How To Become A Mental Retardation Aide: What It Is and Career Path

What is a mental retardation aide 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 mental retardation aide. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.32 an hour? That's $29,795 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 16,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreMental Retardation AideUS Average

Salary

2.3

Avg. Salary $29,795

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.5

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.57%

Asian 4.59%

Black or African American 27.26%

Hispanic or Latino 15.35%

Unknown 4.16%

White 48.06%

Gender

female 79.69%

male 20.31%

Age - 41

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 - 41

Stress level

9.5

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.4

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a mental retardation aide

Explore mental retardation aide education requirements

Most common mental retardation aide degrees

Bachelor's

39.3 %

High School Diploma

28.9 %

Associate

18.0 %

Start to develop specific mental retardation aide skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	19.07%
CPR	6.86%
Client Behavior	6.43%
Role Model	5.77%
Mental Health	4.95%

Complete relevant mental retardation aide training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New mental retardation aides learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a mental retardation aide based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real mental retardation aide resumes.

Research mental retardation aide duties and responsibilities

Monitor and manage preventative behavior with 2-3 MHA'S team and carry out a constructive routine with patients.
Retrieve and record vital signs, assist with ADL's.
Supervise residents in a group home with daily activities and ADL skills.
Escort patients to community clinical programs and recreational activities.

Prepare your mental retardation aide resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable mental retardation aide resume templates

Build a professional mental retardation aide 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 mental retardation aide resume.