The average direct service provider salary is $28,496. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an psychology major. It usually takes zero years of experience to become a direct service provider. Direct service providers with a Direct Support Professional- Certified (DSP-C) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 36% and produce 1,185,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What Does a Direct Service Provider Do

There are certain skills that many direct service providers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, integrity and interpersonal skills.

Learn more about what a Direct Service Provider does

How To Become a Direct Service Provider

If you're interested in becoming a direct service provider, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 39.6% of direct service providers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 5.9% of direct service providers have master's degrees. Even though some direct service providers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Direct Service Provider

Direct Service Provider Career Paths

Average Salary for a Direct Service Provider

Direct Service Providers in America make an average salary of $28,496 per year or $14 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $37,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $21,000 per year.
Average Direct Service Provider Salary
$28,496 Yearly
$13.70 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Direct Service Provider

There are several types of direct service provider, including:

Direct Support Professional

Role:

A direct support professional is a trained professional responsible for providing support to people with learning and other developmental disabilities with the goal of achieving more stability and independence as well as creating and maintaining a safe and healthy environment for them to do so. Their duties mainly center around the residents of the facility they work in and thus include administering medication and other forms of therapy and treatment, assisting with everyday tasks and processes, including basic personal hygiene, and monitoring and documenting patient developments and status.
  • Average Salary: $32,077
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Aide

Role:

Aides make it possible for patients to stay at home with less severe conditions, instead of staying in hospitals or retirement homes. They monitor the patients' condition, keep them company, and help practicing hygiene and with chores around the house. Aides perform basic health care as well and help with transportation, if necessary.

Home health aides are the fastest-growing occupation in the U.S., with an increase in demand of 70% from 2010 to 2020. This tendency is likely to continue in rapid growth up to 2030, as the Baby Boomer generation reaches seniority.

Aides make $18 per hour, on average, and generally work 40 hours a week, sometimes taking night shifts and working on weekends, too. Part-time and live-in arrangements are both common as well, so you have a lot of options to figure out what works best for you.
  • Average Salary: $27,793
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Direct Care Worker

Role:

Direct care workers are specialists in caregiving. Direct care specialists' role is known as a noble cause as it takes serving other people. You will be assisting patients who have certain disabilities or illnesses with their hygiene and personal care. Hence you will need to be present by the patient's side for hours. Similarly, you will observe the patient's state while ensuring that they recover from their illness soon. As a result, you will meet with the family of the patients to discuss the condition with them.

You tend to play a critical role in serving society. Hence, you will enjoy a respectable position in society. You will need to possess interpersonal skills which work well with different kinds of people. Being compassionate and having the physical stamina to help patients is also required. Another skill required is the ability to communicate clearly and effectively. Direct care worker exhibits the ability to think quickly and act calmly in an emergency. They earn an average of $24,090 yearly.
  • Average Salary: $29,343
  • Degree: High School Diploma

States With The Most Direct Service Provider Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active direct service provider jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where direct service providers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Direct Service Provider Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1New York1,911$27,687
2Massachusetts1,748$33,807
3California1,627$29,799
4Pennsylvania1,331$28,224
5Texas1,037$25,001
6Florida899$23,627
7New Jersey790$33,543
8Minnesota784$29,610
9Indiana667$26,231
10Illinois654$28,554
11Georgia622$22,785
12Ohio590$24,281
13Michigan543$27,526
14North Carolina518$24,734
15Maryland413$32,086
16Virginia401$24,513
17Iowa363$27,226
18Tennessee363$23,995
19Missouri333$22,839
20Wisconsin332$30,727
21Washington312$37,299
22Connecticut285$29,520
23Arizona283$27,365
24South Carolina244$21,201
25Colorado237$26,805
26Oregon231$37,269
27Kentucky182$21,964
28Alabama179$25,568
29West Virginia167$27,973
30Kansas166$29,950
31Delaware163$26,116
32Oklahoma158$23,350
33Maine147$29,702
34Louisiana146$21,671
35Utah128$30,801
36Arkansas117$22,657
37Nebraska107$24,793
38Nevada106$26,633
39Mississippi98$21,447
40Rhode Island90$27,073
41New Hampshire73$28,276
42New Mexico67$24,743
43Montana60$31,610
44North Dakota57$26,227
45Idaho56$25,852
46Alaska48$38,845
47South Dakota35$28,855
48Hawaii31$32,592
49Wyoming25$25,357
50Vermont22$33,557

Direct Service Provider Education

Direct Service Provider Majors

10.1 %
7.5 %

Direct Service Provider Degrees

Bachelors

39.6 %

Associate

21.5 %

High School Diploma

18.4 %

Top Skills For a Direct Service Provider

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 29.2% of direct service providers listed direct care on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and integrity are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Direct Service Provider Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Direct Service Provider templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Direct Service Provider resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Direct Service Provider Demographics

Direct Service Provider Gender Distribution

Female
Female
71%
Male
Male
29%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among direct service providers, 71.4% of them are women, while 28.6% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among direct service providers is White, which makes up 61.6% of all direct service providers.

  • The most common foreign language among direct service providers is Spanish at 55.3%.

Online Courses For Direct Service Provider That You May Like

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1. Providing Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Special Education Services in School

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Welcome to our the third course in the School Health specialization: Providing Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Special Education Services in School. In this course, you will learn about how social-emotional skills, mental health, and learning are related. We will focus on how schools can support social-emotional learning and promote mental health for all students. We will walk through the reasons that schools should promote student mental health. Next, we’ll review school wide activities to...

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2. Transgender Medicine for General Medical Providers

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The course is a comprehensive set of didactic lectures surveying fundamentals of transgender medical and surgical treatment. The material is meant to provide the student with core knowledge that is essential for current primary care providers caring for transgender patients. There are 10 modules led by the expert clinical faculty from the pioneering Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, located within the Mount Sinai Health System and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New...

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3. PrEParing: PrEP for Providers and Patients

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Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) using the antiretroviral medication emtricitibine/tenofovir approved in countries around the world is a highly effective means of reducing transmission of HIV through sexual encounters and needle sharing. This Johns Hopkins University course PrEPares you with essential information, concepts and practical advice regarding PrEP from leaders in the field. A first of its kind learning opportunity, both providers and patients learn from the same experts through...

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Best States For a Direct Service Provider

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a direct service provider. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Massachusetts. Direct service providers make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $38,845. Whereas in Washington and Oregon, they would average $37,299 and $37,269, respectively. While direct service providers would only make an average of $33,807 in Massachusetts, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Massachusetts

Total Direct Service Provider Jobs: 1,748
Highest 10% Earn:
$43,000
Location Quotient:
2.72

2. Alaska

Total Direct Service Provider Jobs: 48
Highest 10% Earn:
$47,000
Location Quotient:
0.82

3. Oregon

Total Direct Service Provider Jobs: 231
Highest 10% Earn:
$50,000
Location Quotient:
0.8
Full List Of Best States For Direct Service Providers

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Top Direct Service Provider Employers

Most Common Employers For Direct Service Provider

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Pathways$30,312$14.5713
2Integrated Services$29,492$14.1827
3Individual Advocacy$29,486$14.1812
4Autism Learning Partners$29,238$14.0611
5Pediatric Partners, now a member of the Sevita family$29,053$13.9750
6Foothills Gateway$29,009$13.958
7REM Minnesota$28,973$13.9311
8Milestone$28,944$13.92100
9Reach$28,902$13.9021
10Dungarvin$28,734$13.8110

Direct Service Provider Videos