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The differences between support workers and direct support professionals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a support worker has an average salary of $37,039, which is higher than the $32,077 average annual salary of a direct support professional.
The top three skills for a support worker include social work, crisis intervention and treatment plan. The most important skills for a direct support professional are direct support, developmental disabilities, and autism.
| Support Worker | Direct Support Professional | |
| Yearly salary | $37,039 | $32,077 |
| Hourly rate | $17.81 | $15.42 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 36% |
| Number of jobs | 112,754 | 142,034 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Average age | 47 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
A support worker is responsible for supporting the community programs and development efforts to sustain and ensure the citizens' stability, providing them resources for their daily needs, and helping them with financial assistance requests. Support workers conduct family counseling to identify their challenges and needs and coordinate with the necessary organizations to process their requests. They must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in filing documents and guiding the citizens in achieving their healthy lifestyle and make a positive difference.
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.
Support workers and direct support professionals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Worker | Direct Support Professional | |
| Average salary | $37,039 | $32,077 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $60,000 | Between $18,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Santa Clara, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Dolby Laboratories | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Government |
There are a few differences between a support worker and a direct support professional in terms of educational background:
| Support Worker | Direct Support Professional | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | - |
Here are the differences between support workers' and direct support professionals' demographics:
| Support Worker | Direct Support Professional | |
| Average age | 47 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.1% Female, 70.9% | Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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 | 8% | 7% |