This guide covers caregiver duties and the basics of becoming a caregiver for in-home care jobs. Both new caregivers just joining a caregiver career and people returning to caregiving may find this guide useful in understanding a day in the life of caregiver duties.
Basic duties for caregivers working in the home revolve around providing care one-on-one for an elderly client. In home senior care is an alternative to nursing home or assisted living care and often senior respond best to it, as it allows them to get care in familiar surroundings and the comfort of home.
Here’s a quick breakdown of caregiver duties for a non-medical caregiver position:
Beyond these basic caregiver duties, duties for caring for an elderly client are highly dependent on their special needs. No two people are alike and no two caregiving jobs are alike either. Some seniors are suffering from memory loss while others are sharp as a whip yet struggle getting around and doing simple things like opening the grape jelly. When it comes to caring for the elderly, it’s important to keep in mind that caregiver duties vary and being able to adapt and respond are important.
Duties for live-in caregiver jobs are the same as non-live caregivers. However, caregivers will receive a full week worth of pay in 3 overnight visits. Typically, senior receiving in-home care will have two caregivers that alternate a schedule. The senior is responsible for providing food and a place to sleep. If you’re interested in learning more specifics about live-in positions, checkout the comprehensive guide to live-caregiver jobs.
Caregiver pay can range from minimum wage up to $20 per hour. To be on the high end, caregivers typically have more experience and have a specific set of skills like knowing how to speak a certain language or meet specific certifications. Additionally, location plays the biggest role in caregiver pay. The top five states for caregiver pay are as follows:
The caregiver job outlook is promising and caregiver wages will likely increase as 8,000 baby boomers are retiring each day.
For more specific information on caregiver wages, refer to the myCNAjobs resource guide How Much Do Caregiver Make?