Not a California state website. An independent project built from public data.
Afterward · CA

California training programs, and what happened to the people who took them

Español (inicio)

Back to search

Paramedic Program (Certificate)

Butte College · Oroville, CA

Cost
$4,679
Length
34 weeks
Working 6 months later
16%

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

People enrolled
52
Finished the program
60%Based on 48 peopleTypical California program: 85% of 1,951 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Working 6 months later
16%Typical California program: 69% of 1,690 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Earnings in one quarter after
$8,500A single quarter of earnings, roughly three months, not a yearly salary. Do not compare it directly with the yearly pay shown for the occupation.Typical California program: $10,900 of 1,339 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.

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 Chico MSA (Butte County), 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.

Typical pay in California
$47,678per year
Projected openings
19,450
Projected change
+15%
Usually needs
Postsecondary non-degree award

California publishes no separate figure for this job in Chico MSA. The statewide figures above are the only ones there are.

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.

Typical pay in California
$76,678per year
Projected openings
3,120
Projected change
+15.7%
Usually needs
Postsecondary non-degree award

California publishes no separate figure for this job in Chico MSA. The statewide figures above are the only ones there are.

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 program provides in-person instruction only.

The Paramedic program is designed to prepare the student to become a licensed paramedic in the State of California. In addition to meeting all California Requirements, the program is also accredited by the Committee on Accreditation for the EMS Professions (CoAEMSP). Licensure examinations may be taken upon completion of the two-semester program. Typical areas of employment include fire departments, private ambulance companies, hospitals, private industry and events, law enforcement, and lifeguards.

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

  • Alliance for Workforce Development Inc.-OrovilleComprehensive center

    Phone: 530-538-7301

    78 Table Mountain BlvdButte Co. Dept. of Employment and Social ServicesOroville, CA 95965about 6.3 miles away

    Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm

    Has a veterans' representative

  • Nations Finest OfficeAffiliate site

    Phone: 530-809-2831

    535 Wall StreetChico, CA 95928about 18.1 miles away

    Hours: Monday -Friday 8:00am-5:00pm

  • Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc.Comprehensive center

    Phone: 530-961-5125

    500 Cohasset Road, Suite # 30Chico, CA 95926about 19.9 miles away

    Hours: Monday - -Friday 8:000am - 5:00pm

    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