An EMT trained to provide extended emergency care in remote outdoor settings where help and hospitals are hours away. BLS does not publish separate figures for emergency medical technicians; it counts them within emergency medical technician (SOC 29-2042), whose median pay is $44,470 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Postsecondary nondegree award.
- SOC 29-2042
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Wilderness EMT in four numbers
- Median pay
- $44,470a year, or $21.38/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $34KTop 10% $63K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +5.8%Faster than averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+5.8%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +5.8% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 13,800181,900 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 2025181.9K
- Projected 2035192.5K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 181.9K Projected 2035 192.5K - Typical education
- Certificateneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
Also advertised as: WEMT, Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, Expedition Medic, Backcountry Medic, Outdoor Program Medic.
Pay
How much do Emergency Medical Technicians make?
Every wilderness emt in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$44,470
Middle half earn $37,960 to $50,100
- 10th
- $34,130
- 25th
- $37,960
- 75th
- $50,100
- 90th
- $62,500
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $34,130 |
| 25th | $37,960 |
| Median | $44,470 |
| 75th | $50,100 |
| 90th | $62,500 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $44,470
- Median hourly wage
- $21.38/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $46,830
- People employed
- 180,510
Versus all US occupations
At $44,470, Emergency Medical Technicians earn 13% below the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $6,510 a year.
Versus healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
Inside the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical group, where the middle occupation pays $102,760, this is 57% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $62,500 or more while the bottom 10% earn $34,130, a gap of 1.8×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 11% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Hawaii pays the most at $66,410, and still leads at $60,400 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay Emergency Medical Technicians the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hawaii | $66,410 | $60,400 | 560 |
| 2Alaska | $57,440 | $56,116 | 310 |
| 3New Jersey | $53,610 | $49,272 | 6,120 |
| 4Washington | $52,690 | $49,237 | 2,940 |
| 5Rhode Island | $51,290 | $50,147 | 430 |
| 6Connecticut | $50,640 | $48,876 | 2,190 |
| 7Massachusetts | $50,230 | $47,496 | 4,550 |
| 8Oregon | $49,270 | $47,668 | 1,970 |
| 9New York | $48,400 | $44,848 | 14,840 |
| 10Maryland | $48,100 | $45,827 | 3,400 |
Job outlook
Is Wilderness EMT a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Faster than average. +5.8% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Emergency Medical Technicians | +5.8% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Faster than average
BLS projects employment of Emergency Medical Technicians to change 5.8% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 10,600 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 13,800 openings are projected each year, 7.6% of the 181,900 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Wilderness EMT
A wilderness EMT holds standard EMT certification, typically earned through a state-approved course and the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) exam, plus a wilderness medicine module. Schools such as NOLS Wilderness Medicine and the Wilderness Medical Associates offer combined WEMT courses, often run as intensive multi-week programs with outdoor scenarios.
People usually pair the credential with outdoor skills and work as guides, park staff, ski patrollers, or outdoor educators. Some go on to paramedic training, search and rescue, or nursing. The Wilderness Medical Society provides continuing education in the field.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Postsecondary nondegree award
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
None
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Some preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
The work
What does a Wilderness EMT do?
Wilderness EMTs provide emergency medical care in places where an ambulance cannot quickly arrive: national parks, ski areas, backcountry trails, river trips, wilderness therapy programs, summer camps, and expeditions. They assess and treat injuries such as fractures, dislocations, and head trauma, and illnesses like hypothermia, heat stroke, altitude sickness, and allergic reactions.
Unlike urban EMTs, they may need to care for a patient for hours or days, improvise splints and shelters, decide whether to evacuate, and coordinate with search and rescue teams and helicopters. Between emergencies they may also work as guides, rangers, ski patrollers, or camp staff, running safety briefings and managing medical kits.
Day-to-day tasks
- Assess and treat injuries and illnesses in remote outdoor settings
- Manage environmental emergencies such as hypothermia and altitude illness
- Improvise splints, litters, and shelters from available gear
- Provide extended patient care during long evacuations
- Coordinate with search and rescue teams and air ambulances
- Stock and maintain expedition medical kits
- Lead safety and risk management briefings for groups
- Document incidents and patient care in the field
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
Wilderness EMTs work outdoors in all weather, often in rugged terrain and far from roads. Work is frequently seasonal, tied to summer guiding, winter ski seasons, or expedition contracts. Days can be physically demanding, involving hiking, carrying packs, and moving patients over difficult ground.
Tools and software
- Medical software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
- Information retrieval or search software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Wilderness EMT?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code RSE) built on O*NET's Emergency Medical Technician profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Wilderness EMT |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 6 |
| Investigative | 4 |
| Artistic | 1 |
| Social | 6 |
| Enterprising | 3 |
| Conventional | 4 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors, combined with teaching, helping and working directly with other people.
- Realistic5.6
- Social5.6
- Investigative4.5
- Conventional3.8
- Enterprising2.5
- Artistic1.0
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to Wilderness EMT
O*NET related occupations
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Transportation and Material Moving
Ambulance Driver and Attendant, Except Emergency Medical Technicians
$35,450median a year
Most earn $27K to $46K
−1.3%High school - Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
More healthcare practitioners and technical careers
Median annual pay, with emergency medical technicians highlighted
- Anesthesiologist$391,490
- Physician Assistant$135,880
- Nurse Practitioner$132,300
- Physical Therapist$102,760
- Dental Hygienist$98,100
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographer$96,590
- Radiologic Technologist and Technician$80,110
- Surgical Technologist$64,650
- Wilderness EMT$44,470
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Anesthesiologist | $391,490 |
| Physician Assistant | $135,880 |
| Nurse Practitioner | $132,300 |
| Physical Therapist | $102,760 |
| Dental Hygienist | $98,100 |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographer | $96,590 |
| Radiologic Technologist and Technician | $80,110 |
| Surgical Technologist | $64,650 |
| Wilderness EMT | $44,470 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Wilderness EMT appears on
Questions
Wilderness EMT: frequently asked questions
How much do Emergency Medical Technicians make?
BLS does not publish a separate wage for emergency medical technicians. It counts them within emergency medical technician, whose median pay is $44,470 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $37,960 and $50,100, and the top 10% earn $62,500 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Wilderness EMT?
Not a degree, but you do need credentialed training: BLS lists a postsecondary non-degree award (a certificate or license program) as the typical entry route for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Is Wilderness EMT a growing career?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 5.8% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 13,800 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Wilderness EMT do?
Wilderness EMTs provide emergency medical care in places where an ambulance cannot quickly arrive: national parks, ski areas, backcountry trails, river trips, wilderness therapy programs, summer camps, and expeditions. A typical task: assess and treat injuries and illnesses in remote outdoor settings. Employers most often ask for Medical software, Office suite software, Presentation software.
Which states pay Emergency Medical Technicians the most?
The highest state medians for Emergency Medical Technicians are Hawaii ($66,410), Alaska ($57,440), New Jersey ($53,610) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Wilderness EMT?
O*NET scores Emergency Medical Technicians highest on the Realistic, Social and Investigative interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with teaching, helping and working directly with other people. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISFJ, ISTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.