Become a social support worker: test the job before the French DEAES

A typical day

• 7 am: in the residential unit, you read the night handover; Marc slept badly and the nurse has left an instruction.
• 7.30 am: getting up and an assisted wash; Marc picks his jumper and buttons his shirt himself while you wait.
• 9.30 am: cooking workshop with three residents, each peeling or stirring according to what they can do.
• 12 pm: lunch; you seat Claire upright, notice a cough and report it straight away.
• 2.30 pm: a trip to the market with two wheelchair users, route and toilets checked the day before.
• 5 pm: team meeting on Claire's support plan, with the educator and the psychologist.
• 7.45 pm: last written handover notes, dated facts with no judgement, before the evening shift arrives.

How to become an educational and social support worker

In France, the job requires the state diploma of educational and social support worker (DEAES), a level 3 qualification reformed in 2021. It combines 546 hours of classes, 840 hours of placements in at least two settings and an emergency first-aid course, over 10 to 24 months depending on the pace. No prior diploma is needed: selection is by application and interview. Adult career changers go through adult training, an apprenticeship or a professional contract, and people who have already worked with older or disabled people can apply for accreditation of prior experience (VAE). In English-speaking countries, similar support roles are usually entered through on-the-job training and care certificates. The G-Learn trial is a first step to find out whether this daily life suits you: its certificate is not a diploma.

Pay

According to Onisep (profile consulted in November 2026), an AES in France starts at around €1,867 gross a month in the civil service. Pay depends on the employer (charity, public institution, home-care service), the collective agreement, seniority, bonuses and night or weekend work. Over time, experience and further training, such as a bridge to the care assistant diploma, can open other roles.

The hard parts

• A physical job: lifting, transferring and helping people wash several times a day strains your back and shoulders, even with mobility aids.
• Rotating shifts with weekends, bank holidays, sometimes nights or split days in home care, which weigh on family life.
• A real emotional load: panic attacks, challenging behaviour, end of life and the death of people you may have supported for years.

Sources: Onisep — Educational and social support worker profile · IRTS Hauts-de-France — The AES job, 2023 · CFPPA Baie de Somme — DEAES brochure 2026 · DREES — Études et Résultats no. 1145 (via Banque des Territoires)