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Home Health Aides

Typical education: High school diplomaModerate pressure Bright Outlook

What they do

Monitor the health status of an individual with disabilities or illness, and address their health-related needs, such as changing bandages, dressing wounds, or administering medication. Work is performed under the direction of offsite or intermittent onsite licensed nursing staff. Provide assistance with routine healthcare tasks or activities of daily living, such as feeding, bathing, toileting, or ambulation. May also help with tasks such as preparing meals, doing light housekeeping, and doing laundry depending on the patient's abilities.

Kinds of work

  • Social: Helping, teaching, caring for and supporting other people.
  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

Moderate pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $35,800 Median per year · $17.21/hr Most earn $27,040–$45,040

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Care for patients by changing bed linens, washing and ironing laundry, cleaning, or assisting with their personal care.
  • Perform a variety of duties as requested by client, such as obtaining household supplies or running errands.
  • Change dressings.
  • Provide patients with help moving in and out of beds, baths, wheelchairs, or automobiles and with dressing and grooming.
  • Direct patients in simple prescribed exercises or in the use of braces or artificial limbs.
  • Administer prescribed oral medications, under the written direction of physician or as directed by home care nurse or aide, and ensure patients take their medicine.

Job outlook

Bright Outlook Rapid Growth; Numerous Job Openings

United States
18% more jobs by 2035, much faster than average · about 760,500 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't break this career out by industry.

Experience before this job: 3 to 6 months

Some people start through an apprenticeship: paid training on the job, often with classes. Search apprenticeships on Apprenticeship.gov (opens in a new tab) ↗

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: High school diplomaExperience before this job: 3 to 6 monthsEntry-level

Home health aide is an entry-level job. You can often start right after high school with a short training course or on-the-job training, and most people get their first hands-on experience within about 3 to 6 months.

  1. High school diploma

    4 years

    Finish high school and take health, biology, or family and consumer science classes to learn the basics of caring for people.

  2. Home Health Aide

    3-6 months to get started, then ongoing

    Complete any training your state or employer requires, then work under nursing staff to help clients with daily care, health tasks, and light household support.

Where it can lead

  1. Licensed Practical Nurse

    1-3 years of experience first

    Many aides go back to school for a practical nursing program, which lets them give more medical care and take on more responsibility under the direction of registered nurses.

  2. Home Health Aide Supervisor

    3-5 years of experience first

    Experienced aides can move into roles that train, schedule, and check on other aides, which usually requires strong reliability and communication skills and a good record on the job.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take health and biology classesThese classes teach how the body works and common health conditions, which helps you understand what caregivers watch for every day.
  • Volunteer at a nursing home or hospitalVolunteering shows you what caregiving is really like and gives you experience you can list on job or training applications.
  • Babysit or help care for family membersLooking after children or relatives builds patience, responsibility, and comfort with helping people with daily tasks.
  • Take a first aid or CPR classMany community groups and schools offer these courses, and the skills are useful in nearly every health-related job.
  • Get a summer or part-time job in a care settingAny job at a care facility, senior center, or similar place gives you a head start on the experience employers look for.

In college

  • Take anatomy, physiology, and psychology coursesThese classes build the medical and human behavior knowledge that helps you care for clients with illness or disabilities.
  • Earn a home health aide or nursing assistant certificateMany community colleges and training centers offer short certificate programs that can qualify you for jobs and prepare you for later nursing school.
  • Work a part-time caregiving jobPaid experience helping clients with bathing, meals, or mobility builds real skills and can show you whether this career fits you.
  • Join a health occupations or pre-nursing student clubThese groups often offer guest speakers, service projects, and networking with people already working in health care.
  • Ask about clinical or volunteer placementsHands-on placements, if your school offers them, let you practice patient care under supervision before you apply for jobs.

Tips for getting started

  • Check your state's rules for home health aide training and certification, since requirements vary and some employers need you to complete a course before you start.
  • Get CPR and first aid certification early. It's often inexpensive, it looks good on applications, and it makes you a safer caregiver.
  • Look for paid or volunteer work helping older adults or people with disabilities, such as at a care home, a community center, or for a relative. Hands-on experience matters a lot in this field.

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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