If you are a caring person who enjoys making a difference in people's lives, working as a care assistant could be what you are looking for. You will be working with children, people with physical or learning disabilities, families or older people in their homes or at day centers. If you are a friendly person and like looking after people from different backgrounds, you will enjoy working as a care assistant.
Having a good sense of humor and being patient are real assets for the position especially as you will be working with children or elderly people. If you are starting a career as a care assistant, salaries are between £12.500 and £16.000 a year. Night shifts and weekend work have a higher hourly rate. When applying for a position as a care assistant you can put forward any volunteering opportunities you may have had with organizations helping support vulnerable people. There are many care assistant opportunities with local authority social services departments, private agencies providing care services or with voluntary organizations. As you move on in your career, you can become a senior care worker or shift supervisor. Higher qualifications and experience may lead you to move into unit or center management, you can even consider opening up your own care business.