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Alex for Workforce · Career Pathway

How people get into Nursing Assistants

$38,880 typical pay · $45,010 top quarter

About 1,340 of these jobs around here. The most common entry is a high school diploma or ged, but under half of people in it came in that way; a certificate after high school is next.

Growing here This kind of work is projected to grow around here, so the opening you take is unlikely to be the last one.

What it takes to do this work

No state licence that we can see, but employers commonly ask for Certified Nursing Assistant. That is an employer preference rather than a legal gate, so some will hire and train instead. Financial aid is available for it, and WorkOne can tell you what it covers.

Certified Nursing Assistant Workforce Ready Grant
Issued by Indiana State Department of Health (registry). About 4 weeks (105 hours). Training listed at $600 to $1,800.

Financial aid means you may not pay this yourself. WorkOne checks what you qualify for at no cost and no obligation, and it is worth doing before you rule anything out on price.

The jobs people hold first

These are the jobs people hold before moving into this one. Doing one of them is not the only way in, and it is not a requirement. It is the route the data can actually see.

Work people come fromTypical pay Step upEvidence
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
No licence we can see
I do this now →
$35,060 +$3,820 Named career step
Childcare Workers
No licence we can see
I do this now →
$30,650 +$8,230 Related work
Animal Caretakers
No licence we can see
I do this now →
$30,440 +$8,440 Related work
Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
No licence we can see
I do this now →
$37,330 +$1,550 Related work
Physical Therapist Aides
No licence we can see
I do this now →
$38,050 +$830 Related work
Dietetic Technicians
No licence we can see
I do this now →
$31,590 +$7,290 Related work

Named career step Lightcast lists this as a career step from your kind of work, based on the skills the two jobs share and what local employers hire for. It is the strongest signal we have, though it is not a record of individual people moving.

Related work The federal O*NET occupation index lists this as related to your kind of work, because the two share skills and day-to-day activities. It is a match on the work itself, not a record of people moving between them.

We keep those labels apart because they are different strength claims, and none of them means we watched individual people make the move.

Routes that already pay more than nursing assistants are left out, because those are side moves rather than ways in. So are routes needing more schooling than you told us about.

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