people work full time, and shifts can run 12, 18 or 24 hours, including nights, weekends and holidays.

Pay in California is often different from the national median and varies a lot between employers, so check current postings for the agencies near you.

Where it can lead

People often use EMS as a first step and then move on:

• Paramedic school, which raises your scope and your pay.
• Firefighting, which is common for paramedics because the skills overlap.
• Flight or critical care transport, with extra certification.
• Physician assistant, nursing or medical school, for which patient-care hours are often valued. These routes require their own prerequisites and applications, which are covered in the Pre-Med guide for those heading toward medicine.
• Health education or emergency management.