Career profile for Ambulance Driver

What does an Ambulance Driver do?

Ambulance Drivers drive ambulance or assist ambulance driver in transporting sick, injured, or convalescent persons.

In addition, Ambulance Drivers assist in lifting patients.

What kind of tasks does an Ambulance Driver perform regularly?

Ambulance Drivers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

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

The above responsibilities are specific to Ambulance Drivers. More generally, Ambulance Drivers are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Assisting and Caring for Others		Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment		Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Documenting/Recording Information		Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public		Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

Assisting and Caring for Others

Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment

Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Documenting/Recording Information

Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Performing for or Working Directly with the Public

Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

What is an Ambulance Driver salary?

The median salary for an Ambulance Driver is $27,930, and the average salary is $30,700. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Ambulance Driver salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Ambulance Drivers earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Ambulance Drivers earn less than $20,660 per year, 25% earn less than $23,620, 75% earn less than $32,880, and 90% earn less than $41,440.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Ambulance Drivers is expected to change by 16.2%, and there should be roughly 1,900 open positions for Ambulance Drivers every year.

Median annual salary: $27,930
Typical salary range: $20,660 - $41,440
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 16.2%

What personality traits are common among Ambulance Drivers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as an Ambulance Driver are usually higher in their Realistic and Social interests.

Ambulance Drivers typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Ambulance Drivers typically have strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as an Ambulance Driver tend to value Relationships, Support, and Independence.

Most importantly, Ambulance Drivers strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Ambulance Drivers strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Ambulance Drivers moderately value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Ambulance Drivers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, concern for others, and self-control.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Ambulance Drivers, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

What education and training do Ambulance Drivers need?

Working as an Ambulance Driver usually requires a high school diploma.

Ambulance Drivers need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Ambulance Drivers

3.4% did not complete high school or secondary school
50.2% completed high school or secondary school
26.9% completed some college coursework
9.0% earned a Associate's degree
9.0% earned a Bachelor's degree
1.4% earned a Master's degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Ambulance Drivers

Ambulance Drivers may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as customer and personal service, public safety and security, or administration and management knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Ambulance Drivers might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Public Safety and Security		Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Law and Government		Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Transportation		Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Law and Government

Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Transportation

Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

Important Abilities needed by Ambulance Drivers

Ambulance Drivers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Ambulance Drivers need abilities such as oral comprehension, problem sensitivity, and oral expression in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Ambulance Drivers, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Deductive Reasoning		The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Critical Skills needed by Ambulance Drivers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Ambulance Drivers frequently use skills like critical thinking, service orientation, and active listening to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Ambulance Drivers, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Service Orientation		Actively looking for ways to help people.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Ambulance Driver

Ambulance Driver

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