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Personal attendant vs primary caregiver

The differences between personal attendants and primary caregivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a primary caregiver has an average salary of $29,576, which is higher than the $27,243 average annual salary of a personal attendant.

The top three skills for a personal attendant include direct care, CPR and developmental disabilities. The most important skills for a primary caregiver are home health, senior care, and PET.

Personal attendant vs primary caregiver overview

Personal AttendantPrimary Caregiver
Yearly salary$27,243$29,576
Hourly rate$13.10$14.22
Growth rate36%36%
Number of jobs169,83350,392
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age4848
Years of experience--

Personal attendant vs primary caregiver salary

Personal attendants and primary caregivers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Personal AttendantPrimary Caregiver
Average salary$27,243$29,576
Salary rangeBetween $21,000 And $34,000Between $22,000 And $38,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WA-
Highest paying stateAlaska-
Best paying companyProvidence Health & Services-
Best paying industryHospitality-

Differences between personal attendant and primary caregiver education

There are a few differences between a personal attendant and a primary caregiver in terms of educational background:

Personal AttendantPrimary Caregiver
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common majorPsychologyBusiness
Most common college--

Personal attendant vs primary caregiver demographics

Here are the differences between personal attendants' and primary caregivers' demographics:

Personal AttendantPrimary Caregiver
Average age4848
Gender ratioMale, 25.2% Female, 74.8%Male, 29.2% Female, 70.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 25.7% Asian, 8.5% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 7.5% White, 58.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between personal attendant and primary caregiver duties and responsibilities

Personal attendant example responsibilities.

  • Assist in ADL, grooming and cleaning work area.
  • help the elderly with ADL help prepare meals drive them to doctors appointments and to do grocery shopping also do light housekeeping
  • Develop and coordinate daily activities for individual with Alzheimer's disease.
  • Promote continuity of care by accurately and completely communicating to other caregivers the status of patients for which care is provided.
  • Provide colostomy care and administer medication for pain management in accordance with current physician recommendations.

Primary caregiver example responsibilities.

  • Assist patient with ADL's.
  • Handle all referrals to housing, detoxification, rehabilitation, organization, and agencies.
  • Verse and familiar with caring for a patient with mild to advance Alzheimer's disease.
  • Step away from full-time work to serve as caregiver to grandmother diagnose with Alzheimer's disease.
  • Provide routine personal care and companionship.
  • Provide transportation within community, supervise and provide companionship for clients during physician appointment, shopping and errands.
  • Show more

Personal attendant vs primary caregiver skills

Common personal attendant skills
  • Direct Care, 15%
  • CPR, 10%
  • Developmental Disabilities, 10%
  • Adaptive, 9%
  • Autism, 7%
  • Companionship, 7%
Common primary caregiver skills
  • Home Health, 44%
  • Senior Care, 19%
  • PET, 16%
  • Autism, 11%
  • Dementia Care, 4%
  • Taking Care, 2%

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