How To Become A Direct Support Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a direct support worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a direct support worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $13.72 an hour? That's $28,538 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 36% and produce 1,185,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDirect Support WorkerUS Average

Salary

2.2

Avg. Salary $28,538

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.0

Growth rate 36%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.32%

Asian 8.08%

Black or African American 16.07%

Hispanic or Latino 14.20%

Unknown 4.53%

White 55.79%

Gender

female 78.51%

male 21.49%

Age - 50

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 50

Stress level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.6

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a direct support worker

Explore direct support worker education requirements

Most common direct support worker degrees

Bachelor's

34.0 %

High School Diploma

25.0 %

Associate

20.3 %

Start to develop specific direct support worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Developmental Disabilities	18.52%
CPR	10.46%
Home Health	8.30%
Direct Support	7.58%
Community Integration	7.41%

Research direct support worker duties and responsibilities

Orient around ADL's and personal care: mobility/transfers, meal prep, exercise and maintenance.
Instruct, supervise, and assist with ADL's through daily routines and to carry out schedule activities and programs.
Provide caring and companionship to elderly and developmentally disable consumers and provide primary resident care and assistance with daily living activities.
Assist service recipients in daily living needs, compliant with HIPPA guidelines, complete documentation and records while maintain filing systems.

Prepare your direct support worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your direct support worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a direct support worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable direct support worker resume templates

Build a professional direct support worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your direct support worker resume.