Get EMT Training

What you'll do: You'll provide on-the-scene, immediate medical care to patients in emergency situations such as automobile accidents or heart attacks. You'll work to stabilize the sick or injured person and then transport them to a medical facility. You must know how to assess an emergency scene, control bleeding, apply splints, assist with childbirth, administer oxygen and perform CPR and other basic life support skills.

Where you'll work: You'll work in an ambulance or similar vehicle, hospitals, clinics and emergency rooms

Degree you'll need: High school diploma or GED and a certificate, diploma or associate's degree from an accredited EMT program

Median annual salary: $26,339 – $39,777

Cities with high employment levels: New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Houston, St. Louis, Los Angeles

EMTs need to be certified or registered by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians in all states. However, some states administer their own certification examination and provide the option of taking the NRMET examination. To maintain certification, EMTs and paramedics must reregister every two years.

_{Source: Salary.com, 2011; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010}