Health Aide

 

Types of Degrees Health Aide Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	167
Undergraduate Certificate	36
Associate Degree	28

What Health Aide Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, health aide majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Health Aide Majors

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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for Health Aide Majors

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

• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• 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.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Health Aide Majors

As a health aide 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.
• 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.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Health Aide Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with health aide:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Nursing Assistants	11.5%	$28,540
Psychiatric Aides	5.6%	$29,180

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Health Aide?

The major attracts more women than men. About 75% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	1
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	26
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	1

How Much Do Health Aide Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Health Aide majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $29,580 to $31,090 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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 Aide

Some degrees associated with health aide may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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 aide careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	3.7%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	61.6%
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)	13.5%
Some College Courses	12.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	6.0%
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.	0.2%
Master’s Degree	1.0%

Online Health Aide 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)	17	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	4	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 Aide Worth It?

The median salary for a health aide 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 Aide

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

Major	Number of Grads
Home Health Aide/Home Attendant	700
Medication Aide	694
Rehabilitation Aide	157
Physical Therapy Technician/Aide	26
Other Health Aides/Attendants/Orderlies	10

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.