STNAs provide direct nursing care to residents in long-term care — typically in Ohio under state licensure — handling personal care, vitals, and the hands-on work.
State Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA) pay typically runs $36K–$46K at this level, and jobs in this field are projected to grow 2% through 2034.
Workdays involve rotating between residents for vitals, personal care, and assistance with daily living. Long-term care has a different rhythm than hospital work — slower, more relationship-driven, with residents you see for months or years.
Collaboration involves nurses, residents, families, activities staff, and others. What's harder than expected is the emotional weight — long-term residents become familiar over time, and end-of-life moments hit harder when you've known someone for years and watched them decline.
Those who thrive tend to be patient, warm, and able to find meaning in routine care. If you find satisfaction in being a steady presence in residents' lives, the role often feels deeply meaningful — long-term care relationships have weight that acute care doesn't. People who can't carry the cumulative grief, or who can't handle the slow pace of long-term care, usually find STNA work harder than they expected.
Don't know if you want to stay in your job?
Get your career on record. Then decide.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Turn your career record
into a springboard for growth.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Healthcare roles →STNAs provide direct nursing care to residents in long-term care — typically in Ohio under state licensure — handling personal care, vitals, and the hands-on work.
Median pay for a State Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA) is about $40K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $31K to $50K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Monitoring, and Speaking.
Most people in this role hold a high school diploma.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 2.3% through 2034, with roughly 1.4 million people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Nursing Director, Nurse Technician, and Hospital Attendant.
Do one small thing to grow in your career this week. Pick one of these; each comes with the words to use.
More career advice
We believe careers grow through small steps taken often, more than big leaps. So we’ve collected hundreds of them for you to try.
Browse career adviceDon't do Truest if you aren't ready
to invest in yourself and your career.
Don't know if you want to stay in your job?
Get your career on record. Then decide.