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Family Caregiver Education Requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Usually, family caregivers don't need a college education. The most common degree for family caregivers is bachelor's degree with 48% graduates, with only 21% family caregiver graduates earning associate degree. Family caregivers who decided to graduate from college often finish University of Phoenix or Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Some good skills to have in this position include meal preparation, companionship and in-home care.

Popular family caregiver certifications include Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA), Medical Assistant, or Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS). To improve family caregiver qualification and skills, we prepared some online courses to help in family caregiver education paths.

What education do you need to become a family caregiver?

What degree do you need to be a family caregiver?

The most common degree for family caregivers is bachelor's degree, with 48% of family caregivers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 21% and associate degree degree at 12%.
  • Bachelor's, 48%
  • Associate, 21%
  • High School Diploma, 12%
  • Master's, 9%
  • Other Degrees, 10%

What should I major in to become a family caregiver?

You should major in business to become a family caregiver. 23% of family caregivers major in business. Other common majors for a family caregiver include nursing and psychology.

Best majors for family caregivers

RankMajorPercentages
1Business23.5%
2Nursing9.3%
3Psychology8.3%
4Accounting5.9%
5General Studies5.6%

20 best online courses for family caregivers

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1. Palliative Care Always

coursera

Palliative Care Always is a specialization for health care practitioners, patients and caregivers. We’ve designed this specialization to demonstrate how palliative medicine integrates with patient care, and to help you develop primary palliative care skills. Over the next five courses, you will develop skills in symptom management, goals of care and effective communication to improve the quality of life for patients and families suffering with serious illness. Our hope is that you feel...

2. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care

coursera

This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...

3. Home Health Aide, Nurse Aide, Caregiver Certification Course

udemy
4.6
(1,178)

Become A Certified Home Health Aide, Personal Care Aide, Nurse Aide/ Caregiver At The End Of This Course. Enroll Now!!...

4. Providing Trauma-Informed Care

udemy
4.7
(1,276)

Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...

5. Child Care as a Business

coursera

This course is targeted toward individuals wishing to run a home-based child care center. It covers topics such as the fundamentals of an in-home childcare setting as a business; the importance of financial management of a child care center; the creation of a child care contract; and an exploration of how to set tuition rates. Since a Family Policy Handbook is essential for anyone operating a family day care center, this course includes the development of one of three imperative sections of the...

6. Newborn Baby Care

coursera

A newborn baby is an amazing beautiful life filled with hope. Unfortunately, many babies die or experience preventable harm even in 21st century. It is imperative that babies who are born healthy get off to a healthy start in the first month of life. There are some easy tenets of care to implement that help ensure that babies and families get off to a healthy start no matter where they are in the world. In this specialization learners will acquire the skills necessary for newborn baby care to...

7. Medical Terminology 101

udemy
4.4
(752)

For those in healthcare, billing, and more. Boost earning ability and marketable skills by learning to speak medicine...

8. Medical Terminology

udemy
4.7
(3,688)

Introduction to the meaning of various roots, terms and combining forms that are components of medical words...

9. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course

coursera

The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...

10. Health for All Through Primary Health Care

coursera

This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...

11. The Business of Health Care

coursera

This Specialization was designed to help you keep pace with the rapidly changing world of health and health care. Through partnership with Wharton and Penn Medicine, you’ll learn from experts in business acumen, health care management, and health care policy to develop the skills you’ll need to successfully navigate the quickly evolving landscape of this fast-growing field.* By the end of this specialization, you will have a strong foundational understanding of the American health care system,...

12. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care

coursera

In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...

13. Trauma Emergencies and Care

coursera

Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

14. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative

coursera

Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...

15. Caring for Others

coursera

Caring for Others examines how society cares for its at-risk members and the experiences of its caregivers. This specialization addresses questions such as: How much suffering is in the world today? Does digital media sensitize/desensitize us to the anguish of distant others? What are the different types of paid care work? How do care workers manage their emotions? And much more. This specialization is relevant to individuals interested in becoming a helping professional as well as anyone...

16. Palliative Care: It's Not Just Hospice Anymore

coursera

People living with serious, life-limiting, chronic illness experience significant suffering. Fortunately there are new and developing treatments which may cure some and improve survival for many people living with serious illness. However, seriously ill people and their loved ones still experience many distressing physical symptoms as well as spiritual, social and psychological distress. There is much we can do to support people to live well with serious and life-limiting illness by...

17. Health Care IT: Challenges and Opportunities

coursera

A strong argument can be made that the health care field is one of the most information-intensive sectors in the U.S. economy and avoidance of the rapid advances in information technology is no longer an option. Consequently, the study of health care information technology and systems has become central to health care delivery effectiveness. This course covers the modern application of information technology that is critical to supporting the vision and operational knowledge of the health care...

18. Personal & Family Financial Planning

coursera

Personal and Family Financial Planning will address many critical personal financial management topics in order to help you learn prudent habits both while in school and throughout your lifetime...

19. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations

coursera

Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...

20. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes

coursera

COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...

Average family caregiver salary by education level

Family caregivers with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $35,243 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, family caregivers earn a median annual income of $34,685 compared to $34,324 for family caregivers with an Associate degree.
Family Caregiver education levelFamily Caregiver salary
Master's Degree$35,243
High School Diploma or Less$33,376
Bachelor's Degree$34,685
Some College/ Associate Degree$34,324

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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