Direct care professional vs support staff

The differences between direct care professionals and desk clerks supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a support staff has an average salary of $31,772, which is higher than the $30,233 average annual salary of a direct care professional.

The top three skills for a direct care professional include ADL, developmental disabilities and mental health. The most important skills for a support staff are customer service, developmental disabilities, and mental health.

Direct care professional vs support staff overview

	Direct Care Professional	Support Staff
Yearly salary	$30,233	$31,772
Hourly rate	$14.54	$15.28
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	122,720	161,915
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	48	47
Years of experience	-	6

Direct care professional vs support staff salary

Direct care professionals and desk clerks supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Direct Care Professional	Support Staff
Average salary	$30,233	$31,772
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $41,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Vacaville, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Washington	New York
Best paying company	Halliburton	Lakeland Electric
Best paying industry	Government	Finance

Differences between direct care professional and support staff education

There are a few differences between a direct care professional and a support staff in terms of educational background:

	Direct Care Professional	Support Staff
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Psychology	Business
Most common college	-	Duke University

Direct care professional vs support staff demographics

Here are the differences between direct care professionals' and desk clerks supervisors' demographics:

	Direct Care Professional	Support Staff
Average age	48	47
Gender ratio	Male, 26.0% Female, 74.0%	Male, 31.2% Female, 68.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 7.9% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 6.2% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	8%

Differences between direct care professional and support staff duties and responsibilities

Direct care professional example responsibilities.

Help each individual patient accomplish their specific ISP goals on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Provide round the clock care alone with daily help of ADL's, transport consumers to and from appointments.
Provide ongoing consultation and support to parents of students with autism and facilitate ongoing collaboration with parents and staff members.
Provide services and supports to individuals with mental retardation and relate disabilities, head or spinal cord injuries, or autism.
Provide caring and companionship to elderly and developmentally disable consumers and provide primary resident care and assistance with daily living activities.
Preform necessary SCIP safety moves to prevent consumers from hurting themselves or others.

Support staff example responsibilities.

Manage SharePoint inventory repository and assign access levels to new hires as needed.
Provide companionship to the consumer.
Tutor students in various science courses, English and GED prep classes.
Maintain a safe, supportive and therapeutic environment which fosters growth and rehabilitation.
Work with students at various levels of mathematics knowledge within the same teaching environment.
Work with students who have graduated from the developmental mathematics program on more advance mathematics classes.

Direct care professional vs support staff skills

Common direct care professional skills

ADL, 15%
Developmental Disabilities, 13%
Mental Health, 7%
Autism, 7%
Direct Support, 6%
Social Work, 5%

Common support staff skills

Customer Service, 9%
Developmental Disabilities, 7%
Mental Health, 6%
Meal Preparation, 6%
Direct Care, 6%
Home Maintenance, 6%

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Zippia Careers
Personal Care and Attendants Industry
Direct Care Professional
Direct Care Professional vs Support Staff

Updated January 8, 2025

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