Paramedics

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.2), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.2). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

How AI is actually used in this job

Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Tasks

All 13 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

• Administer drugs, orally or by injection, or perform intravenous procedures.
• Administer first aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured persons in prehospital settings.
• Assess nature and extent of illness or injury to establish and prioritize medical procedures.
• Attend training classes to maintain certification licensure, keep abreast of new developments in the field, or maintain existing knowledge.
• Comfort and reassure patients.
• Coordinate with treatment center personnel to obtain patients' vital statistics and medical history, to determine the circumstances of the emergency, and to administer emergency treatment.
• Coordinate work with other emergency medical team members or police or fire department personnel.
• Instruct emergency medical response team about emergency interventions to ensure correct application of procedures.
• Observe, record, and report to physician the patient's condition or injury, the treatment provided, and reactions to drugs or treatment.
• Operate equipment, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), external defibrillators, or bag valve mask resuscitators, in advanced life support environments.
• Perform emergency cardiac care, such as cardioversion and manual defibrillation.
• Perform emergency invasive intervention before delivering patient to an acute care facility.
• Perform emergency pharmacological interventions.

Work activities

• Administer non-intravenous medications.
• Administer intravenous medications.
• Treat medical emergencies.
• Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals.
• Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
• Interact with patients to build rapport or provide emotional support.
• Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
• Train medical providers.
• Teach medical procedures to healthcare personnel.
• Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments.
• Record patient medical histories.
• Inform medical professionals regarding patient conditions and care.
• Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
• Implement advanced life support techniques.

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

• Microsoft Word Common Skill
• Microsoft PowerPoint Common Skill
• Microsoft Outlook Common Skill
• Microsoft Excel Common Skill
• Apple IOS Specialized Skill
• Presentation Software Specialized Skill
• Medical Software Specialized Skill

Tools & technology

How to get in

Job zone

Zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Education

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Typical entry-level education

Postsecondary nondegree award · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement

Related experience

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Preparation level

SVP (6.0 to < 7.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Work styles

Interest areas

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Related occupations

Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.

• Emergency Medical Technicians · 29-2042.00 Compare →
• Registered Nurses · 29-1141.00 Compare →
• Acute Care Nurses · 29-1141.01 Compare →
• Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses · 29-2061.00 Compare →
• Critical Care Nurses · 29-1141.03 Compare →
• Surgical Assistants · 29-9093.00 Compare →
• Respiratory Therapists · 29-1126.00 Compare →
• Nursing Assistants · 31-1131.00 Compare →
• Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians · 53-3011.00 Compare →
• Medical Assistants · 31-9092.00 Compare →
• Emergency Medicine Physicians · 29-1214.00 Compare →
• Anesthesiologists · 29-1211.00 Compare →

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Paramedics — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-role-29-2043-00,
  title  = {Paramedics},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2043-00}
}