Paramedics (and other first responders) are terribly underpaid.

“I don’t do it for the money,” gets thrown stood a lot. That’s fair, most of us knew we wouldn’t be balling on a medic budget.

But wouldn’t it be nice to have just a little more?

Making 6 Figures As A Paramedic

Thankfully, it’s not entirely a pipe dream to start making some good money as a paramedic. There’s a few ways to up your like

• Traveling Paramedics
• Working Overtime
• Side hustles

It’s not easy, but no one ever said it would be.

TRAVEL PARAMEDIC

What Is A Travel Medic?

Travel nurses get all the love. No one ever talks about travel paramedics.

They work the same as travel nurses. They sign up for contracts and go wherever they’re needed. The contracts can be as short as 2 weeks or be as long as several months.

Contracts Can Be A Lot Of Fun

You get to travel all over the country while being paid.

Most first responders don’t get the chance to really travel until they retire with that sweet, sweet pension.

This is your chance to do it before you get tied down.

And if you keep your eye out, you can even travel to different countries. Sometimes it’s for disaster relief after hurricanes or earthquakes. Other times it’s to sit around and give out vaccines all day.

There’s something for everyone.

Oh, and did I mention it pays a lot better than other medic jobs?

DOWNSIDES

Because you’re not tied to a department or company, you don’t get the same benefits.

Contact travel paramedics don’t have access to insurance or retirement funds like full time employees do. It’s the price you pay for this extra dollars in your pocket.

If you’re young and don’t have a family, this can be an awesome way to make a ton of cash.

Once you’re tied down though, this becomes a lot less appealing.

OVERTIME

Wow, you can make extra money working more, who knew?

This one is a little obvious but it works. There’s a reason so many firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics love talking about overtime.

It pays really well.

And it’s easy to get. You don’t need to apply at a new company. No interviews or hiring processes. Just throw your name on a list and off you go.

Departments are always understaffed. Don’t worry about “overtime going away”. It won’t. Someone is always going to call out sick or have a vacation somewhere.

BURNOUT

How many years can you double your workload before you have a total meltdown?

Two? Maybe three?

Overtime is a short term solution to a long term problem. You can easily make 100K a year by picking up extra shifts. But eventually you’ll want to spend your time off at home.

You know, actually enjoying your life.

So try and treat overtime as a sprint, not a marathon. Pay for a nice vacation. Pay off your car. Or just pick up a shift here and there to buy yourself something nice.

Don’t turn into one of those guys that lives at the station.

SIDE HUSTLES

Side hustle is a phrase that gets thrown around in bunk rooms and stations a lot.

But a lot of the time what paramedics mean is they just have a second job. Yes, a second job can totally make you more money. But it’s pretty unlikely a part time job will make you more than your overtime pay.

If it does, maybe you should think about a career switch.

A good side hustle should be two things

• Do most of the work on shift
• Capable of making at least your salary

WORK ON SHIFT

You should be same to do most of your side work on shift.

If you get off shift and have to immediately work on your hustle, congrats, you just gave yourself a second job.

Great side hustles are things like 3D printing, leather work, and anything you can do on a computer.

These are pretty portable side projects you could easily work on during your shift. Ideally, you just double dip at work. Your off days can still be fully off and you can spend time with your loved ones.

DOUBLE YOUR SALARY

If your “side hustle” cant at least make your salary in a year, you don’t have a side hustle. You have a hobby.

For example; I’m a huge nerd and I love Dungeons and Dragons. But playing a bunch of games with 30 year old dudes in a basement is hardly a side hustle. There’s no way to make my salary back doing that.

Now, if I decided to film it, make it a podcast or some other type of content, that would be a side hustle.

There’s a way to monetize it. (If you don’t believe me check out these guys.)

Here’s the other thing about side hustles, they can take a long time.

Just because they have to potential to make your salary doesn’t mean that’s guaranteed. It’s definitely not guaranteed to happen fast.

But having a good example helps.

You can find a ton of people on YouTube and Instagram promising easy side hustles. A lot of them are scams- or just bad. Here are a few of the good ones

• Alex Hormozi
• Gary V
• Ship 30

There you have it. 3 ways paramedics can start making 100K per year while keeping their day job.

If you liked this and want to see more, check out the full blog here.

And you can see all our recommended resources for EMTs and Paramedics here.

Good luck!