Why Caregiving Pays More Than People Think (And Not Just in Money)

When you hear "caregiver," your first instinct is probably to think it's a low-paying job with no long-term growth. Well, it's no wonder you're outdated thinking like this because this is no longer the case across the field today. Caregiving as a professional career has become one of the better career choices in existence, and it pays without consideration of the hourly wage.

But when it comes down to dollars, people are surprised. When it comes down to everything else? That's when it gets interesting.

Caregivers Make Good Money

Let's get this out there right now, caregivers are not making minimum wage.

In fact, depending on the region, caregivers make between $18-$25 per hour (or more) for experienced caregivers and specialized caregivers. Live-in caregivers can make upwards of $200-$350 per day (and that's not per hour; that's per day.) Do the math on a month, and that's good money.

Now factor in the large cities. Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco are paying higher wages since demand is exceptionally high and few people are doing the work. Right now, agencies need good caregivers to fill open positions and they are fighting for them. If you're looking for work as a caregiver, now's the time to find something good!

That's only entry-level pay. Overtime is common since seniors need care, holidays and weekends, nights and evenings. During part time/full time hours, yearly salary can exceed $40-$55,000 for full time work, and that's before you consider region and specialization.

Realized Benefits

Here's something many people don't consider that reputable agencies provide, real benefits. We're talking health insurance, dental, vision, real employer-created packages found in any other field.

Many of these companies also include 401k matching bonuses and paid PTO/sick days. These are not unheard-of luxury perks; as the industry becomes more professionalized, these become expected.

In addition, it's difficult to quantify the power of scheduling flexibility since it doesn't have a dollar value. Many positions allow for you to decide your schedule, fill in where you want to take more hours or cut down when life's busy. Few jobs allow for such consideration of home life. For those taking care of kids or balancing school, this saves money and stress in a way that's invaluable.

Also, mileage reimbursement is given when driving clients to appointments; travel time is paid and there are reimbursements for gas and wear-and-tear on your vehicle. That certainly adds up at the end of the year.

Genuine Opportunities for Advancement

This is where caregiving is not a dead end job. It's commonly a stepping stone to something bigger. Many people enter caregiving jobs with basic training and wind up in nursing school, healthcare management and other specialized therapy roles within months, or years.

This experience counts for a lot. Nursing programs love seeing your background in caregiving because it shows that you already possess the skills necessary to handle the work. Some agencies will help you finance continuing education classes, nursing pre-requisites, CNAs certification to hold onto good employees.

Getting specialized certifications, and they're plentiful, for dementia care, medication management or hospice assistance can bring $3-$5 more per hour for $1k additional per year for something that was certified over a weekend course.

Many major home care companies have literal ladders. You can start as a caregiver and adjust to coordinating care for multiple clients and then shift into recruiting or operations support. The field needs professionals from within as workers with experience who know the work can lend a hand in other specialties of healthcare without leaving their specific arena to start over at another job.

For example, many caregiver jobs in Philadelphia boast these kinds of advancement opportunities for long-term stability within the field.

The Qualitative Benefits

While this next section is difficult to quantify but hugely important is job satisfaction, and it's extremely high for caregivers, and more research indicates why.

You interact with people when you care for them. There are no red tape, no team meetings without purpose or forceful cubicle sitting making you feel like you're pretending to work. The work is straightforward, and meaningful. 

When your client thanks you for helping them get stronger or their family comments on how much your assistance means to them, it's direct. There's no annual review necessary to determine if you're doing a good job, when they smile at you or hug you goodbye or want you back as soon as you're done with your shift with someone else, you know you're good at what you do.

Having work that makes a difference does wonders to one's mental health, many people who possess titles beyond their wildest dreams feel mediocre. Caregivers struggle with all that's involved sometimes but at the end of the day? They sleep well knowing they mattered in someone's life today, and they can see it with their own two eyes every time they show up.

Job stability is great; as long as people grow older, there will be more seniors who require more help, this population is only increasing, never decreasing. No one who's a caregiver worries that their job will be outsourced or replaced by AI, this work needs human compassion, empathy and quick thinking, skills that cannot be created by software.

Skills That Transfer Everywhere

Even if someone leaves caregiving for another career track what's learned stays learned. Advocacy for patients, rapid response assessments in cases of emergencies, clear communication with medical professionals, nuanced scheduling, these are all valuable skills that travel across social work, education, healthcare and beyond.

Caregivers learn how to think on their feet quickly. When an unexpected situation occurs (a sudden change in mental health status or refusal to take medication), they need to figure things out quickly. This kind of judgment independent from pressure is often what other professions seek in their leadership hires.

Personality, too. Learning how to calm someone down from upset or frustration; noticing what someone needs without them saying so; learning patience through unwanted developments, these are valuable tools that companies pay thousands for training programs to attempt to teach. Caregivers learn these necessary soft skills through daily work instead.

What You Should Know Before You Start

That all sounds wonderful, but let's be honest about some challenges that should not come as a surprise. The physical component is real, you'll be on your feet helping your clients move/personal care although proper learning will help support your body, but you should know what you're getting into.

The emotional component can be a burden as well, you'll become attached to clients; you're going to witness their decline in health; family members will not always be the easiest to deal with; timesheets/schedules will occasionally change; anyone entering into this profession should know all of this ahead of time, not behind closed doors after employment starts.

But caregiving is one of those professions that seem to pay above and beyond in ways most jobs cannot when looking for money, real benefits support, valuable opportunities for growth and the ability to go home knowing you helped someone. 

Caregiving has so much to offer people, much more than they give credit for due to the invisible payment, and when added all together making it much better than an outdated stereotype would give credit for. This gives rise that gives more and more people finally come into caregiving as a career choice over consistently leaving. The work matters; the opportunities are real; the payment, compensation included, is better than any old stereotype would lead it credit for being.