Last Updated on Feb 23, 2024 by James W
It is fair to say that a lot of people want to work with children. After all, many teachers describe working with young children as being similar to hanging out all day with people who have had a little bit to drink!
However, if you want to work with children in most settings, you are likely to need a qualification or two to get you through the doors. As you may well know, one of the most sought-after qualifications from employers is a qualification in early childhood education.
This qualification can prepare you for a variety of jobs working with young children in different settings.
Preschool Teacher
As a preschool teacher, you would plan and implement age-appropriate activities and lessons that promote children’s development and learning. This qualification will also help you to identify and help children who may have issues such as learning delays or learning disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder.
Childcare Center Director
As a childcare center director, you would oversee the daily operations of a childcare facility, manage staff, and ensure that the facility meets licensing and safety regulations.
You will also be responsible for ensuring that the teachers and other staff who work for you are taking care of the children correctly and that all of your staff’s qualifications and training are up to the state standard.
Early Intervention Specialist
As an early intervention specialist, you would work with young children who have developmental delays or disabilities and their families to provide support, resources, and interventions that promote their development and learning. Such professionals often work alongside social workers or doctors to ensure that families and children who have such issues are guided on how best to manage these issues and to ensure that if a problem arises, there is someone to help.
Parent Educator
Or, you could go in a somewhat half-and-half role and train as a parent educator. As a parent educator, you would work with parents of young children to provide guidance and support on child development, behavior management, and other parenting skills. As before, in most cases, this will involve helping the parents of children who have special needs, and you will be involved in providing advice and potentially pointing parents in the direction of additional help.
Home Visitor
As a home visitor, you would provide support and resources to families with young children in their homes, helping them to access community resources and services and promote their children’s development and learning.
This is a bit like social work, but typically it can involve working alongside social workers and community outreach programs to help families get the support that they need.
Child Development Researcher
Research into children and their developmental health is always going to be a popular area. So, why not opt for a career in helping researchers or even conducting your own research?
As a child development researcher, you would conduct research studies on various aspects of child development and learning with the aim of advancing knowledge in the field and improving practice.
