EMS Trainee
FDNY trains you as an EMT, on salary. No written test: you're scored on your education and experience.
Minimum salary $36,330 a year, per the Notice of Examination for Exam 6054 (read September 25, 2026). The rate is subject to change, and the next exam's notice may list a different rate.
≈ $17.47 an hour · $1,397 every 2 weeks, before taxes (40-hour weeks).
That is above NYC's $17/hr minimum wage, plus city benefits.
What you'd have made
$1,393 If you'd started as an EMS Trainee 2 weeks ago, at this pay, before taxes.
An hour of this job pays for about 5.8 subway rides ($3 fare).
Price anything in hours of this job
Overtime added $119 on average that year, and it isn't guaranteed. Base salary of active employees paid a yearly rate, fiscal year 2025 (July 2024 to June 2025). Source: NYC's payroll data
Pay
$36,330/yr
The work
Education and experience exam: no written test
Exam
Civil service exam
Residency
Might be required, within 90 days
Timeline
Months. Filing, scoring, the list, screenings and a 4-month training program all come before you work as an EMT.
Check yourself
Do you meet the requirements?
Check every box that applies. Be honest. Twenty seconds.
Your answers from last time.
The process
6 steps. That's the whole process.
OASys is the city's exam system, and one account covers every exam you file for from now on. Use an email you can open: OASys sends a confirmation to verify it.
OASys, where you file, lists the next exam: Exam 7032, filing October 7 to November 18, 2026, with a $30 fee. Its Notice of Examination isn't posted yet, so read it the day it goes up. On the last exam, 6054, veterans, unemployed people, and people receiving public assistance or SSI could get the fee waived.
What you'll see in OASys, screen by screen
- Notice. Open the Notice of Examination and read it; save a copy. Tick “I acknowledge that I have read and understood the Notice of Examination,” then tap Apply for this Exam.
- Identity. Confirm your details from your OASys profile and answer a few questions, like how you heard about the exam.
- Payment. The fee is $30. Pay by card or eCheck through CityPay, the city's payment site (cards add a 2% convenience fee, eCheck doesn't), or by money order. Or pick a fee waiver: Veteran, CIN, Non-CIN, NYC High School Student, or First Time Test Taker. The notice says who can use each one and what proof to send, due by the last day of filing. The First Time Test Taker waiver checks your whole OASys history, even filings from years ago. If it says Fee Waiver Ineligible, your application isn't lost: close the message, go back to Payment Method and pay another way.
- Confirm and submit. Tick the affirmation that everything you entered is true (it's under penalty of perjury), then Continue. You get a confirmation screen and a receipt by email.
OASys signs you out after 15 minutes without activity and doesn't save your place, so have your details ready before you start.
There's no written test. Your score comes from an Education and Experience Exam you fill out in OASys. Meeting the minimums gets you 70 points. Extra points, up to 100, come from hands-on patient care work, certain college credits, and certifications like Basic Cardiac Life Support. Final Submit it by midnight on the last filing day. If you don't, you get no score and no refund.
Pass and you land on a ranked eligible list, which typically lasts 4 years. Hiring goes down the list as openings come up. This takes months. It's not a rejection. It's how civil service works.
Before you start: a qualifying physical test, a medical and psychological exam, a drug screening, proof of identity and your right to work in the U.S., and an investigation with a $102.50 fingerprint fee. You must be able to wear a respirator, so no facial hair that breaks its seal. If you have a misdemeanor or felony conviction, you need a clearance letter from the New York State Department of Health.
A 4-month FDNY training program, then an EMT certification exam and a New York State EMT certificate. Pass those and you move up to Emergency Medical Specialist - EMT without another exam. Probation is 16 months. You sign a Forgivable Loan Agreement: leave before 3 years (156 weeks) as an EMT and you owe part of your training cost. Expect nights, weekends, holidays and all kinds of weather.
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Sources
Straight from the city.
- Notice of Examination No. 6054, Emergency Medical Specialist Trainee (PDF, official)
- Civil Service Exam Schedule (NYC Open Data)
Every step is built from the job's official notice or posting, linked above. Last reviewed September 25, 2026.