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Become A Direct Support Specialist

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Working As A Direct Support Specialist

  • Assisting and Caring for Others
  • Documenting/Recording Information
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  • Getting Information
  • Performing General Physical Activities

  • $49,000

    Average Salary

What Does A Direct Support Specialist Do

Personal care aides help clients with self-care and everyday tasks. They also provide social supports and assistance that enable clients to participate in their communities.

Duties

Personal care aides typically do the following:

  • Care for and assist clients with cognitive impairments, such as Alzheimer’s or mental illness
  • Engage clients by talking to or playing games with them, or by taking them for walks
  • Help clients with hygiene-related tasks, such as bathing, brushing teeth, and going to the bathroom
  • Transfer clients to and from a bed or a wheelchair
  • Complete housekeeping tasks, such as changing bed linens, washing dishes, and cleaning living areas
  • Help prepare and plan meals
  • Assist with organizing a client’s schedule and schedule appointments
  • Arrange transportation to and from doctors’ offices or the store
  • Help clients pay bills or manage money
  • Shop for personal items and groceries
  • Assist clients in going to work and participating in their communities

Personal care aides—also called caregivers and personal attendants—help clients with self-care and daily activities. Personal care aides perform tasks that are similar to those of home health aides. However, personal care aides cannot provide any medical services, whereas home health aides may provide basic medical services.

Direct support professionals work with people who have developmental or intellectual disabilities. They may help create a behavior plan and teach self-care skills, such as doing laundry or cooking meals. They may also provide other personal assistance services.

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How To Become A Direct Support Specialist

Most personal care aides are trained on the job. There are no formal education requirements for personal care aides, but most aides have a high school diploma.

Education

Although there are no formal education requirements for personal care aides, employers may prefer candidates with a high school diploma.

Training

Aides may be trained on the job by registered nurses, other personal care aides, or their direct employer. They are trained in specific tasks, such as how to work with a client who has a cognitive impairment and how to assist a client in preparing meals.

Most employers require aides to have training or certification in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Important Qualities

Detail oriented. Personal care aides must follow specific rules and protocols to help take care of clients. They must pay close attention to a client’s medical condition, quickly noting any changes that may require assistance from medical personnel.

Integrity. Personal care aides should make clients feel comfortable when the aides tend to personal activities, such as helping a client bathe. In addition, personal care aides must be dependable and trustworthy so that clients and their families can rely on them.

Interpersonal skills. Sometimes clients are in extreme pain or distress, and aides must be sensitive to their emotions. Aides must be compassionate, and they must enjoy helping people.

Physical stamina. Personal care aides should be comfortable performing physical tasks. They often need to lift or turn clients who have a disability.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

Personal care aides may be required to complete a formal training program depending on the state where they work, and state laws vary widely in terms of the requirements that must be met. Some states and organizations may conduct background checks on prospective aides. A competency evaluation also may be required to ensure that the aide can perform certain tasks.

There are no federal training requirements for personal care aides. For specific state requirements, contact the state’s health board.

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Average Length of Employment
Developmental Technician 3.2 years
Habilitation Specialist 2.7 years
Direct Service Professional 2.5 years
Community Living Specialist 2.4 years
Community Integration Specialist 2.4 years
Direct Care Counselor 2.4 years
Direct Selling Counselor 2.4 years
Support Worker 2.3 years
Direct Support Worker 2.3 years
Direct Care Worker 2.3 years
Direct Care Provider 2.2 years
Client Support Professional 2.2 years
Direct Support Associate 2.1 years
Direct Support Professional 2.1 years
Direct Care Staffer 2.1 years
Support Staff 2.1 years
Direct Care Professional 2.1 years
Direct Service Provider 2.0 years
Direct Support Staff 2.0 years
Direct Support Specialist 2.0 years
Top Careers Before Direct Support Specialist
Cashier 15.3%
Customer Service Representative 12.2%
Sales Associate 9.8%
Certified Nursing Assistant 7.4%
Direct Support Professional 6.2%
Home Health Aid 6.1%
Internship 6.0%
Office Assistant 4.2%
Volunteer 4.0%
Administrative Assistant 3.8%
Assistant Manager 3.5%
Receptionist 3.1%
Medical Assistant 2.5%
Support Specialist 2.4%
Manager 2.3%
Teacher 2.3%
Counselor 2.2%
Server 2.2%
Supervisor 2.1%
Crew Member 2.1%
Top Careers After Direct Support Specialist
Certified Nursing Assistant 12.8%
Customer Service Representative 11.2%
Direct Support Professional 10.9%
Cashier 8.0%
Home Health Aid 7.0%
Case Manager 4.9%
Administrative Assistant 4.7%
Support Specialist 4.2%
Medical Assistant 4.2%
Sales Associate 4.1%
Internship 3.8%
Receptionist 3.7%
Volunteer 2.9%
Office Assistant 2.7%
Counselor 2.7%
Residential Counselor 2.7%
Teacher 2.5%
Program Coordinator 2.5%
Manager 2.3%
Specialist 2.3%

