Emergency Medical Technicians
Assess injuries and illnesses and administer basic emergency medical care. May transport injured or sick persons to medical facilities.
180,510 people do this job in the US. $44,470 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 60%
- 0%
- 40%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 7%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 12 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attend training classes to maintain certification licensure, keep abreast of new developments in the field, or maintain existing knowledge. | 59% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | 9%Half by Jul 2027 | |
| Maintain vehicles and medical and communication equipment, and replenish first aid equipment and supplies. | 11% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Administer first aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured persons in prehospital settings. | 6% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Decontaminate ambulance interior following treatment of patient with infectious disease, and report case to proper authorities. | 6% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform emergency diagnostic and treatment procedures, such as stomach suction, airway management, or heart monitoring, during ambulance ride. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Drive mobile intensive care unit to specified location, following instructions from emergency medical dispatcher. | 3% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Immobilize patient for placement on stretcher and ambulance transport, using backboard or other spinal immobilization device. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Observe, record, and report to physician the patient's condition or injury, the treatment provided, and reactions to drugs or treatment. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 29 min | Stays with people | |
| Assess nature and extent of illness or injury to establish and prioritize medical procedures. | 2% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Comfort and reassure patients. | 2% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Coordinate work with other emergency medical team members or police or fire department personnel. | 2% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Communicate with dispatchers or treatment center personnel to provide information about situation, to arrange reception of survivors, or to receive instructions for further treatment. | 1% | 7 min3 min to 13 min | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Paramedics4% now, 38% by 2028
- Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians3% now, 47% by 2028
- Surgical Assistants0% now, 0% by 2028
- Registered Nurses21% now, 36% by 2028
- Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses8% now, 8% by 2028
- Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians18% now, 18% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).