EMTs Say, 'The Pay Is Not Enough'

They’re working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Is relief in sight?

- Kristen Bahler

IF THE THOUGHT OF BEING RUSHED to the hospital in a speeding ambulance gives you goose bumps, here’s something that will really make your skin crawl.

Chances are the person behind the wheel—and the one administering lifesaving care in the back—are both tired, overworked, and underpaid.

Paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) make an average of $16.05 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about 40% less than the average employed American earns, and one of the worst-paying medical jobs out there. Thanks to grass-roots organizing efforts like the “Fight for $15,” some service-industry jobs nearly match that pay.

Wages vary by state and municipality, but in many parts of the country, the going rate for an EMT or paramedic job is well below the threshold needed to meet the cost of living. As a result, many have to work multiple gigs—often hopping off one ambulance only to start another route immediately after.

“These are the people assigned to the front lines, whether someone has a heart attack in their living room or there’s a terrorist attack,” says David Fifer, a paramedic and educator. “And they’re having to keep a lot of balls in the air.”

Moonlighting to make ends meet is a burden facing much of the U.S. workforce. The plight of teachers, who sometimes work side jobs on nights and weekends to provide for their families, has dominated news cycles this year. But the challenges facing emergency medical services (EMS)—the umbrella term for the work of EMTs and paramedics—can be just as severe.