Making a Career Out of
Working With Children

What Careers Work With Children?

It’s important to recognize that there are many different roles that work with children, specifically when it comes to helping shape the future of a child and monitoring their overall growth and development. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular careers you can explore if you’re interested in working with children.

Daycare Workers

One of the most common forms of Early Childhood education is a daycare facility. An estimated 62% of children go to daycare or a center-based facility for child care. This can also include an in-home daycare facility.

There are certain guidelines that you must follow if you want to become a daycare worker. Whether the daycare is run from your home or an official establishment is one of the major components that’s considered. With all daycare settings, however, you’ll need to meet certain state licensing guidelines and pass affiliated tests and routine inspections. This is a great way to work with children if you enjoy working with infants and toddlers.

Assistant Teachers

Assistant teachers are childcare professionals who work alongside a lead teacher. Assistant teachers exist in school settings, daycare facilities, and early childhood settings like pre-K. To become an assistant teacher, you generally need to follow state guidelines and obtain the required credentials. You can also be on the way to obtaining these credentials while working as an assistant teacher. While a bachelor’s degree in education will help position you for success in this role, it’s not always necessary.

Lead Teachers

Lead teachers are an essential part of a child’s education. These teachers can be found in daycare settings, preschools, and in the public and private school systems. Lead teachers will generally have a bachelor’s degree in childhood education. This degree might be specialized for roles such as Early Childhood education or secondary childhood education. Many lead teachers also hold master’s degrees in the art of teaching or in education, though it’s not a requirement.

To become a lead teacher, you’ll generally need to meet the licensure standards of the state. In Nevada, the licensure guidelines are outlined in the state’s Department of Education homepage.

Administrators

Administrators, including directors of Early Childhood facilities, are equally important careers that work with children. While these professionals will work one-on-one with students, they also work with parents, communities, and affiliate organizations. They aim to improve student outcomes and connect families with support, such as Early Childhood education resources.

Taking on a more leadership role, administrators are tasked with overseeing and setting policies, maintaining compliance, and other administrative duties. For many educators, this is a role they work up to after gaining experience in the classroom.

How To Start and Progress in Careers Working With Children

There are many avenues you can take to start a career working with children. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common ways you can start a career working with kids in an educational setting.

New to the Field Students and Degree Holders

The most traditional avenue is going through a four-year university program where you study the science and methodologies of teaching. These programs typically require you to take a range of classes covering everything from Early Childhood development to more tactical classes like pedagogy and teaching best practices.

Through these classes, you’ll learn skills, such as Early Childhood education lesson plan strategies and more. Once you earn your degree in education, you’ll need to take associated exams to obtain your teaching license. Learn more about Nevada’s licensure requirements here.

Career Switchers

You don’t have to have a degree in education to pursue an education career. In fact, there are many career switchers who come from entirely different fields and start a new career in education.

In Nevada, you’ll need to meet licensure requirements to obtain a teaching license. Licensure requirements include having a degree from an accredited university. In some cases, you can obtain a provisional license if you can show that you are enrolled and are taking classes to obtain the necessary credentials if you don’t have them yet.

Career Advancers

Many people in Early Childhood education start in entry-level roles. This may include working as a teacher’s assistant or teacher’s aide, a paraprofessional, or even an administrative staff member. By gaining experience and taking advantage of professional development opportunities, you can build the skills and credentials needed to grow in the field.

What Are the Rewards and Challenges of Working With Children?

The spectrum of the rewards and challenges that come with working with children is wide.
If you ask most educators, they’ll tell you that the rewards significantly outweigh the challenges. More importantly, having the relevant skill set needed to work with children can significantly reduce the challenges while maximizing the reward.

Helping Children Grow

One of the biggest benefits of working with children is your first-hand ability to foster their growth and development. Teachers play a critical role in shaping the minds of young children, especially children in Early Childhood education.

You’ll work one-on-one with children and their families, helping to create individualized education plans that will help them succeed — not just in the short term but also throughout their lives.

Building Community Relationships

Another rewarding aspect of working with children is the connection to the community you’ll build. You’ll work directly with families and will have first-hand insight on how to help families succeed. Many educators will tell you they feel substantial reward in helping to connect families to community resources that they might have otherwise been unaware of. These resources can significantly impact the way a family functions and a child’s experience while in school.

Behavioral Challenges

Many teachers will tell you that one of the biggest challenges they face when working with children is behavioral disruptions. All children are unique, and with that, they bring unique challenges into the classroom. To best meet a child’s needs, you will regularly be undergoing skills development to help improve your classroom management and behavioral response abilities.

Job Prospects and Growth Opportunities in Child-Related Fields

Careers in Early Childhood education, in general, are one of the most secure occupations you can pursue. There is always a growing need for children, especially now more than ever. Job security is one of the biggest benefits that pull educators into the field.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, preschool teachers are expected to grow by 4%, as fast as average across all other job occupations. For many people completing a university program to become an educator or those switching to education, finding jobs in the field is usually not a struggle.

Start Your Career With Sunrise Children’s Foundation

At Sunrise Children’s Foundations, we’re proud to help hopeful childhood educators like you start their careers on the right foot. As a proud provider of quality Early Childhood education, we’re committed to providing the best support to children and their families. At the same time, we recognize the need to provide exceptional support to our staff and teachers, providing them with opportunities for growth within the industry.

If you’re looking to start an exciting career in Early Childhood Education, our organization can help. Learn more about early Head Start jobs and how to make an impact in the field while transforming your own life when you get in touch with our team. Have questions? We’ve got answers. Learn more about our Early Childhood Education career FAQs.

Discover childcare jobs at Sunrise Children’s Foundation today.