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The differences between elderly caregivers and direct support professionals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an elderly caregiver has an average salary of $37,109, which is higher than the $32,077 average annual salary of a direct support professional.
The top three skills for an elderly caregiver include adaptive, oral care and companionship. The most important skills for a direct support professional are direct support, developmental disabilities, and autism.
| Elderly Caregiver | Direct Support Professional | |
| Yearly salary | $37,109 | $32,077 |
| Hourly rate | $17.84 | $15.42 |
| Growth rate | 36% | 36% |
| Number of jobs | 71,532 | 142,034 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | 4 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An Elderly Caregiver provides personal and emotional support to people who cannot look after themselves. They are either hired by a client or their family, or report directly to a physician or a nurse.
Direct support professionals are responsible for taking care of patients with physical or mental limitations. They do a variety of tasks for their patients, such as doing household chores, running errands for them, cooking for them, feeding them, bathing and dressing them, and helping them with their medication, among others. They also provide their patients with companionship, accompanying their patients to appointments, providing emotional support, and being with their patients for the most part of the day. They should be familiar with their patients' prescribed medicines, meal plans, therapy schedules, and other items related to the betterment of the patients' condition. Direct support professionals help the patients overcome their challenges and assist them in acclimating themselves with their current environment.
Elderly caregivers and direct support professionals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Elderly Caregiver | Direct Support Professional | |
| Average salary | $37,109 | $32,077 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $59,000 | Between $18,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Santa Clara, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | CARE | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Government |
There are a few differences between an elderly caregiver and a direct support professional in terms of educational background:
| Elderly Caregiver | Direct Support Professional | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Psychology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between elderly caregivers' and direct support professionals' demographics:
| Elderly Caregiver | Direct Support Professional | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5% | Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 7.4% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 8.3% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |