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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Emergency Medical Technicians?
Task-level automation exposure for Emergency Medical Technicians: 12 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
32%
weighted task index
12 of 12 tasks scored
Median Salary
$44,470 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
High
180,510 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+5.8%
employment change
13,800 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 53 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$27,610 – $66,410
Highest medians
Hawaii $66,410
Alaska $57,440
New Jersey $53,610
Washington $52,690
Rhode Island $51,290
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $27,610
Oklahoma $34,170
West Virginia $34,360
Kansas $35,780
Louisiana $35,870
State figures come from the 29-2042 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 32%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 25%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 42%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 8%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Constituent Task Mix
12 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 8%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 42%
5 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 50%
6 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#22852 · Core · 18% automatable
Administer first aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured persons in prehospital settings.
physical manipulation — Hands-on emergency resuscitation and physical intervention
Treat medical emergencies.
#22853 · Core · 55% automatable
Assess nature and extent of illness or injury to establish and prioritize medical procedures.
decision support — Treatment goals need clinical accountability and context
Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals.
#22854 · Core · 75% automatable
Attend training classes to maintain certification licensure, keep abreast of new developments in the field, or maintain existing knowledge.
information retrieval — AI summarizes medical updates; human retains judgment
Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
#22855 · Core · 15% automatable
Comfort and reassure patients.
interpersonal — Rapport and emotional support require live human presence
Interact with patients to build rapport or provide emotional support.
#22856 · Core · 45% automatable
Communicate with dispatchers or treatment center personnel to provide information about situation, to arrange reception of survivors, or to receive instructions for further treatment.
interpersonal — Clinical handoff carries accountability and nuance
Inform medical professionals regarding patient conditions and care.
#22857 · Core · 40% automatable
Coordinate work with other emergency medical team members or police or fire department personnel.
interpersonal — Treatment planning collaboration is accountable clinical work
Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
#22858 · Core · 12% automatable
Decontaminate ambulance interior following treatment of patient with infectious disease, and report case to proper authorities.
physical manipulation — Loading and operating sterilizing equipment by hand
Sterilize medical equipment or instruments.
#22859 · Core · 10% automatable
Drive mobile intensive care unit to specified location, following instructions from emergency medical dispatcher.
situated mobility — Driving vehicles to transport people/equipment
Drive vehicles to transport individuals or equipment.
#22860 · Core · 4% automatable
Immobilize patient for placement on stretcher and ambulance transport, using backboard or other spinal immobilization device.
physical manipulation — Physically positioning patients for exams
Position patients for treatment or examination.
#22861 · Core · 39% automatable
Maintain vehicles and medical and communication equipment, and replenish first aid equipment and supplies.
data analysis — Medical supply inventory records and thresholds automatable
Maintain medical equipment or instruments. Maintain inventory of medical supplies or equipment.
#22862 · Core · 47% automatable
Observe, record, and report to physician the patient's condition or injury, the treatment provided, and reactions to drugs or treatment.
interpersonal — Patient history requires live elicitation and judgment
Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments. Record patient medical histories. Inform medical professionals regarding patient conditions and care.
#22863 · Core · 18% automatable
Perform emergency diagnostic and treatment procedures, such as stomach suction, airway management, or heart monitoring, during ambulance ride.
physical manipulation — Hands-on emergency resuscitation and physical intervention
Treat medical emergencies.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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