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Career Change Finder

Jobs for Former Paramedics

Paramedics build service orientation, social perceptiveness and coordination skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Acute Care Nurses (85%).

Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers

Skills you enjoy

Pick the skills you want to keep using. The list re-ranks.

Sorted by skill match.

25 careers that use your skills

  1. 1Acute Care Nurses
    85%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses”
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  2. 2Critical Care Nurses
    84%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses”
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  3. 3Respiratory Therapists
    84%
    Median pay
    $82,280
    Pay change
    +36%
    Extra educationNone
  4. 4Registered Nurses
    82%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    +61%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  5. 5Surgical Assistants
    82%
    Median pay
    $66,800
    Pay change
    +10%
    Extra educationNone
  6. 6Physical Therapist Assistants
    74%
    Median pay
    $68,380
    Pay change
    +13%
    Extra educationNone
  7. 7Coroners
    73%
    Median pay
    $80,730
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Compliance Officers”
    Extra educationNone
  8. 8Occupational Therapy Assistants
    72%
    Median pay
    $72,300
    Pay change
    +19%
    Extra educationNone
  9. 9Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
    71%
    Median pay
    $76,210
    Pay change
    +26%
    Extra educationNone
  10. 10Exercise Physiologists
    71%
    Median pay
    $59,460
    Pay change
    −2%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree

Compared with Paramedics, median $60,600. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.

Your transferable skills

How important each skill is in work as paramedics (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).

Service Orientation3.88
Social Perceptiveness3.75
Coordination3.75
Judgment and Decision Making3.38
Complex Problem Solving3.25
Instructing3.12

Skills to learn

The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.

  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Operations Analysis
  • Systems Evaluation
  • Equipment Selection

Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.

Your top 3 moves, up close

A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.

Acute Care Nurses

85% skill match · $97,550 (broader BLS group)

First step

  • Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (57% of workers).
  • Usually needs a bachelor's degree — more preparation than your current job.
  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: over 1 month, up to and including 3 months.

Skills to add

Operations Analysis · Systems Evaluation · Quality Control Analysis

Is this right for you?

  • Exposure to disease or infection
  • Tight deadlines are common
  • Mistakes can have serious consequences

Critical Care Nurses

84% skill match · $97,550 (broader BLS group)

First step

  • Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (50% of workers).
  • Usually needs a bachelor's degree — more preparation than your current job.
  • A certification can help.
  • On-the-job training: over 3 months, up to and including 6 months.

Skills to add

Operations Analysis · Quality Control Analysis · Operations Monitoring

Is this right for you?

  • Exposure to disease or infection
  • Mistakes can have serious consequences
  • Tight deadlines are common

Respiratory Therapists

84% skill match · $82,280 · +36% pay

First step

  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: over 1 month, up to and including 3 months.

Skills to add

Quality Control Analysis · Equipment Maintenance · Equipment Selection

Is this right for you?

  • Exposure to disease or infection
  • Mistakes can have serious consequences
  • Long hours on your feet

Similar roles in the same field

If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.

Free help near you

Former paramedics can get free career counseling, job search help and, if you qualify, help paying for training through American Job Centers, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Find an American Job CenterFind training programs

Links go to CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Questions former paramedics ask

What jobs can former paramedics do?

The closest matches are Acute Care Nurses (85% skill match, median $97,550), Critical Care Nurses (84% skill match, median $97,550) and Respiratory Therapists (84% skill match, median $82,280), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.

Which paramedic career changes pay more?

Among the 25 matches, 12 pay more than paramedics at the median. The biggest increases: Radiation Therapists (+74%, $105,310), Registered Nurses (+61%, $97,550) and Detectives and Criminal Investigators (+55%, $93,790).

Do former paramedics need another degree?

21 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.

How is the skill match calculated?

We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.

Keep exploring

Sources. Skills, tasks and education: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Data Sources & Licenses