Help patients with daily care and activities in psychiatric units, watching for safety and changes.
Psychiatric hospitals and residential facilities.
Shift work, including nights and weekends
May 2024–25 BLS wage 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.
High school / no degree
Training path: On-the-job training, paid.
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.
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, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.