The U.S. Labor Department reported the economy lost 263,000 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate rising to 9.8 percent. However, employment opportunities in senior care are still plentiful, with an ongoing need for certified nursing aides, home health aides and companion caregivers. Every state provides certification for nursing aides and some states provide the additional certification for home health aides.
Senior caregiving positions provide fulfillment, in addition to earning a paycheck. Senior caregivers are able to leave their jobs at the end of the day knowing they made a positive difference in someone’s life.
Professional caregivers are able to receive benefits and training when working for senior care companies, assisted living communities and nursing homes.
Caregivers are able to share their caregiving stories with Caregiverlist and a recent story tells how someone who was laid off found fulfillment in a new career as a caregiver:
“After many years of soul searching and the circumstance of being laid off from a job of 8 years in a profession I had worked in for 30+ years, I was convinced by family members that I should consider health care as a viable solution to my unemployment. With that in mind, I was able to secure a job in Home Health Care, from a company that was willing to hire me. This resulted in my meeting Sharon.
Sharon is/was a remarkable human being who found humor in ways I could not in my wildest of dreams imagine finding. She suffered from an incurable disease that at times made her unable to do the simplest of bodily functions. Even with that, and on her worst days (and believe me, she did have some of them, many of them, in fact) she was able to persevere and move forward with her life. She showed me things about myself that I never realized were there, and taught me how to evaluate circumstances in a more realistic manner.
Sharon, who I am no longer able to help out any more, continues to move forward in her life in a way that I only hope I am able to do as my time passes. She, in her own way, was, in part responsible for me getting my CNA certificate and pursuing a career in health because of the way she fought on to maintain her independence and her health. I will always be inspired in anything that is of a helping nature that I do, because of my one-of-a-kind client and friend, Sharon.”
As the senior population increases and as advances in medical care allow people to live longer lives, a career as a senior caregiver offers job security along with the ability to continue to learn new skills, obtain additional training certification and advance in your position. Learn more about caregiver training from our caregiving videos, take a practice nursing aide test and apply for a caregiving job or find a certification training school in your area and enjoy a career as a senior caregiver.
