How to Make Money on Care.com: How Much Can You Really Earn?

If you have been searching for employment opportunities in primary care services, then Care.com might be the perfect job platform for you. Whether it is urgent care, medical care, senior citizen care, or pet care services, Care.com offers great job opportunities. You can also provide nanny services, tutoring services, or housekeeping services through the platform as well.

But, how much can you make on Care.com? This article includes a step-by-step guide on how to become a Care.com caregiver that includes the pay ranges for the different positions offered by the platform. You can also learn more about the pros and cons of working on Care.com and read about tips to help you succeed in making extra money with caregiving jobs.

What Is Care.com?

Care.com is a marketplace for care and a digital platform that provides access to family care, urgent care, and medical care services. It offers employment opportunities to caregivers through many kinds of services. If you are wondering how to land a job during Covid-19, Care.com also has virtual care positions you can apply for. 

Care.com aims to provide care services at affordable rates. The platform helps families acquire quality care services by connecting an apt caregiver with a care seeker. Its services do not simply extend to personal care seekers but also commercial care services as well. Care.com works with companies to provide quality care benefits including child care centers and daycare services. 

Big organizations including TripAdvisor, Delta Airlines, Twitter, HubSpot, Northwestern University, Pillsbury, and Akamai use Care.com services. Along with caregiver positions, the corporate level of Care.com also offers many full-time positions in data, tech, business, and marketing. 

How Does Care.com Work?

If you are a care seeker, you can post a job ad on this platform and use your Care.com membership to find a desirable care provider. You can also conduct a background check on your shortlisted candidates using the company’s tools. If you are a caregiver in search of part-time or full-time employment, you can sign up on the platform to start applying for relevant job postings. 

Care.com does not employ care providers directly. All care providers need to clear the company’s CareCheck background check to be eligible to work. Depending on certain care needs, clients can get an array of family care services such as backup care, lifecare, breastfeeding support, tutoring services, housekeeping services, care for injuries, and more.

How Much Can You Actually Make on Care.com?

According to Care.com salaries on Indeed, the average pay is $20.34 per hour for a childcare provider, $15.17 per hour for housekeeping services, and $14.39 per hour for those who work as nannies. According to Care.com salaries on Glassdoor, the most common nanny pay rates range between $16 per hour to $19 per hour, and the typical pay for a childcare provider is $19 per hour. 

Your earning potential on Care.com is highly dependent on a number of factors. The base pay rates you can make vary by your job title, experience, state, and employment status with the company. According to Care.com, New York, Chicago, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Houston are the cities with the highest babysitting and nanny position hourly rates. 

The Pros and Cons of Working on Care.com

So, what are the pros and cons of working on Care.com? Now that you know the salary ranges for Care.com service providers, it’s time to find if this employment platform is the right fit for you. Below are the pros and cons of working on Care.com as an independent contractor. 

Pros of Working on Care.com

• Good ratings on popular job search platforms. According to worker reviews on Indeed, Care.com has a 4.2 overall rating, 4.2 on work-life balance, 3.8 on management, and 4.0 on culture categories. These reviews are given by current caregivers and full-time employees.  
• Work flexibility. For those of you who are in search of the best part-time jobs in the care services sector, Care.com’s job postings are worth looking into. The platform offers flexible job opportunities including remote jobs, freelance positions, and tons of full-time and part-time job opportunities. 
• Care.com Benefits Bucks. Care.com offers a benefits package to its independent caregivers. Care.com takes a percentage of its transaction fee and adds that to a benefits program for each caregiver that can reach up to $500 per year. These benefits can be applied to healthcare, transportation costs, prescriptions, and education costs. 
• Land a care service job without a degree. Another benefit of working at Care.com as a care service provider is you do not need to have a degree to get a job. You simply need to sign up and clear a free annual background check to get part-time jobs. The platform also offers memberships you can buy to become a more visible candidate to care seekers. 
• Get a legal care service job. By finding work through Care.com job postings, you get paid legally as a nanny or other childcare positions. Being paid legally is not traditional across this service sector, as most families pay caregivers via cash. By getting paid through Care.com’s HomePay, you can qualify for home loans, car loans, health insurance, and social security benefits. 

Cons of Working on Care.com

• High competition rate. Depending on your home state and the number of care-seeking members, one job posting can attract a high number of applicants. Having a premium caregiver membership account, previous work experience, special qualifications, and professional references can help you elevate your chances of being hired. 
• No employment protection. As a caregiver or an independent contractor, you don’t have access to a lot of employment protection plans. The job security and the determination of the number of work hours are solely up to the care seeker. 
• Poor work-life balance and pay rates. According to negative reviews on Glassdoor, the work-life balance is poor because of the high workload. Employees also complain about low pay rates. As the pay rate is at the discretion of the care seeker, compensation can be low. You can only accept the highest-paying job, but you will face greater competition. 
• Only available in top cities. Care.com services are currently only available in big cities across the US. Those residing in a small town or remote city will either have to commute a large distance or cannot access the job opportunities on Care.com. 

