22 Apr Building a Rewarding Career in Aged Care: Opportunities and Growth
Working is an essential part of many of our lives. With the average person spending a third of their lives at work (equal to 90,000 hours), looking for a job that pays well and is enriching makes sense.
Building a career in aged care is highly rewarding. You will positively impact multiple people’s lives each day you come to work. There are many benefits to pursuing aged care jobs, especially if you are naturally good with people and want to make an active difference in the lives of our elderly population.
In this article, we’ll explore how pursuing a career in aged care is rewarding and filled with growth opportunities.
What do Aged Care Workers do?
Aged care workers provide essential services to older Australian citizens. These services can happen at the client’s home or community aged care facility. The day-to-day activities will vary depending on the client and their needs. Usually, the role entails helping the client shower, dress, eat, and go to the toilet. In addition to tending to physical needs, Care Workers provide social and emotional support.
Each client will have a care plan, and their Care Workers will help them achieve the plan’s goals and advocate with and on behalf of the clients to ensure their needs are met. Aged Care Workers can also bridge the gap in communication between care services, the client and the client’s family.
Aged Care Workers tend to be kind, compassionate, patient, and empathetic. These qualities help them connect with the people they work with. There are several benefits for Care Workers and the people they support.
Aged care careers will give you job security
When starting any career, it’s natural to want to know if there is potential for it to be a long-term commitment. You’ll be pleased to know that Australia has a high demand for skilled professionals seeking rewarding aged care careers.
The market needs people wanting to join the industry, so there is an opportunity to find the perfect role that suits you. As the elderly population grows, so does the need for more aged care workers.
So, starting or progressing in aged care careers can give you a sense of security, knowing that there will always be a demand for your skill set and experience,
Various aged care jobs you can choose from
If you’ve got to start your aged care career but are unsure of what you’d like to do, there are various roles suited to many people, all of which make a difference for our elderly citizens.
You can choose to be a residential care worker, which means you will help a community of elderly citizens in one residential building and be part of a much wider team. Alternatively, you can apply to be an aged care support worker and visit elderly people in their homes to make their lives easier.
You can work in various settings and choose a more hands-on role or something more behind the scenes- whatever suits you.
Achieve personal growth
If you want to make a difference in society and improve the world, aged care careers can help you do so much closer to home. You can work closely with elderly individuals, making their lives more comfortable. As our elderly folks get older, they deserve to continue living a relaxed standard, and that’s where you’ll come in to help make their lives easier, provide them with company, or meet any other of their needs.
Working in an aged care job, you’ll create meaningful connections and meet individuals from all different backgrounds and lifestyles. You may learn more about them and yourself as you work closely together.
You can go to work knowing you are impacting seniors and their families. Working closely with your clients will give you compassion and empathy through aged care.
Competitive salary opportunities
The salaries for aged care workers in Australia are competitive. Salaries vary across states, job roles and experience, but an aged care worker makes about $87,284 annually. You could earn up to $130,907 as you progress into your career.
Salaries vary with roles. If you’re looking to climb the career ladder, you could be looking at a salary of up to $140,000.
Gain valuable transferable skills
In the aged care sector, you’ll gain many skills that will help you in other areas of your life and different job roles should you switch careers later.
You’ll gain valuable skills, such as:
1). effective communication,
2). problem-solving:
3). adaptabilit
4). empathy
5). remaining calm under pressure,
6). leadership
7). time management.
These are just some of the skills you’ll develop over your career. The skills you build on and learn during aged care careers will help you as you move on through life, so as much as you learn job-specific tasks and skills, you will find that you’ll pick up skills that you can use in other areas of your life.
Be part of a close team
Aged care professionals work in tight-knit teams, collaborating and providing a support network for each other and their clients. If you work in a residential aged care facility, you will work closely with your team to ensure smooth sailing operations and excellent resident care.
Your team can become a great support system during your aged care career. Together, you create a positive environment for the people you care for.
Work your up throughout your aged carer career
There are various opportunities for career advancement in the care sector. Regardless of what role you start at, you’ll gain valuable new skills and experience growth opportunities, which can lead to career growth. You can progress into higher roles or pursue education and specialisation.
Start your aged care career
Now that you know how rewarding aged career careers can be, you can start matching with your dream roles. The hopstep app helps create fast and easy connections between candidates and employers.
You can see available aged care jobs that align with your working needs. Set up your profile (this takes less than a minute), define your distance from work opportunities, and swipe to apply for the roles you like.
Happiness in healthcare is only a hopstep away. Find your perfect aged care job today and download the app.