The top 5 reasons to work with elderly people

Would you like a job that really makes a difference in people’s lives? Have you ever considered working with the elderly? With a healthy job sector, good career prospects and plenty of different roles available, it may be the perfect choice.

For compassionate people, working with others in a role that feels like it truly means something is an important life pursuit. Many industries exist in which you can help others – whether that’s childcare, teaching, care work or working with the elderly. However, for some people, there’s no real substitute for the intensely rewarding nature of working with the elderly. Here’s just a few reasons why…

Elderly people are amazing

Let’s start with a positive – elderly people are often the source of some of the best stories you can hear. When working with the elderly, you’ll often be told stories of their youth or from the biggest events in their lives. These tales can span countries, loves, challenges and everything in between. If you’re a compassionate person, you can listen to these stories attentively and take lessons from them. Just the act of sitting and hearing older people out also helps them feel better, especially for those in aged care facilities who may not have many visitors.

It’s not just care work

When you think of working with the elderly, do you immediately default to care work? There are lots of different career paths available that involve working with elderly people to improve their quality of life without explicitly becoming a carer. You could, for example, study a CHC43415 Certificate IV in Leisure and Health and become an activities officer in a residential care facility – where you’ll design and lead programs to increase the physical health and overall happiness of residents.

It’s a secure job sector

Working with the elderly means having a job that’s always in demand. The government forecasts that over the next 5 years, there will be 179,000 job openings – or around 35,800 per year. That means a strong demand for future roles, making now a great time to start studying for a career in working with the elderly.

It’s important for the future of the country

Australia is an advancing society that benefits from a high life expectancy that is increasing each year. In short, this means we will have more elderly people than ever as the years go by. This Australian Institute of Health and Welfare graph shows how the elderly population will grow over the next 100 years.

This ageing population means Australia needs workers who will assist this elderly population with their physical, emotional and practical needs.

It’s extremely rewarding

Working with elderly people makes for an immensely rewarding career. Not only will you have the gratitude and thanks of the people you care for. You will also find yourself being thanked by a resident’s family.

Depending on what your role entails, you may help ease the physical and mental burdens associated with living in a care facility. You may also visit a client directly at their home and help lift their spirits. Regardless of your actual duties, as long as you are directly involved with the elderly and have compassion, you will be able to find a deep sense of job satisfaction that’s hard to replicate in any other job.