Recently I was talking with high school students in St. Cloud about how to capitalize on the increasing amount of data available to guide education and career decisions, when a young man approached me with questions about becoming an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). However, the student saw the EMT job not as an ending point, but rather the beginning of his journey through various medical occupations and training with the eventual goal of becoming a doctor. His view on career progression was refreshing; while many people change jobs, often it is not strategic or part of a plan.

The Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) occupation provides an excellent starting point for people who are considering a career in the medical and health-related fields. Becoming an EMT is as simple as completing a course approved by the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board, then passing a written and practical exam. EMT courses are frequently offered during evening and weekend hours to increase accessibility for those already working.

Many organizations provide EMT courses along with first responder – or Emergency Medical Response (EMR) and paramedic – training under the broader Emergency Medical Services (EMS) umbrella. The suite of EMS certifications, including EMT, has a two-fold social benefit. Aside from the obvious value of providing life-saving training for residents of the region, people interested in health care experience providing direct care with a relatively small investment of time and money to become certified.

Unlike many other health care occupations, colleges aren’t the only place you can find approved EMT training. Each dot on the map in Figure 1 represents the location of one or more approved organizations that provide EMT training (hover over the dot to find the name of the organization and the zip code of their location).