This health care job is perfect for workers in their 50s
Nursing aide is one of the most common full-time jobs for older workers looking to make a career change, a new study finds.
If you’re over the age of 50 and you’re unhappy with your current job, you may feel like the only choice you have is to stick it out until retirement.
Here’s a major reality check: It’s never too late to make a career change—and the health care sector is a great place to start.
Nursing aide is one of the most common full-time job options for those changing work after the age of 55, according to new data from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The New York Times, in a chart created from the data, reported candidates age 55 and older have a 41% greater likelihood of being hired as compared to a candidate between ages 30 and 49.
Think switching jobs is too risky? We’re willing to bet you can do it. A study by the American Institute for Economic Research found that 82% of its respondents reported making a successful transition to a new career after age 45. What’s more is that jobs for nursing aides are projected to grow 17% by 2024, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, making it a great time to score a job in this profession.
Read on to find out what exactly a nursing aide does and why you should look into becoming one, especially if you’re about to enter middle age.
What would I do as a nursing aide?
Nursing aides, sometimes called nursing assistants, help provide basic care for patients as well as assist them in daily activities they might have trouble with on their own, such as eating and dressing. They report to registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs) or licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) and act as liaisons between patients and nurses and doctors. Additional job responsibilities may include administering medication and working with medical technology like software handling billing, health information and medical record charting.
Cynthia Howard, a registered nurse and executive coach for health care leaders, says at 55, the experiences you’ve accumulated throughout your life would make you an excellent candidate for a nursing aide position.
“[These workers] are used to being caregivers,” Howard told Monster. “Their children are gone and they may have lost a spouse, and taking care of people feels good to them. They can also make money and probably like the flexibility to work different shifts.”
Full-time nursing aides typically take home $25,710 per year, according to BLS data, or $12.36 per hour for part-timers. And because the nature of the job usually means providing around-the-clock care, schedules can be very flexible to work the shifts that are best for you, even if that means working nights and weekends.
So how do I land the job?
The good news is that you don’t need a college education to be a nursing aide. However, you will need to get certified by completing formal training, typically offered at community colleges, vocational colleges and technical schools as well as at some hospitals and nursing homes, in addition to a state-administered exam.
Jobs for nursing aides can be found in hospitals, but they are most prevalent in nursing and long-term care facilities.
On Monster, nearly 1,000 nursing aide positions are available right now at the Good Samaritan Society, a nonprofit providing shelter and support services to the elderly.
Additionally, hundreds of nursing aide positions providing rehabilitation and post-acute care are available at Kindred Healthcare and Golden LivingCenters.
With more than 200 nursing, rehabilitation and senior living locations in 28 states, Life Care Centers of America are also making big hires in the nursing aide department.