There are lots of myths you might have heard about working in social care. However, with a wide range of jobs available and lots of opportunities to progress, social care can be a rewarding and life long career.


Myth 1: Social care is all about personal care

Social care is all about supporting people to live independently in a way that they choose, and personal care is just one of the ways you could do this. However, if that puts you off, there are lots of other social care roles that don’t involve personal care.

People also need support going to work, taking part in social activities, finding housing or recovering after an accident.

Have a look at roles like counsellor, rehabilitation worker and activity coordinator.


Myth 2: Social care is just working with old people

Working with older people can be a very rewarding role, but if it doesn’t appeal to you there are lots of other options.

You could support a person with a physical disability, someone with a mental health condition, a young woman with a learning disability, an adult with autism or a young man who’s had a brain injury.

So depending which job you choose, you could be working with someone your age or younger!



Myth 3: Social care is badly paid

It isn’t as badly paid as you think! All employers must pay the living wage but many social care employers pay more to show how they value their staff.

Unlike some other sectors there are lots of opportunities to progress in your career, which means moving into roles that pay more.

When you get your first role in social care, the salary of an entry level care assistant can be up to £16,000 which is often more than other sectors.

It doesn’t stop there, if you progress to becoming a Registered Manager, you could earn over £5,000 more per year than the average salary of a retail store manager.


Myth 4: Social care is a dead-end job

There are lots of opportunities to progress in a career in care, especially now the sector is integrating more with the health sector.

Because you can learn and gain qualifications as you’re working, you can quickly progress into roles with more responsibility or branch out and specialise. What’s more, social care is an ever-growing sector with new roles and progression routes appearing every year. You have complete job security. 


Myth 5: Social care is all about working in a care home

Jobs in residential care homes are probably the most well-known jobs and there are lots available. However, there are other opportunities.

You could find a role working in someone’s own home (domiciliary or homecare) or in the community (in a day centre for example). There are also jobs in health centres, GP practices, local council offices and in hospitals.


Find out more:

If we haven’t convinced you already, visit to read more about starting your career in social care today.