Help patients with daily care and activities in psychiatric units, watching for safety and changes.
You may also see this posted as: Mental Health Worker (MHW), Residential Care Tech (Residential Care Technician), Therapeutic Program Worker (TPW), Developmental Aide, Mental Health Aide (MHA), Psychiatric Assistant.
Psychiatric hospitals and residential facilities.
Shift work, including nights and weekends
Social
helping, teaching, caring for, or supporting other people
Investigative
solving problems, analyzing evidence, and figuring out how things work
Conventional
organizing information, following systems, and getting details right
O*NET job zone 2 of 5
Some preparation—often a high school credential and on-the-job learning—is usually needed.
Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.
May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.
Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.
“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.
BLS estimates 1.8% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.
Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.
High school / no degree
Training path: On-the-job training, paid.
Related work experience: None.
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training.
No license is required, though employers provide safety and crisis training.
You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.
Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.
Demanding front-line work that opens the door to mental health care without a degree.
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Standard Occupational Classification 31-1133. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.