Avantages
Health and benefits, (sometimes) flexible hours, you help people who really need it, you can possibly have downtime to spend as you choose.
Inconvénients
A single person who lives alone can not support themselves with 40 hrs/week alone. Depending on your assignment, you might be dealing with a lot of urine and feces and wonder why you make less than people at jobs that don't. HR cannot be reached half the time. Due to missteps by staff when I was first hired, the initiation of PTO and health benefits was delayed months and months. HR staff kept passing responsibility to someone else and failed to follow up. Now, I've spent a year on the job and I still don't have an insurance card. The only reason I don't continue to fuss HR about it is that I am seeking other work. Communication is not a strong part of the work culture. Pillar will often drop a trainee in on your shift with no prior notice or fail to inform you ahead of time about a new or changed medication. Occasionally, I was made responsible for clients from other houses, making me responsible for 4 or 5 people, again, without warning. Keeping payscale up to inflation is not a priority for the administration. This past winter, wages were only raised from 11.50 to 13.50 because turnover made it impossible to staff houses without adding 20 hours to many DSP's weekly shifts. Pillar always pays well below the standard for similar jobs in the area.