Assisted Living Facility Jobs:
12 Jobs for People Who Love Senior Citizens
See also: Building Rapport
While not all seniors need assistance, there are a lot of older adults who do. Besides being a wonderful way to serve your community, working at an assisted living facility can be a challenging and rewarding job. There are many other jobs for people who love senior citizens, too!
Here are the 12 best ways to combine your passion with your paycheck.
Take these assisted living jobs if you love senior citizens!
Life Enrichment Specialist
The life enrichment specialist helps a senior citizen participate more fully in daily events and activities. The main duties include suggesting ways seniors can continue to enjoy themselves, such as joining a book club or finding a local senior center that offers activities they can participate in.
Patient Advocate
Patient advocates are in high demand due to the aging population. Patient advocates typically work in hospitals or clinics, and their job is to help patients navigate the healthcare system. They also provide emotional support to patients and the residents' families. The benefits of working as a patient advocate include competitive wages, flexible hours, and the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. The top talent in this field is team players who are compassionate, detail-oriented, and excellent communicators.
CBRF caregiver
Caregiver, also known as a "Certified Behavior Response Facilitator".
According to the Job Outlook Handbook, job opportunities for this role are expected to increase by 19% through 2023. This is one of the easier jobs because all you need is a high school diploma or equivalent, excellent oral and written communication and, of course, a love of helping others. The senior living community caregiver is responsible for providing personal care, comfort, and a sense of safety and security to the senior. Caring for their needs, the caregiver assists with daily necessities and tasks to promote physical health and emotional wellbeing.
Certified Nursing Assistant
If you love being with senior residents, perhaps you should consider becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant. A Certified Nursing Assistant gets to know all the residents of a luxury retirement community such as Vivante Living. They're with them during meals and their days off when the residents are still at the facility. CNAs are in charge of cleaning residents’ rooms, helping them get dressed, and assisting them with personal hygiene. They accompany them to appointments, on outings, malls or the movies, and just about everywhere else.
The demand for CNAs has created a requirement for courses that teach students the skills they need to meet the needs of their charges. At first, students who want to learn these skills may need to attend a nar training program at a local community college but taking some classes online can allow them to complete the coursework at their own pace. Students can even take distance learning courses that don't require them to attend live classes.
Music Therapist
Music Therapists help senior citizens remember things they have forgotten and make new memories. This job aims to help with memory formation, trigger memories, and remind patients of things they've forgotten. Music therapists help with any issues related to dementia, stroke, or physical illnesses. They target the sense of hearing through music to stimulate the sense of touch, sight, and emotion/feeling.
Executive director
As the job title suggests, you would be responsible for providing a great teamwork environment and managing the overall facility. This would involve working with employees, volunteers, and board members to ensure everything is running smoothly. You would also be responsible for fundraising and marketing initiatives. The right fit for this job would be someone who is organized, has good people skills, and is passionate about working with seniors. Satisfaction comes from seeing the positive impact you are having on the lives of others.
Respite care worker
Respite care workers provide emotional well-being, a dignified and caring atmosphere and prolonging daily functioning, play games and activities, and help those in assisted living facilities handle day-to-day tasks. Respite care workers are on call to support residents who don't need full-time supervision but may benefit from occasional help with chores or transportation. Respite care workers also aid in monitoring residents' health and social needs.
Housekeeping manager
Housekeeping managers are the unsung heroes of assisted living facilities. They oversee up to 20 housekeepers who clean common and undertake common area cleanliness. Nice perks of this position include employee discount programs and free room and board in the facility. This may sound easy, but with a certain number of resident rooms to be cleaned daily, you've got to be a bit of a taskmaster. On top of the basics, the housekeeping manager takes full responsibility for hiring and firing housekeepers. As such, this position requires a strong work ethic and leadership skills.
RN Aide
If you are passionate about senior citizens, consider becoming an RN Aide. Also known as a home health aide or personal care assistant, the RN Aide is a health care worker who assists patients with the activities of daily living, such as bathing, grooming, dressing, and meal preparation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for RN Aides is growing at a faster-than-average rate—expected to increase by 30 percent by 2026.
Program coordinator
This position entails coordinating the different programs offered by the company. They work closely with program directors to develop new programs and assess existing ones. They also oversee program staff and volunteers to ensure everything runs smoothly. The right fit for this job would be someone who is organized, has good people skills, and is passionate about helping others reach their potential. Satisfaction comes from knowing that you have helped contribute to the success of a program and its participants.
Driver
A driver's job is picking up and transporting residents from one destination to another. This job may involve picking up the seniors from their home care facility and dropping them off at a social gathering with friends or delivering them to a medical facility such as a doctor's office.
Activities Director
One of the most rewarding career paths in senior care is that of an activities director. Activities directors are responsible for wellness coaching, planning, organizing, and maintaining an assortment of resident activities for their facility's senior residents. Activities directors often have a social work or psychology background, although there is no formal education requirement for this profession. With a competitive compensation of $53,000 (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics), paid holidays, and other rewards, activities directors have a lot to smile about.
Further Reading from Skills You Need
The Skills You Need Guide to Getting a Job
Develop the skills you need to get that job.
This eBook is essential reading for potential job-seekers. Not only does it cover identifying your skills but also the mechanics of applying for a job, writing a CV or resume and attending interviews.
Wrapping up
If you want to find jobs that involve helping senior citizens, there are a few places you can look. One option is to sign up for the latest job alert from websites or companies that specialize in finding positions for people who want to potentially work with seniors. Another option is to check the benefits as different industries offer better retirement benefits and perks to employees who have been with the company for a long time, making them more attractive to seniors. Finally, you can ask seniors if they know of any open positions in their company or organization.
About the Author
Mae Lewis is a freelance writer who enjoys traveling and getting lost in a good book. She loves collaborating with awesome blogs to share her tips on anything from business and finance to career and lifestyle topics.