Cooking, cleaning and running errands for my Dad who is 76. Am I eligible to be considered a real job?

You have nothing on your profile telling us about Dad. Why do you have to cook, clean and run errands?

If Dad has money he can afford someone to come in and clean. It could be once a month. How dirty can a house get for one person. Cooking? Can he afford to have dinner delivered? Sometimes these restaurants give enough food for two people. Since you run errands I am assuming Dad doesn't drive? Can he use a Senior bus? There are resources out there you just have to do a little research.

I believe people need to be as independent as possible.

No. I didn't consider myself a caregiver til, I actually had Mom here in my home. Then I had to make sure she did things or if she couldn't, I did them for her. Once she was in the AL and LTC, they were doing the hands on caregiving.

Do you mean can you get paid for doing this? Probably not. If you plug “caregiver agreement” into the search bar on this site, it will take you to a document you and he can fill out and sign. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a lawyer look it over for tax purposes. Dad will have to pay you out of his own funds. Is there a government agency who will pay you? 99% nope. What you might get in some states would no way be considered a “living wage” and there is no health insurance or retirement fund. And,depending in how it goes with Dad, if you have to leave a job to care for him, your job skills wil suffer.