Item saved to your backpack!

The United States' aging baby boomers are creating historic demand for personal care workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The fourth fastest-growing occupation in the U.S., personal care aides should increase their numbers by nearly half in the 2008-2018 period. In an otherwise tight job market, the field is wide open for qualified care workers.

A closer look at personal care aide careers

Personal care aides help patients who are confronting illness or disability to maintain their quality of life. They perform whatever services are needed to help the patient live a comfortable, independent life at home. This may include personal hygiene care, cooking and feeding, housekeeping, reading mail, moving the patient and some health assistance such as administering medication.

Personal care aides may help patients adhere to a treatment or therapy regimen, but they are not part of the patients' medical team. Unlike home health aides, they do not monitor vital signs or provide in-home medical treatment. Personal care aides also don't face federal licensing requirements as do home health aides. Personal care aides may or may not report to a registered nurse.

Personal care aide salaries

Personal care aides earned an average salary of $20,420 in 2010, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Salary.com reports a similar median of $21,133. The top-earning ten percent of aides made $25,900 (BLS). The most lucrative job sectors for personal care aides are psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals, which paid an average of $30,960 in 2010. State government is the second most generous employer, at $29,250.

For personal care aides interested in relocating for career opportunity, the regions that offer the highest salaries are Alaska and Eastern seaboard states like Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey. Alaskan aides earned an average salary of $29,690 in 2010 (BLS).

Promising metropolitan areas for personal care aides combine higher wages with a lower cost of living. Consider these options:

• Lawton, OK:$21,250 and 85 on the 2011 ACCRA Cost of Living Index (compared to a national average of 100)
• East Lansing, MI: $21,550 and 88 cost of living.
• Cheyenne, WY: $21,990 and 93 cost of living.

Training for a personal care aide career

Formal education is not required for personal care aides, but can boost career opportunity. About 30 percent of aides have a college-level credential, according to Salary.com. About half have an associate degree or certificate and half hold a bachelor's degree.

Available training in personal care covers emergency response procedures, nutrition, professionalism, housekeeping, safe transfer techniques, personal hygiene and infection control. Working caregivers can complete personal care aide training online.

Career outlook for personal care aides

Personal care aides can expect vast opportunity in coming years. As the fourth fastest-growing occupation in the U.S., personal care aides are on track to add jobs at a rate of 46 percent between 2008 and 2018 (BLS). The large baby boomer population currently entering retirement is driving this trend. As this generation reaches their advanced years, they need more help. At the same time, advances in medical treatment are extending life expectancy. Personal care aides help patients stay in their homes rather than moving to a nursing facility.

The rapid growth of personal care careers is a draw for workers in search of job security. But the real reward of a personal care aide career is the opportunity to help people overcome health issues and live with dignity.

More health career & salary outlooks:

• Home health aide salary & career outlook
• Health information coder salary & career outlook
• Addiction counselor salary & career outlook