What they do
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Assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, working under direction of nursing and medical staff. May assist with daily living activities, lead patients in educational and recreational activities, or accompany patients to and from examinations and treatments. May restrain violent patients. Includes psychiatric orderlies.
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| Also called: |
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Developmental Aide, Mental Health Aide (MHA), Mental Health Worker (MHW), Psychiatric Aide, Psychiatric Assistant, Psychiatric Nursing Aide, Qualified Medication Aide (QMA), Resident Care Technician (Resident Care Tech), Residential Care Tech (Residential Care Technician), Therapeutic Program Worker (TPW)
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Wages
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| Vermont - 2023 |
| Percentile1 | Hourly | Yearly |
| 10% |
$ 16.07 |
$33,430 |
| 25% |
$ 17.65 |
$36,720 |
| Median |
$ 20.09 |
$41,790 |
| 75% |
$ 21.52 |
$44,770 |
| 90% |
$ 24.30 |
$50,540 |
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| Average |
$ 19.96 |
$41,520 |
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| More at CareerOneStop |
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Industries of Employment
| United States - 2020 |
| Industry | Percent of total |
- Hospitals; state, local, and private
| 55% |
- State government, excluding education and hospitals
| 22% |
- Nursing and residential care facilities
| 12% |
- Ambulatory healthcare services
| 6% |
- Local government, excluding education and hospitals
| 3% |
| More at BLS |
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Knowledge
| People in this career often know a lot about: |
- Psychology
Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
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- Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
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- Therapy and Counseling
Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
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- English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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| More at O*NET |
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Skills
| People in this career often have these skills: |
- Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
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- Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
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- Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
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- Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
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- Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
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| More at O*NET |
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Interests
| People in this career often prefer these work environments: |
- Social
Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.
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- Realistic
Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
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- Conventional
Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
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| What are your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler |
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Work Styles
| People in this career will do well at jobs that need: |
- Concern for Others
Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
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- Stress Tolerance
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
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- Self-Control
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
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- Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
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- Cooperation
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
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| More at O*NET |
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Tasks
| On the job, you would: |
- Listen and provide emotional support and encouragement to psychiatric patients.
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- Provide mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients with routine physical, emotional, psychological, or rehabilitation care under the direction of nursing or medical staff.
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- Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff.
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- Restrain or aid patients as necessary to prevent injury.
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- Work as part of a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, or social workers.
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| More at O*NET |
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| Related Occupations
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| Career Video
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Projected Employment
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| Vermont |
| 2020 employment |
177 |
| 2030 employment |
198 |
Annual percent change
(compounded) |
1.1% |
Annual projected job openings
(due to change and separations) |
25 |
| More at Occupational Projections |
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Education and Experience:
- Typical education needed for entry
High school diploma or equivalent
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- Work experience in a related occupation
None
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- Typical on-the-job training needed to attain competency
Short-term on-the-job training
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| Based on BLS Education and Training Classifications |
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Physical Work Activity
Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
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- Physical activity is Important
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- Level of activity is Moderate
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| Low |  | High |
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| Compare Occupations at O*NET |
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Job Zone
| Some Preparation Needed |
- Specific Vocational Preparation Range
(4.0 to < 6.0) - A typical worker will require
over 3 months up to and including 1 year
of training to achieve average performance in this occupation.
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| Based on O*Net Job Zones and SVP |
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Education Level
| How much education do most people in this career have? |
| Education level |  | Percent of
U.S. Workers |
Doctoral or professional degree
or post-MA certificate | | 0% |
Master's degree or
post-BA certificate | | 0% |
| Bachelor's degree | | 4% |
| Associate's degree | | 10% |
Certificate or some college,
no degree | | 62% |
High school diploma
or equivalent | | 24% |
| Less than high school diploma | | 0% |
| More at O*NET |
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Abilities
| People in this career often have talent in: |
- Oral Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
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- Oral Comprehension
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
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- Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
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- Written Comprehension
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
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- Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
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| More at O*NET |
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Work Activities
| In general, what you might do: |
- Getting Information
Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
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- Assisting and Caring for Others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
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- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
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- Documenting/Recording Information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
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- Training and Teaching Others
Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
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| More at O*NET |
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Detailed Work Activities
| What you might do in a day: |
- Encourage patients during therapeutic activities.
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- Care for patients with mental illnesses.
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- Assess physical conditions of patients to aid in diagnosis or treatment.
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- Monitor patients to detect health problems.
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- Hold patients to ensure proper positioning or safety.
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| More at O*NET |
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Other Resources
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- CareerOneStop
resource for job seekers, students, businessess and career professionals
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- O*NET Online
nation's primary source of occupational information
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