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The differences between family caregivers and direct support professionals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a family caregiver has an average salary of $32,827, which is higher than the $32,077 average annual salary of a direct support professional.
The top three skills for a family caregiver include meal preparation, companionship and in-home care. The most important skills for a direct support professional are direct support, developmental disabilities, and autism.
| Family Caregiver | Direct Support Professional | |
| Yearly salary | $32,827 | $32,077 |
| Hourly rate | $15.78 | $15.42 |
| Growth rate | 36% | 36% |
| Number of jobs | 126,188 | 142,034 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Family caregivers mainly provide care to families operating as health care system extensions. The caregivers perform complicated therapeutic and medical tasks and ensure recipients' compliance with their therapeutic regimens. They serve as home-based coordinators of care and personal care recipient advocates. It is their job to assess the needs of the families. They also prepare a care plan, help with housekeeping, provide companionship, monitor medications, and prepare meals.
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.
Family caregivers and direct support professionals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Family Caregiver | Direct Support Professional | |
| Average salary | $32,827 | $32,077 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $46,000 | Between $18,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Santa Clara, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a family caregiver and a direct support professional in terms of educational background:
| Family Caregiver | Direct Support Professional | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Most common major | Business | Psychology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between family caregivers' and direct support professionals' demographics:
| Family Caregiver | Direct Support Professional | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.3% Female, 70.7% | Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 8.6% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | 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% |