Working in the care industry

As some of you may know since we came back from our travels last year I have been doing live-in care work. When I started this job I worked with a lady with cerebral palsy and now I work with a lady with MS. I have also worked with a couple of ladies with dementia. 

Care work in all its forms is demanding both mentally and physically but I think more so with live-in as you never get to switch off at the end of the day. For the past year I have worked 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off except for a couple of times where I have had a little longer off, (4 weeks in August, 3 weeks at Xmas and 6 weeks with a broken arm!) 

As I am self employed I can choose when I work. The agency I work through are brilliant and as long as I tell them when I can and cant work they can fit me in usually with my regular lady but if not with someone else. 

Some care agencies ask their carers to do much longer stints which I think is fine for single people but can be hard on those in relationships. One of the downsides for me is missing my partner, my dogs and home but as 2 weeks is not that long it is easy to cope with. 

One thing that has taken me by surprise though is that at around the same time I started working again last year we met a whole load of new people on the site we sometimes stay on. At a festival recently I was suddenly hit by the fact that my partner has bonded with a lot of these people far more than me. Of course he has spent far more time with them as he goes there a lot when he is on his own and not so much when I am back. He has also been tattooing quite a few of the same people so it is only natural that he has bonded with them more.  

It has been a weird feeling though as after 8 years together and the last 5 travelling together and hardly ever being apart suddenly we have very separate lives. Next year I hope not to work quite as much and spend more time with my partner and our friends. 

On the upside I am so glad my job is about helping someone live their life to their full potential, about helping someone stay in their own home and feel as independent as possible. I am also glad that I am not slogging my guts out for some horrible multinational company who doesn't care about me as a person. 

For me living on the road in our van, it is an ideal job in some ways. My job is fairly well paid, when you break it down to an hourly rate it doesn't look that great but I have no expenses while I am away working except phone calls home and petrol if I want to drive somewhere in my break. So I come back with a decent lump sum and as our expenses are minimal we are able to save money. 

Care work is very rewarding and if you are thinking about it as a career I would recommend it. Not everyone suits live-in but there are plenty of different types of care work out there from a couple of hours a week to full-time. Hours are variable and can sometimes fit in around other commitments.