Personal Care Aides
What they do
Provide personalized assistance to individuals with disabilities or illness who require help with personal care and activities of daily living support (e.g., feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, and ambulation). May also provide help with tasks such as preparing meals, doing light housekeeping, and doing laundry. Work is performed in various settings depending on the needs of the care recipient and may include locations such as their home, place of work, out in the community, or at a daytime nonresidential facility.
Expected pay range
Expected pay range
This represents the median earnings for this career in the selected county or state. In the range shown, 25% of workers earned less than the bottom salary and 25% earned more than the top salary. Data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
About personal care aides
Other titles
Caregiver, Home Care Aide, Medication Aide, Patient Care Assistant (PCA), Personal Care Aide, Personal Care Assistant (PCA), Personal Care Attendant (PCA), Resident Care Assistant (RCA)
Tasks they perform
- Administer bedside or personal care, such as ambulation or personal hygiene assistance.
- Prepare and maintain records of client progress and services performed, reporting changes in client condition to manager or supervisor.
- Perform healthcare-related tasks, such as monitoring vital signs and medication, under the direction of registered nurses or physiotherapists.
Skills they need
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Licenses and Certifications
How to decide which one is right? That depends on an individual’s career path, specialty, and resources.
Certifications
Certifications may be available for this career and can help build knowledge and skills in specific job roles. Explore available certifications (external link opens new tab)
Similar careers
View careers in the same field as personal care aides.
Home Health Aides
Better pay
Median salary for this career is higher than the median salary of all careers in the county selected. Salary data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
In demand
In demand careers have high-growth, high-demand, and emerging jobs critical to Texas. They are based on economic indicators like in demand industries, labor market trends, and economic conditions, provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Nursing Assistants
In demand
In demand careers have high-growth, high-demand, and emerging jobs critical to Texas. They are based on economic indicators like in demand industries, labor market trends, and economic conditions, provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
In demand
In demand careers have high-growth, high-demand, and emerging jobs critical to Texas. They are based on economic indicators like in demand industries, labor market trends, and economic conditions, provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Additional career information and resources
Learn more about personal care aides with these helpful sites.
- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO (external link opens new tab)
- American Society on Aging (external link opens new tab)
- Home Care Association of America (external link opens new tab)
- National Association for Home Care and Hospice (external link opens new tab)
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Home health and personal care aides (external link opens new tab)
- PHI (external link opens new tab)