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Health Aide

A program that prepares individuals to provide routine care and assistance to patients under the direct supervision of other health care professionals, and/or to perform routine maintenance and general assistance in health care facilities and laboratories.

Types of Degrees Health Aide Majors Are Earning

Those studying Health Aide may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	29
Associate’s Degree	18
Master’s Degree	159

What Health Aide Majors Need to Know

Programs in Health Aide emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Health Aide graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Health Aide emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Psychology — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 2.5 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 2.6 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Health Aide program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Service Orientation — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Health Aide careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Health Aide graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.8 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.6 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.4 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.2 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.0 / 7
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Health Aide professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Patient management software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Windows	Operating system software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	—
Apache Spark	Business intelligence and data analysis software	—
Health information database software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Medical record charting software	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Health Aide graduates include:

• Health Service Worker
• Clinical Assistant
• Qualified Medication Aide (QMA)
• Behavioral Aide
• BHA (Behavioral Health Aide)
• Charge Aide
• BHA (Behavioral Health Associate)
• Psychiatric Nursing Aide
• Psychiatric Attendant
• Behavioral Health Assistant
• Psychiatric Technician Assistant (Psychiatric Tech Assistant)
• Developmental Aide
• Behavior Support Assistant
• Residential Care Tech (Residential Care Technician)
• Psychiatric Assistant

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Health Aide graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Some college courses	42.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	25.6%
Postsecondary certificate	17.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	9.6%
Bachelor’s degree	4.3%
First professional degree	0.4%
Master’s degree	0.3%
Less than a high school diploma	0.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Health Aide?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 88.7% of Health Aide degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	433	88.7%
Men	55	11.3%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Health Aide graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	185	37.9%
Asian	53	10.9%
Hispanic or Latino	143	29.3%
Black or African American	85	17.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.2%
Two or More Races	11	2.3%
Race Unknown	9	1.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Health Aide Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Health Aide graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$21,334
4 years	$27,226
5 years	$29,985

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $29,985 — roughly 41% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Health Aide Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Health Aide graduates earn a median of $27,226 four years after completion — about 28% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/Aide	44,550
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants, Other	4,506
Health Aides/Attendants/Orderlies	3,143
Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician	2,601
Home Health Aide/Home Attendant	1,704
Medication Aide	724
Rehabilitation Aide	158
Health Aides/Attendants/Orderlies, Other	49
Physical Therapy Technician/Aide	20

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.