5 Reasons to Consider a Career as a Professional Caregiver
Are you considering making a career change and wondering if professional caregiving is the right fit for you? Suppose you’re a compassionate and hardworking individual who wants more flexibility to build life-long skills, autonomy, and rewarding work with career advancement opportunities. In that case, professional caregiving might be for you.
1. You’ll have control of your schedule
One of the main reasons people enjoy working as a caregiver is their flexibility in scheduling. You can work full-time or part-time as a caregiver, depending on your needs. At Visiting Angels, we allow our caregivers to choose the shifts they wish to work, and we pair them with clients that need services during those times. This flexibility enables caregivers to work when it fits their life and their schedules, so they don’t have to worry about missing milestone moments with their family or to choose work instead of social time. We also have plenty of bonus opportunities and extra shifts for weeks when caregivers may want to work more hours.
2. You’ll learn life-long skills
Beyond the skill set of learning how to care for another human, professional caregiving will teach you life-long skills like communication, empathy, and time management.
- Communication- One thing that separates good caregivers from great ones is their communication skills. The stronger you communicate with clients and families, the better your relationships will be, and the more your clients will trust you.
- Empathy- It’s vital to have empathy for your clients, especially on challenging days. Aging comes with its challenges, and having compassion reminds your clients that they can rely on you when things are tough.
- Time management- As a caregiver, you’re responsible for getting to a client’s home at a specific time, helping clients get to appointments, and assisting clients with all necessary activities during your shift.
3. There are opportunities for career advancement
There are plenty of opportunities to grow as a professional caregiver. Some individuals specialize in a specific type of care, such as working with clients who have dementia or working with seniors during hospice. Other people use caregiving to enter other care professions, such as nursing or CNA. There are also routes within an agency. You can help new caregivers as a mentor, organize work shifts and client relationships as part of the office staff, or maybe you open your own homecare office.
4. The work is rewarding
Working as a caregiver is a rewarding position. You see how your actions positively affect your client’s life daily. Many clients are not shy about expressing gratitude, continually sharing their appreciation for your assistance. And it’s not only the clients you’re helping but their families. With a professional caregiver in the mix, so many families can feel at ease knowing compassionate individuals are looking out for the well-being of their loved ones.
5. You’ll have work autonomy
Professional caregiving is an autonomous job. There isn’t a supervisor ensuring you arrive at a particular time or constantly checking in on your day’s progress. You’ll spend most of your time working alone in your client’s homes, and you’re trusted to provide your clients with the highest quality care. Autonomous work doesn’t mean you won’t have support when you need it. At Visiting Angels, we have an excellent office staff and a team of caregivers who are always available to answer questions and provide guidance if you ever need help.
Starting a Career with Visiting Angels
Visiting Angels is a locally owned and operated home care agency providing non-medical services to seniors in the community. We are looking for compassionate and hardworking individuals at Visiting Angels to join our team. As part of the Visiting Angels team, you’ll enjoy competitive pay, flexible hours, paid training, paid time off, reimbursable mileage, one-on-one client interaction, and more.
Our Grand Junction office hires caregivers to work with clients in Grand Junction and the surrounding areas. If you’d like to learn more about our career opportunities, complete an online application or call 970.254.8888.