How to become a Paramedic
Paramedic is a role people enter from work ashore, not from a junior yacht job. You need no yacht experience. You do need the qualifications and the background below.
Where you startAnd where it leads. A typical path, not a rule.
Paramedic
Year 0. Pay from about US$5,500 a month. Onboard paramedic giving emergency care, managing crew health and keeping a large yacht medically ready, often combined with deck or security duties.
Medical Officer / Yacht Medic
Year 3-5. Pay from about US$6,000 a month. A registered paramedic, nurse or doctor hired aboard a large yacht to give medical care to guests and crew, often far from hospitals.
Yacht Safety Manager
Year 7+. Pay from about €55,000 a year. Shore-based manager who writes, audits and maintains the safety management systems for a managed fleet of yachts under the ISM Code and flag rules.
Yacht Training Instructor
Year 10+. Pay from about £32,000 a year. Teaches STCW, deck, engineering and interior courses at yacht training schools, drawing on years at sea to prepare crew for MCA tickets.
Before you applyWhat a Paramedic needs, from the Paramedic guide
Must have
- Registered paramedic licence (HCPC, NREMT or national equivalent)
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 or accepted seafarer medical
- Advanced life support (ALS or ACLS)
Gets you hired
- PHTLS or equivalent prehospital trauma course
- PDSD
- PADI Rescue Diver or Divemaster
- Wilderness or remote medicine course
- Powerboat Level 2 or tender driving experience
Visas
- US B1/B2
- Schengen visa if not an EU passport holder
What counts instead of yacht experienceOur advice
Captains hire a Paramedic for emergency trauma care, advanced life support and medical stores and drug control. With no yacht job behind you, show the same skills from work ashore. For a Paramedic, that means your qualifications and the years you have worked in the profession.
Write each job on your CV as what you did, with numbers: how many guests, how many boats, how many covers. Then list every skill below that you can prove.
- Emergency trauma care
- Advanced life support
- Medical stores and drug control
- Crew first aid training
- Remote evacuation planning
- Dive medicine awareness
- Calm under pressure
Your first stepsIn the order we suggest
Get the tickets a Paramedic must hold
You need Registered paramedic licence (HCPC, NREMT), STCW Basic Safety Training, ENG1 or accepted seafarer medical and Advanced life support (ALS or ACLS) before a yacht can put you to work as a Paramedic.
STCW and ENG1: what they are and what they cost →Write a first Paramedic CV
Keep it to one page. Put your tickets and your start date at the top, then your qualifications and your work ashore, with dates.
See a Paramedic CV example →Create your crew profile
Upload that CV and we build your profile from it. Your name and contact details stay hidden. Captains and recruiters contact you. It is free.
Create your crew profile →Apply and look for daywork
Apply to open jobs and to crew agencies, and take daywork: a few paid days on a yacht is how most first-time crew get a reference. 1 Paramedic job is open on SuperyachtRoles.com now.
See open Paramedic jobs →Step up to Medical Officer / Yacht Medic
The usual path puts Medical Officer / Yacht Medic at year 3 to 5. Pay starts from about US$6,000 a month.
How to become a Medical Officer / Yacht Medic →
Paramedic jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com. Some ask for experience, so read each advert.
QuestionsMore in the green crew guide
Can I become a Paramedic with no experience?
With no yacht experience, yes. With no professional background, no. Paramedic is a role people enter from work ashore, and you need registered paramedic licence (HCPC, NREMT or national equivalent), STCW Basic Safety Training and ENG1 or accepted seafarer medical.
How long does it take to become a Paramedic?
It is a starting role, so the time is what it takes to get the tickets and find the first job. From there, the usual path puts Medical Officer / Yacht Medic at year 3 to 5.
What does a Paramedic earn at the start?
From about US$5,500 a month, by our Paramedic guide. Dual roles such as Deckhand/Paramedic usually pay at the top of deck rates plus a medical premium. Rotation of 2:2 or 3:1 is common on larger yachts, and charter tips can add a month's salary or more each season.
Let the yachts come to you
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