How to Become a Care.com Caregiver

Read on to find out exactly how to become a caregiver on Care.com. Below is a step-by-step guide for landing a job through Care.com. Be sure to customize the steps to meet your personal job preferences and professional background. 

1. Sign up on the official Care.com website

The first step to becoming a caregiver on Care.com is to sign up as a service provider on the official website or with your mobile device. All you have to do is click on the ‘join now’ button and fill in your profile details. The preliminary sign-up questions for your profile include legal first and last name, mailing address, zip code, phone number, and email and password. 

2. Choose your specific service 

While signing up and filling in your preliminary profile question sections, you need to choose a specific care service. Upon initially signing up, Care.com only allows you to choose one care service, but you can choose additional services later. Taking on a variety of care duties can help you find work without a lengthy waiting period.

The available care service choices include babysitting, tutoring, housekeeping, senior citizen care, nanny services, childcare services, special needs tutoring, in-home daycare, pet care services, and odd jobs services. You need to choose one of these above-mentioned services to begin your profile as a care service provider. 

3. Fill in your job summary and other profile sections 

Once you have created an account, you need to fill in your professional profile section. You need to add a professional summary detailing your past experiences that are relevant to the service you want to provide. You will need to include your salary range, desired work location, years of experience, and job titles. 

You should include a friendly professional picture to increase your chances of getting hired. This section also allows you to add relevant references, professional certifications, and other special qualifications to increase your chances of getting hired. Caregiver profiles play an important role in determining your likelihood of being hired. 

4. Clear the CareCheck background check process

After completing your professional summary and profile section, you will need to go through a background check to become eligible as a Care.com caregiver. Care.com conducts a mandatory CareCheck background check on all its independent contractors every year. 

You will need to provide your social security number and legal first and last name for the background check process. CareCheck checks for criminal offenses associated with the name and social security number. You might also be checked for additional offenses including traffic violations and civil records. 

5. Apply for your desired caregiver jobs

After your profile is approved, you are now ready to provide caregiving services on the platform. To become a care service provider, start by browsing your desired job posts. For those of you who are interested in providing more than one service, remember to update your care service list. 

You will need to clear the application selection round and clients might require an interviewing process. Getting a premium caregiver member account will make you more visible to care seekers and provide you access to more job openings in your area. You might also have to go through further background checks if your potential employer chooses to do so prior to hiring you. 

How to Make More Money on Care.com 

Now that you know the steps to take to become a care service provider on Care.com, keep reading to find out how to make more money on the platform. As Care.com doesn’t provide full-time positions and job security to its independent contractors, you might be subjected to an unstable pay rate. 

Add a picture to your profile 

A common mistake of many independent contractors looking for part-time or flexible jobs is to create a profile that doesn’t have a picture. Posting a picture to your care service provider profile on Care.com isn’t mandatory, but adding one will allow the care seekers to connect a face with the profile and see you as a trusted health care provider rather than a complete stranger.

Seeing who you are will give the care seeker more peace of mind. Having a picture on your profile will instill more credibility to your candidacy and will increase your chances of getting hired. In turn, this will increase your chances of making more money. 

Add your professional certifications to your profile 

The second tip is to add all relevant professional certifications to your profile. Showing competency to your potential employer is crucial to landing a job and professional certifications will allow you to do that.

For example, nurse practitioners hoping to get a senior citizen care provider position should be sure to mention their professional license on their profile. This also applies to your first aid certifications or other caregiver certifications. 

Evaluate your current hourly rate and increase it 

The next tip to earning higher average salaries on Care.com is to increase your hourly pay rate. To do this you should first reevaluate your current pay range. Compare your professional experience and average location rate with the rate calculator on the platform. If you have a lower rate currently listed, you can increase your pay rate. 

Apply for various jobs

For those of you who are looking for more part-time options, you should include more services in your profile and apply for as many jobs as you can. Sign up for daily errand jobs, pet sitting jobs, and other transportation jobs to increase your income through the platform. 

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If you have a flexible schedule, take advantage of that by fitting in less time-intensive jobs when you have the time. For example, you could take advantage of babysitting opportunities every so often while the parents go on a single date night rather than looking for babysitting jobs that require you on an ongoing basis. 

Send customized applications 

An important tip to remember is to always send customized applications to make a bigger impression on your potential employers. Be sure to avoid sending in any generic job applications that do not showcase 100 percent commitment towards the job. Detail your soft skills and any caregiving responsibilities you have had in the past that make you qualified for the role. 

Is Working on Care.com Worth It?

Working on Care.com is worth it if you are interested in earning extra income providing care services. It is a great part-time employment source that offers up to $500 per year in benefits for its care providers. However, know that it might not be beneficial or fully reliable for those interested in getting a full-time job with steady pay and promising job security. 

Making Money on Care.com FAQ