Care taker vs direct care provider

The differences between care takers and direct care providers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a direct care provider has an average salary of $29,470, which is higher than the $26,887 average annual salary of a care taker.

The top three skills for a care taker include meal prep, companionship and CPR. The most important skills for a direct care provider are CPR, developmental disabilities, and mental health.

Care taker vs direct care provider overview

	Care Taker	Direct Care Provider
Yearly salary	$26,887	$29,470
Hourly rate	$12.93	$14.17
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	102,295	117,168
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

Care taker vs direct care provider salary

Care takers and direct care providers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Care Taker	Direct Care Provider
Average salary	$26,887	$29,470
Salary range	Between $14,000 And $50,000	Between $20,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	-	Olympia, WA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Washington State University
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between care taker and direct care provider education

There are a few differences between a care taker and a direct care provider in terms of educational background:

	Care Taker	Direct Care Provider
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Business	Psychology
Most common college	-	-

Care taker vs direct care provider demographics

Here are the differences between care takers' and direct care providers' demographics:

	Care Taker	Direct Care Provider
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1%	Male, 23.6% Female, 76.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 10.7% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between care taker and direct care provider duties and responsibilities

Care taker example responsibilities.

Aid and facilitate higher functioning patients reach their fullest potential while managing behavioral episodes as needed.
Assist in doing a male catheter for resident who have a hard time going on his own.
Assist elderly or disable adults with daily living activities provide companionship and insure safely practices with severe caution.
Provide colostomy care and administer medication for pain management in accordance with current physician recommendations.

Direct care provider example responsibilities.

Require certification in MANDT and CPR.
Coach and train clients to improve their daily living (ADL), social interaction and job skills.
Provide instruction and assist the consumers with active daily living (ADL) skills such as cooking, bathing, dressing.
Provide caring and companionship to elderly and developmentally disable consumers and provide primary resident care and assistance with daily living activities.
Facilitate exercise, vocational, arts-n-crafts, and daily living skills groups for consumers with DD.

Care taker vs direct care provider skills

Common care taker skills

Meal Prep, 41%
Companionship, 14%
CPR, 5%
Child Care, 4%
Blood Pressure, 4%
RUN Errands, 3%

Common direct care provider skills

CPR, 24%
Developmental Disabilities, 23%
Mental Health, 5%
Direct Care, 4%
Intellectual Disabilities, 4%
Home Health, 4%