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Kraena Pre-Health
Career Library

Entry Points

Advanced EMT (AEMT)

A step up from EMT — IVs, more medications, advanced airways — without full paramedic school.

Years after high school

1

Degree

Certificate

Entrance exam

None; EMT certification is the prerequisite

Median pay

BLS publishes separate medians for EMTs ($44,470) and paramedics ($60,600) but not Advanced EMTs. AEMT pay should not be represented by either endpoint as an occupation-specific median.

What the job is actually like

The same 911 calls an EMT runs, but you can start an IV, give more drugs, and manage an airway more aggressively. In rural systems you may be the highest level of care on scene for a long transport.

The path

  1. 01EMT certification first
  2. 02Advanced EMT course, commonly 150-300 hours
  3. 03NREMT Advanced EMT cognitive and psychomotor exams
  4. 04State licensure

Good fit if

  • You are already an EMT and want more scope quickly
  • You work or want to work in a rural EMS system
  • You are testing whether paramedic school is worth it

Think twice if

  • Your state or local service does not use the AEMT level — check first
  • You want the full autonomy of a paramedic
  • Employers near you hire paramedics almost exclusively

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All salary figures here are median annual wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 — the most recent full national dataset. 'Median' means half of workers earn more and half earn less. Three things to keep in mind: (1) pay varies enormously by state, city, setting, and experience — a nurse in California and a nurse in rural Alabama earn very different salaries; (2) training lengths are typical, not guaranteed, and programs differ; (3) these numbers change every year. Always verify current figures at bls.gov/ooh before making a decision. For context, the BLS median wage for all U.S. occupations was $50,980, while healthcare practitioner and technical occupations had a median of $86,530 — one of the reasons health care is such a stable field.