Certified Nursing Assistant
Impact: Direct Patient Care
Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) provide basic care to patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities. They assist patients with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, and mobility. CNAs also monitor vital signs, document patient information, and communicate with nurses and other healthcare professionals.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- Team-oriented
- Client facing
- Always
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- Low
- Schedule flexibility
- Rigid
- Remote work
- On-site Only
- Typical work hours
- Full-time
- Stress level
- High
At a glance
- Median salary
- $36,000
- Entry-level
- $28,000
- Senior
- $48,000
- Growth by 2033
- 5%
- Demand
- Growing
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- 25%
- Typical student debt
- $5,000 - $10,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Vital Sign Monitoring
- Patient Care
- Documentation
Soft skills
- Empathy
- Communication
- Patience
Technical complexity: Low
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- Licensing
- Yes
- Years to mid-career
- 3
- Years to senior
- 7
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- CNA to LPN to RN
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- Low
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Growing
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.5/10
- Meaning
- 4/10
- Work-life balance
- 3/10
- Prestige
- 3.5/10
- Social perception
- High