Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Certificate of Achievement
College of the Desert · Palm Desert, CA
- Cost
- $1,030
- Length
- 32 weeks
- Working 6 months later
- Not reported
Program names and program descriptions appear here in English, because that is the only language the federal and state records publish them in. Occupation titles are translated where O*NET publishes a Spanish name. Everything else on this page is translated.
What happened to people who took this
No outcomes reported for this program
About a third of California programs report nothing. That is a fact about the program's reporting, not evidence that it works or does not.
The jobs this trains for
This describes the jobs people do, not the classes this program teaches. It comes from the U.S. Department of Labor, which asks people already doing the work. The Department publishes it in English only, so the job names and the sentences below stay in English on this page.
Trains for more than one job. The outlook shown is the weakest of them.
Where California publishes a separate figure for Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties), it appears beneath the statewide one. Statewide stays the headline: people who train here do not necessarily work here.
Emergency Medical Technicians
Job ads may call this: First Responder · Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
The Department publishes no list of daily tasks for this job. This is how it describes the work instead.
Assess injuries and illnesses and administer basic emergency medical care. May transport injured or sick persons to medical facilities.
What this pays in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties)
Each bar runs from the lowest-paid tenth to the highest-paid tenth. The darker middle is where half the people are, and the line is the median.
| Area | The lowest-paid tenth earn under | Half earn under | The highest-paid tenth earn over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $38,139 | $44,718 | $63,571 |
| Across California | $39,824 | $47,678 | $80,338 |
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) beside the same figures for the whole state. A region can sit well below or above the statewide spread, and the statewide number is the one most often quoted — so where they differ, the local row is the one that describes the work near this program.
- Typical pay in California
- $47,678per yearRiverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: $44,446
- Projected openings
- 19,450Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 1,400
- Projected change
- +15%
- Usually needs
- Postsecondary non-degree award
Getting in
- Experience needed first
- None
- Training after you are hired
- None
No earlier job experience is expected, and new hires are not put through a long training period. For work like this, a program is usually the way in.
These are the federal government's answers for the occupation, not rules this provider sets. California publishes the same two answers for every one of these jobs.
Paramedics
Pay, hiring, and what people studied
Job ads may call this: Paramedic · First Responder · Flight Paramedic
The Department publishes no list of daily tasks for this job. This is how it describes the work instead.
Administer basic or advanced emergency medical care and assess injuries and illnesses. May administer medication intravenously, use equipment such as EKGs, or administer advanced life support to sick or injured individuals.
What this pays in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties)
Each bar runs from the lowest-paid tenth to the highest-paid tenth. The darker middle is where half the people are, and the line is the median.
| Area | The lowest-paid tenth earn under | Half earn under | The highest-paid tenth earn over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $50,618 | $74,550 | $101,319 |
| Across California | $54,864 | $76,678 | $105,318 |
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) beside the same figures for the whole state. A region can sit well below or above the statewide spread, and the statewide number is the one most often quoted — so where they differ, the local row is the one that describes the work near this program.
- Typical pay in California
- $76,678per yearRiverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: $68,307
- Projected openings
- 3,120Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 320
- Projected change
- +15.7%
- Usually needs
- Postsecondary non-degree award
Getting in
- Experience needed first
- Under 5 years in a related job
- Training after you are hired
- None
Employers usually expect some time in a related job as well as the training. Ask the provider what their graduates did before they were hired.
Program details
This is a hybrid or blended program providing both in-person and online instruction.
COD REMOVED FROM ETPL. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Certificate of Achievement is designed to offer a full range of both required and elective courses that prepare students for immediate entry into the emergency medical care field. The certificate is structured to ensure gradual, systematic and comprehensive attainment of the practical knowledge, skills, and abilities desired by both private and public organizations. It also provides an excellent foundation from which to pursue both paramedic and related degree programs. Although the job-ready Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification is the overriding goal of the program, the courses offered, take into account that many students experience significant difficulty in satisfactorily completing the core 8-unit EMT course without additional preparation. Therefore, a more fundamental 3-unit Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) course is provided as a prerequisite to the 8-unit EMT course, as well as a required Medical Terminology course. A basic anatomy and physiology course (Your Living Body) is also offered as an advisory to EMR in the list of electives. The certificate also assists both students and emergency medical care providers by offering an ambulance operations course that provides both operator information and driving skills training. Additionally, the certificate addresses todays communication/information and interpersonal relations workplace needs by offering a variety of other highly relevant elective courses.
Someone else may be able to pay for this
This program was on California's Eligible Training Provider List when the state last reported it to the U.S. Department of Labor (2026-09-18). Programs on that list can be paid for through an Individual Training Account. Listings are renewed periodically and can lapse, so a program listed when the state last reported may not be listed today. Ask before you rely on it.
Ask before you enroll, not after
The order the rules set out starts at the center rather than at the school. Before a center can find somebody eligible for training services it has to gather enough to decide, at a minimum through an interview, evaluation or assessment and career planning. Referring a person to the provider they have chosen and setting up the account both come after that, and both are the center's to do — the account is a payment agreement with the training provider, and it is the provider that is paid through it. So the call belongs before enrolling and before paying. Anyone who has already done either should still ask, and ask what it means for them.
The place to ask is an America's Job Center of California
Indio Youth Opportunity CenterAffiliate site
Phone: 760-802-6059
44-199 Monroe StreetIndio, CA 92201about 9.6 miles away
Hours: Monday -Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Indio Workforce Development Center AJCCComprehensive center
Phone: 760-863-2500
44-199 Monroe StreetSuite BIndio, CA 92201about 9.7 miles away
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm Closed Holidays
Has a veterans' representative
At a comprehensive center all the required partner programs can be reached; an affiliate site offers some of them. Distances are straight-line, so the drive is longer. Call before you travel: opening hours here are as the federal directory published them, and the state notes its own staff are not present at every location.
Find a center anywhere in California, and check what is on the list today:
CareerOneStop — American Job Center Finder (U.S. DOL) · California EDD — Office Locator · California EDD — Eligible Training Provider List
How this gets paid for, and what to ask →
Whether a person can have a program paid for is decided by their local workforce development board and the America's Job Center staff who interview them — not by this site, and not by the training provider. California has 45 local workforce development areas and each sets its own policies, so the answer can differ between two people in neighboring counties. Nothing here is a promise of funding or a determination of eligibility.
The rules cited here, and the state and federal sites linked to, are published in English.
How this site gets its figures, and what they do not tell you →