How To Become A Live In Caregiver: What It Is and Career Path

What is a live in caregiver and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

As a live-in caregiver, you will help clients with basic needs like dressing, bathing, shopping, home healthcare, meal prep, grooming, laundry services, and housekeeping. You'll provide clients with emotional support. You'll transport clients to appointments which may include doctor or salon appointments. Besides that, you may help clients with administrative tasks like paying bills, writing letters and making phone calls. Also, you'll monitor and report changes in health, behavior, and needs.

Candidates for this job are required to have a high school diploma or its equivalent. You may be required to have relevant job experience and CPR training. You may also need a valid driver's license. Having relevant certifications is a plus. You must be able to pass a background check and drug test. Likewise, you must be an excellent listener and an empathetic person. This personnel makes an average salary of $29,866 per year. This falls between $20,000 and $45,000.

ScoreLive In CaregiverUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $36,855

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.0

Growth Rate 36%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.37%

Asian 7.86%

Black or African American 10.14%

Hispanic or Latino 19.80%

Unknown 4.60%

White 56.23%

Gender

female 80.77%

male 19.23%

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 live in caregiver

Explore live in caregiver education requirements

Most common live in caregiver degrees

High School Diploma

30.6 %

Bachelor's

23.5 %

Associate

19.1 %

Start to develop specific live in caregiver skills

Skills	Percentages
Companionship	24.41%
Home Health	13.68%
CPR	6.26%
Medication Reminders	6.20%
Senior Care	5.75%

Gain additional live in caregiver certifications

Live in caregiver certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific live in caregiver certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for live in caregivers include Medical Assistant and Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA).

More About Certifications

Research live in caregiver duties and responsibilities

Foster strong companionship and practice careful awareness and compassion.
Certify in a and CPR.
Tube feed, used hoyer lift, to bathe.
Provide quality care and compassion to the elderly

Prepare your live in caregiver resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your live in caregiver 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 live in caregiver resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Live In Caregiver Resume templates

Build a professional Live In Caregiver 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 Live In Caregiver resume.