How To Become A Life Support Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a life support technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average life support technician salary is $59,538. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an nursing major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a life support technician. Life support technicians with a Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 83,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreLife Support TechnicianUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $59,538

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.49%

Asian 9.73%

Black or African American 12.46%

Hispanic or Latino 15.12%

Unknown 5.54%

White 56.65%

Gender

female 31.66%

male 68.34%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.4

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a life support technician

Explore life support technician education requirements

Most common life support technician degrees

Bachelor's

40.3 %

High School Diploma

23.7 %

Associate

21.1 %

Start to develop specific life support technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Equipment	10.19%
Life Support Equipment	7.97%
Life Support Systems	7.43%
CPR	6.71%
Test Equipment	5.68%

Complete relevant life support technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New life support technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a life support technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real life support technician resumes.

Research life support technician duties and responsibilities

Manage and maintain TCP/IP database and inventory control on hospital peripherals (printers and scanners).
Repair fabric and rubber components, including protective clothing, thermal radiation barriers, flotation equipment, and various parachutes.
Inspect and maintain all flotation equipment.
Assist in aircrew combat survival training.

Prepare your life support technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your life support technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a life support technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable life support technician resume templates

Build a professional life support technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your life support technician resume.