There are different facilities that cater to the needs of vulnerable individuals. Such facilities include homes for the elderly, adoption homes, and even foster homes. These facilities provide the basic needs of their residents, such as food, water, shelter, and clothing. One important need that is often neglected is the need for companionship or support. Given this, such facilities hire support workers. Support workers provide help for individuals in the facilities. They look after the holistic well-being of the residents.
They also ensure that the residents' lives are at the most comfortable, such that the residents can still live independently. Support workers may also act as confidantes of the residents. They help residents maximize their potential in various facets of well-being. At times, support workers may even help in household chores.
If you are a service-oriented individual, being a support worker would be a fulfilling job for you. This is best for people who are empathic, hard-working, and passionate.
What is a Support Worker?
What Does a Support Worker Do
There are certain skills that many support workers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed time-management skills, compassion and detail oriented.
How To Become a Support Worker
If you're interested in becoming a support worker, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 55.1% of support workers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.9% of support workers have master's degrees. Even though most support workers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Support Worker Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a support worker can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as certified nursing assistant, progress to a title such as team leader and then eventually end up with the title account manager.
Average Salary for a Support Worker
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Support Workers
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
3. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
4. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
6. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
7. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Private
8. New York University
New York, NY • Private
9. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
10. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Top Skills For a Support Worker
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.0% of support workers listed independent living on their resume, but soft skills such as time-management skills and compassion are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Support Worker Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Support Worker templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Support Worker resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Support Worker Demographics
Support Worker Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among support workers, 70.9% of them are women, while 29.1% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among support workers is White, which makes up 66.1% of all support workers.
- The most common foreign language among support workers is Spanish at 62.7%.
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Best States For a Support Worker
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a support worker. The best states for people in this position are New York, Texas, California, and Rhode Island. Support workers make the most in New York with an average salary of $46,158. Whereas in Texas and California, they would average $44,960 and $44,671, respectively. While support workers would only make an average of $41,414 in Rhode Island, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. California
$44,671
Avg. Salary
2. New York
$46,158
Avg. Salary
3. New Mexico
$38,408
Avg. Salary
How Do Support Worker Rate Their Jobs?
Top Support Worker Employers
Most Common Employers For Support Worker
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IRIS | $39,844 | $19.16 | 20 |
| 2 | Northern Children's Services | $34,132 | $16.41 | 15 |
| 3 | Alabama Department of Insurance | $32,972 | $15.85 | 27 |
| 4 | Tender Mercies Inc | $32,605 | $15.68 | 14 |
| 5 | Macy's | $32,123 | $15.44 | 19 |
| 6 | HRDI | $31,525 | $15.16 | 18 |
| 7 | Community Access Unlimited | $31,456 | $15.12 | 71 |
| 8 | Job Path | $31,004 | $14.91 | 21 |
| 9 | Pathways | $30,567 | $14.70 | 13 |
| 10 | KVC Health Systems | $30,496 | $14.66 | 32 |
Support Worker Videos
