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The differences between firefighter/paramedics and emergency medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a firefighter/paramedic has an average salary of $51,764, which is higher than the $39,743 average annual salary of an emergency medical technician.
The top three skills for a firefighter/paramedic include patients, CPR and EMT. The most important skills for an emergency medical technician are patients, CPR, and EMS.
| Firefighter/Paramedic | Emergency Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $51,764 | $39,743 |
| Hourly rate | $24.89 | $19.11 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 33,534 | 137,617 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 36% |
| Average age | 36 | 36 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Firefighters/paramedics handle emergency triage, ensure patient stability, and acute medical assessment. These professionals provide emergency medical care to infant, child, and adult trauma and medical patients based on assessment findings. They manage paramedic/EMT continuing education programs. They are trained in HAZMAT response and do exercises on a monthly basis. It is their responsibility to coordinate blood-borne infection and CPR yearly skills training and re-certification for county volunteers and employees.
Emergency medical technicians or EMTs are skilled medical professionals who act as first responders to injured or sick patients. They apply first aid or do emergency medical procedures upon arriving at the area where the emergency happened. For serious or grave injuries, they do not have complete medical equipment at their disposal, so they have limited capacities on the field. Despite that, EMTs do their best to ensure that patients would reach the hospital for such high-risk cases. EMTs are expected to be calm under pressure and have extensive knowledge of first aid and of basic medical procedures.
Firefighter/paramedics and emergency medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Firefighter/Paramedic | Emergency Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $51,764 | $39,743 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $66,000 | Between $26,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Rafael, CA | New Brunswick, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Argonne National Laboratory | Lewistown Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a firefighter/paramedic and an emergency medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Firefighter/Paramedic | Emergency Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 36% |
| Most common major | Medical Technician | Medical Technician |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between firefighter/paramedics' and emergency medical technicians' demographics:
| Firefighter/Paramedic | Emergency Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 36 | 36 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.2% Female, 14.8% | Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 4.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 4.5% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |