Emergency medical technicians
SOC Code: 29-2042
Emergency medical technicians carries a 28% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $41,340 and +5.1% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 181,000 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 28% AI exposure, Emergency medical technicians sits 9 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 23% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
56/100
Emergency medical technicians, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $41,340
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth B+ +5.1%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) B+ 28% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Emergency medical technicians in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Associate / award entry with a named growth shelf
Entry credential Associate / award covers 99 of 832 occupations; BLS places this one in Average (378/832). Mid-credential standing - thicker than graduate shelves, thinner than HS-dominated mass.
Where Emergency medical technicians sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Emergency medical technicians sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
28% Among the lowest lower than 77% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Emergency medical technicians vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Emergency medical technicians is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Emergency medical technicians's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 29-2042) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Emergency medical technicians be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Emergency medical technicians. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Administer first aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured persons in prehospital settings.
- 2. Assess nature and extent of illness or injury to establish and prioritize medical procedures.
- 3. Attend training classes to maintain certification licensure, keep abreast of new developments in the field, or maintain existing knowledge.
- 4. Comfort and reassure patients.
- 5. Communicate with dispatchers or treatment center personnel to provide information about situation, to arrange reception of survivors, or to receive instructions for further treatment.
- 6. Coordinate work with other emergency medical team members or police or fire department personnel.
- 7. Decontaminate ambulance interior following treatment of patient with infectious disease, and report case to proper authorities.
- 8. Drive mobile intensive care unit to specified location, following instructions from emergency medical dispatcher.
- 9. Immobilize patient for placement on stretcher and ambulance transport, using backboard or other spinal immobilization device.
- 10. Maintain vehicles and medical and communication equipment, and replenish first aid equipment and supplies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Emergency medical technicians?
Emergency medical technicians has an AI exposure score of 28%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Emergency medical technicians?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Emergency medical technicians is projected to grow by 5.1% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 181,000 workers.
What skills are needed for Emergency medical technicians?
Emergency medical technicians requires a combination of technical knowledge and interpersonal skills. Typical education requirement: Postsecondary nondegree award.
How much do Emergency medical technicians earn?
The median annual wage for Emergency medical technicians is $41,340, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Emergency medical technicians?
The typical entry-level education for Emergency medical technicians is Postsecondary nondegree award. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves None. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Emergency medical technicians?
Emergency medical technicians roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Emergency medical technicians: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (28% here).
- Acupuncturists · AI exposure 28%
- Advertising and promotions managers · AI exposure 28%
- Agricultural inspectors · AI exposure 28%
- Carpenters · AI exposure 28%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+5.1% here).
- Aircraft service attendants · growth +5.1%
- Animal trainers · growth +5.1%
- Commercial pilots · growth +5.1%
- Cooks, private household · growth +5.1%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 45 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Emergency medical technicians' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Emergency medical technicians side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).