Emergency medical technicians, paramedics more likely to see raises than other healthcare jobs
The 2016 median salary for EMTs and paramedics was $40,508, but in 2017 that figure leapt to $51,168, a 26.32 percent jump.
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics are in healthcare positions most likely to see raises, according to a Finder.com analysis.
In fact, they were the only jobs in healthcare to crack the top 10 -- not counting veterinarians, who came in first on the list with a 37.52 percent wage increase from 2016 to 2017.
The 2016 median salary for EMTs and paramedics was $40,508, but in 2017 that figure leapt to $51,168, a 26.32 percent jump. That's enough to place it at No. 5 on the list, right behind financial clerks, producers and directors, and surveying and mapping technicians.
The figures are based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rounding out the top 10 jobs with the biggest pay increases during that period are meeting, convention and event planners; food processing workers; parts salespeople; counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession and coffee shop workers; and logisticians.
The top jobs with raise potential shifts when examining men and women separately. For men, EMTs and paramedics are third on the list. Those jobs are absent when determining the jobs with the most potential for raises for women.
Physicians and surgeons are seventh on the list for women. The 2016 median salary was $76,752, and $91,468 in 2017, a 19 percent increase. Psychologists are fourth, with a $61,724 median salary in 2016, jumping 21 percent to $74,724 a year later.
Even though EMTs see a significant amount of raise potential, jobs in healthcare in general can be difficult to fill, according to CareerCast's top 10 list of toughest jobs to fill, released in February.
Home health aid ranked fourth on that list, and first among jobs in the healthcare field. Medical services manager took the sixth spot. Nurse practitioners, with about a $107,000 median salary and a 31 percent projected growth outlook, came in seventh.
Personal care aides took the eighth spot with a 39 percent growth outlook, translating into roughly 750,000 new positions in the field in less than a decade's time. With projected growth of 34 percent, physical therapists landed in the ninth spot, rounding out the healthcare positions in CareerCast's list.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
