If you are reading this post, you’re probably a caregiver looking to move to the USA to further your career. Or, you’re already in the US and want to learn how to find caregiver jobs. If you’re in any of these groups, you’ll find this post useful.
If you are part of the latter group, according to Home Health Care News, the decade spanning from 2018 to 2028 will see an increase in the demand for home care jobs in the United States be vacancies would need to be filled. This is just a reminder of the demands from home care workers in the US are currently facing. This also shows that Caregiving very shortly would become a very sought-after profession.
Before we get into how to get those caregiver jobs in the USA, there are some things you need to know. Let us get right into them.
How to Become a Caregiver in the USA
It is important to know that there are two types of caregivers in the US. Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) and Certified Home Health Aide (CHHA). While they are similar, they both operate under different health-related bodies. CNAs operate under the Department of Health while CHHAs are under the Board of Nursing.
CHHAs mostly work with patients at home while CNAs work predominantly in medical-related facilities like rehabs and occasionally hospitals. You need 90 hours of training and clinical hours to become a CNA, on the other hand, you need 76 hours to become a CHHA.
For CNAs, their clinical hours can be done in a proper medical facility and their exams are standardized within each state. CHHA have their training and clinical hours in the facility where they are trained and their exams are curated by the program instructor in their respective institution.
That aside, here is a step-by-step process on how you can become a caregiver in the USA.
- Find a training facility: To do this, there are various caregiver resource centers across various states that can help you find training centers. These centers can be in any local university, vocational school, red cross, or local organization for caregivers.
- Go through the training: Going through the training would give you adequate knowledge in topics like Home Safety, Medical care, Personal Hygiene, and even Housekeeping. These are skills every caregiver should possess considering the nature of their roles.
- Examination: It is one thing to go through the course, it is another thing to be able to pass the exam to get your certification.
And here are some of the requirements you would need.
- A relevant degree
- State-required certifications (CNA, CHHA, etc.)
Asides from these certifications, certain skills give you some edge as a Caregiver. These include;
- CPR First Aid
- Communication
- Positive Attitude
- PCA
With regards to getting certified to work as a caregiver, the places we listed above are not the only places you can get your certifications. Organizations such as the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, Family Caregiver Alliance, and the National Family Caregivers Association can give you the certification required as well.
It is also important to know that the organizations we just listed like the Family Caregiver Alliance are national organizations, so their requirements are standard throughout the country.
However, if you are getting your certification from a local organization, the requirements and training may vary from state to state.
Finally, getting a Bachelor’s degree in a related course would also help. A lot of Caregiving jobs don’t require you to have a university degree but, having one increases your knowledge and skill. And it also helps in the application process.
States Where Caregivers are Paid the Most
According to Indeed, Caregivers in the United States earn up to $34,030 annually. Years of experience are a huge factor when it comes to Caregiver salaries, but a bigger factor is location.
Just as different states have different requirements to work as a caregiver, there are also disparities in the salaries of caregivers across various states.
Here is a list of the highest paying states in the United States for Caregivers.
- Alaska – $35,360
- North Dakota – $34,000
- Vermont – $33,810
- Massachusetts – $33,890
- New York – $32,140
- District of Columbia – $31,810
- California – $31,270
- Rhode Island – $30,790
- Oregon – $30,730
- South Dakota – $27,810
It is also important to note which states employ the most Caregivers. In the USA, California has the highest number of actively working caregivers while South Dakota employs the fewest number of caregivers. States like New York and Texas also employ a very good number of caregivers.
Pay disparity also exists within these states. While there is the general average, some cities pay more than others within the same state. In California for instance, the pay for caregivers in Sacramento is different from what caregivers in San Diego get.
One more thing to note. Certain caregiver qualifications or skills can increase your potential earnings as a Caregiver. According to this study, the Nurse Delegation Certificate can increase your earnings by up to 16.24%. You can read about the salary permutations on Indeed.
Agencies to Find Caregiver Jobs in the USA
- BayPath Elder ServicesBoston Senior Home Care
- Bristol Elder Services
- Coastline Elderly Services
- Elder Services of Berkshire County, Inc
- South Shore Elder Services
- Senior Care, Inc.
- Old Colony Elder Services, Inc.
- Highland Valley Elder Services, Inc.
- HESSCO Elder Services
Websites to Find Caregiver Jobs
- Fasthire: Fasthire gives its users access to jobs in various industries and the American Caregiving industry is not exempted. The company aims to bridge the gap between employers and prospective employees and one way they do so is by bringing these vacant jobs closer to those that need them.
- Glassdoor: With over 30,000 job vacancies for Caregivers and other related professions, Glassdoor helps to bring jobs to the doorstep of the average job seeker.
- SimplyHired: This website wants to help Job seekers in their quest to find jobs in their desired roles. They also want to make the process as seamless as possible. They have a decent number of Caregiver jobs on their website as well.
- Indeed: A global recruitment website with a reputation for helping individuals boost their careers. They do more than just help you find your dream job. People looking to find caregiver jobs and people looking to find can trust this website to deliver as it has for others in the past.
- Zip Recruiter: Actively connecting job seekers to their next big opportunity. Zip Recruiter was created to make meaningful connections between job seekers and employees. Caregivers can be assured of finding the right Caregiving job on this platform.
- Caregivers America: This platform is a specialist job website made to connect Caregivers to caregiving jobs across America.
These websites and agencies can save you the stress of going from door to door looking for caregiving vacancies. You can use more than one of these websites or agencies to make your search efficient.
Some experts would advise you to apply for apprentice or internship roles. These roles boost your CV or Resume as you apply for more jobs. They also add to your experience making you better.
Before you go into this profession fully, it is also important to know some challenges that Caregivers face.
A lot of Caregivers have two main challenges; stress and financial struggles. We discussed caregiver salaries earlier and those numbers are not the best there are. The average Caregiver salary in each state is lower than the average salary in that state.
To make up for this, Caregivers are forced to take up a second job which leads to an immense amount of stress. Caregivers often suffer from burnout with their little time to rest and recover.
Conclusion
Caregiving is a vital profession in American society today. Its pay might not be lucrative currently but it is going to increase as the demand rises rapidly as it has been projected to.
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