Career
Nursing assistants
Give patients the hands-on daily care they need.
$42,260
Median pay
+2.6%
Job growth, 2025–35
196,200
Openings a year
Postsecondary nondegree award
Typical education
Under 2 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Turn or reposition bedridden patients.
- Answer patient call signals, signal lights, bells, or intercom systems to determine patients' needs.
- Feed patients or assist patients to eat or drink.
- Measure and record food and liquid intake or urinary and fecal output, reporting changes to medical or nursing staff.
- Provide physical support to assist patients to perform daily living activities, such as getting out of bed, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, standing, walking, or exercising.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then objects & tools?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Turn or reposition bedridden patients.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Monitoring.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
Under 2 years of education after high school (postsecondary nondegree award), for a median of $42,260 a year and 196,200 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Health AideCIP 51.2601
- Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/AideCIP 51.3902
- Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants, OtherCIP 51.3999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Home Health Aides
- Paramedics$60,600 · +5.7%
- Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses$64,400 · +3.0%
- Registered Nurses$97,550 · +5.6%
- Acute Care Nurses
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.