Transportation and Material Moving · Holland code RSC

Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians

Drive ambulance or assist ambulance driver in transporting sick, injured, or convalescent persons. Assist in lifting patients.

Also called: Ambulance Driver, Driver, EMS Driver (Emergency Medical Services Driver), First Responder, Chair Car Driver, CPR Ambulance Driver (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation Ambulance Driver), Driver Medic, ECA (Emergency Care Attendant).

O*NET 53-3011.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $35,450; Middle half earn $30,750 to $38,410. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Place patients on stretchers, and load stretchers into ambulances, usually with assistance from other attendants.
Replace supplies and disposable items on ambulances.
Accompany and assist emergency medical technicians on calls.
Earn and maintain appropriate certifications.
Drive ambulances or assist ambulance drivers in transporting sick, injured, or convalescent persons.
Administer first aid, such as bandaging, splinting, or administering oxygen.
Remove and replace soiled linens or equipment to maintain sanitary conditions.
Report facts concerning accidents or emergencies to hospital personnel or law enforcement officials.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.5 / 5
Critical Thinking3.5 / 5
Speaking3.4 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.3 / 5
Active Learning3.1 / 5
Monitoring3.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language4.3 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.3 / 5
Transportation4.0 / 5
Medicine and Dentistry3.8 / 5
Public Safety and Security3.8 / 5
Education and Training3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic91
Investigative24
Artistic0
Social62
Enterprising9
Conventional43

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

emergency ambulance driver · DE Rettungshelfer/Rettungshelferin · FR ambulancier urgentiste/ambulancière urgentiste
patient transport services driver · DE Krankentransportfahrer/Krankentransportfahrerin · FR conducteur accompagnateur de personnes à mobilité réduite/conductrice accompagnatrice de personnes à mobilité réduite

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Taxi and cab drivers and chauffeurs (8213)173,900 employed
Ambulance staff (excluding paramedics) (6132)31,800 employed
Road transport drivers n.e.c. (8219)27,400 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.83. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (53-3011).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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