5 Great Child Development Careers
- Preschool Teacher
- Kindergarten Teacher
- Child Care Director
- Child Social Worker
- Nanny
For someone looking to find a job in the child development sector, there are many different opportunities. Some jobs require more basic and simple care while others are very educational and focus on teaching children basic skills. Working with children during their developmental years is a rewarding and interesting career opportunity. Below are five great careers in child development.
1. Preschool Teacher
Preschool aged children are usually three or four years old. This is an age where children are learning to follow directions, they are working to write and read and their social developments are flourishing. Children at this age will learn to play well with others, share, interact and much more. Working in this setting is very fast paced and rewarding. Children respond well at this age, to songs, music, art and interactive play. You can create a variety of educational lessons and experiences that will help shape the children in your class.
2. Kindergarten Teacher
Once children are in kindergarten, they are ready to participate in a full day of instruction. This is still a fun age where children participate in hands on activities to reinforce what they have learned in math and reading. At the age of five, many children are reading simple words and learning to sound things out. This is a rewarding age to work with because you can really instill a love of reading into the children in your classroom.
3. Child Care Director
A child care director will work with a variety of age groups to provide supervision but also educational support. Most children who are in a child care situation also attend school. This setting is designed to give children a safe place to stay while their parents are working or away. That doesn’t mean this isn’t an important learning opportunity. Further teaching takes place in a child care setting to help reinforce what has been taught at school. Social interaction is also a big lesson learned at this level.
4. Child Social Worker
There are a number of settings that a social worker can work in when they want to work with children. There are social workers that are in a school setting. The job at this level is designed to provide support at school but also at home if there are issues. Things like attendance, interaction with peers, behavior in the class room, etc. are often a focus of a social worker in a school setting. Communication takes place between students, teachers, parents and other staff members.
Related Resource: Top 50 Most Affordable Bachelor’s in Elementary Education or Early Childhood Education Online 2018
5. Nanny
This is a very hands on role that many people prefer to provide as their profession. A nanny will work with a variety of different age groups to provide basic care like feeding, changing, bathing, social interaction, play and so on. This is also a very educational role as activities take place over the course of the day like reading, singing and playing. A formal education isn’t necessarily involved in this position but there is always a good amount of experience needed to provide exceptional care.