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Personal care

Recreation workers

Typically requires High school diploma or equivalent

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
RiskyLow uncertainty

Analyst take: Softer prospects — +4.1% projected growth, low AI exposure (24/100).

36
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. Narrow = some shelter, but AI can reach a real share of its tasks.

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Low uncertainty means the score leans mostly on measured data (growth, pay) rather than forward-looking bets, so it's comparatively solid.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +Low AI exposure — resilient (24% of tasks exposed).
  • +Strong projected growth — outpaces 67% of careers (+4.1%).
🐻 Bears say
  • Below-median pay ($35,380).
📜 Reality check — how the last forecast for this career fared

In 2014, the U.S. government projected +10.3% growth for this career by 2024. What actually happened: -13.6%. Reality fell short of the forecast — a reminder that every number on this page is an estimate, and this is how the last one aged. Full back-test →

Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
+4.1%
Median pay
$35,380
AI exposure
24/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 30 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$23,048
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Outdoor Education
Selective schools offering these majors
Brevard College
NC · 42% admit rate
$47,288/yr
$43,545 grad pay
State University of New York at Cortland
NY · 60% admit rate
$28,108/yr
$60,236 grad pay
Young Harris College
GA · 63% admit rate
$48,301/yr
$47,195 grad pay
Asbury University
KY · 63% admit rate
$47,459/yr
$42,368 grad pay
Northwest Nazarene University
ID · 65% admit rate
$55,163/yr
$51,719 grad pay
Toccoa Falls College
GA · 66% admit rate
$37,561/yr
$36,630 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

peopleservicecare