Health Aids & Attendants

 

Types of Degrees Health Aids & Attendants Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many health aids/attendants/orderlies graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	1,607
Undergraduate Certificate	178
Associate Degree	33

What Health Aids & Attendants Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to health aids were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Health Aids Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in health aids should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Skills for Health Aids Majors

A major in health aids prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Health Aids Majors

As a health aids major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Health Aids & Attendants Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with health aids:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Healthcare Support Workers	11.7%	$37,830
Home Health Aides	47.3%	$24,200
Nursing Assistants	11.5%	$28,540
Occupational Therapy Aides	24.0%	$28,160
Personal Care Aides	38.6%	$24,020
Physical Therapist Aides	29.2%	$26,240
Psychiatric Aides	5.6%	$29,180

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Health Aids & Attendants?

This is a less frequently chosen trade school major. Only 33 students graduated with an associate’s degree in health aids/attendants/orderlies in 2021, making it rank #52 in popularity. The major attracts more women than men. About 76% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of health aids majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	3
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	27
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	3

How Much Do Health Aids & Attendants Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Health Aids majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $25,330 to $32,580 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Health Aids & Attendants

Some careers associated with health aids require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for health aids careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	5.8%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	53.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	12.5%
Some College Courses	12.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	8.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	3.7%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.1%
Master’s Degree	1.5%

Online Health Aids & Attendants Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	36	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	8	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Health Aids & Attendants Worth It?

The median salary for a health aids grad is $29,580 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Trades Related to Health Aids & Attendants

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to health aids.

Major	Number of Grads
Health & Medical Administrative Services	88,600
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	85,339
Allied Health Professions	83,905
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	83,587
Health Sciences & Services	36,762
Mental & Social Health Services	30,331
Dental Support Services	26,024
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	18,884
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services	10,622
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	817
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	89

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.