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Top Skills for A Direct Support Specialist

  1. Independent Living
  2. Mental Health Services
  3. Developmental Disabilities
You can check out examples of real life uses of top skills on resumes here:
  • Promoted skills leading to independent living for developmentally disabled children and adults.
  • Fostered consumer trust while delivering mental health services, community support and disability advocacy.
  • Provided care for individuals with developmental disabilities: laundry, bathing / hygiene, food preparation, outings/entertainment
  • Provided personal care and assisted with activities of daily living to individuals with developmental disabilities.
  • Performed direct support care, Maintained records of residents progression, achievements and individual programs

Direct Support Specialist Resume Examples And Tips

The average resume reviewer spends between 5 to 7 seconds looking at a single resume, which leaves the average job applier with roughly six seconds to make a killer first impression. Thanks to this, a single typo or error on your resume can disqualify you right out of the gate. At Zippia, we went through over 2,334 Direct Support Specialist resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.

Learn How To Create A Top Notch Direct Support Specialist Resume

View Resume Examples

Direct Support Specialist Demographics

Gender

Female

62.6%

Male

24.1%

Unknown

13.2%
Ethnicity

White

66.5%

Hispanic or Latino

13.4%

Black or African American

11.1%

Asian

5.7%

Unknown

3.3%
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Foreign Languages Spoken

Spanish

65.5%

French

21.8%

Polish

5.5%

Portuguese

1.8%

Turkish

1.8%

Japanese

1.8%

Croatian

1.8%
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Direct Support Specialist Education

Schools

University of Phoenix

13.1%

Arizona State University

12.8%

Clinton Community College

8.9%

State University of New York College at Plattsburgh

8.3%

Grand Canyon University

5.8%

Monroe Community College

5.1%

Millersville University of Pennsylvania

4.5%

Ashford University

4.5%

Kaplan University

4.5%

Pennsylvania State University

3.8%

Strayer University

3.5%

University of Missouri - Saint Louis

3.2%

Liberty University

3.2%

University of Arizona

3.2%

Northern Arizona University

2.9%

Ultimate Medical Academy - Clearwater

2.6%

Walden University

2.6%

University of the District of Columbia

2.6%

Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania

2.6%

Greenville Technical College

2.6%
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Majors

Business

14.9%

Psychology

14.5%

Criminal Justice

8.0%

Human Services

7.9%

Nursing

7.6%

Social Work

7.6%

Medical Assisting Services

7.1%

Health Care Administration

4.2%

Nursing Assistants

3.7%

Liberal Arts

3.2%

Sociology

3.0%

General Studies

2.6%

Mental Health Counseling

2.6%

Communication

2.5%

Human Development

2.3%

Accounting

1.8%

Cosmetology

1.7%

Biology

1.7%

Human Resources Management

1.7%

Counseling Psychology

1.7%
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Degrees

Bachelors

34.4%

Other

28.3%

Associate

15.7%

Masters

12.2%

Certificate

5.4%

Diploma

2.8%

License

0.7%

Doctorate

0.4%
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