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Career Options in Early Childhood Education

Deepa Kartha
Do you enjoy the company of little kids? Have you always loved to take up babysitting as a part-time job during your high school years? Then choosing early childhood education as a career would be ideal for you. Let us tell you more about this profession.
Children are curious about everything they see around them. They are energetic and take in everything that they observe. Dealing with children can be challenging as it needs a lot of patience. In recent times, early childhood education has become a popular among the youth as a career. If you love to interact with kids, then you will enjoy this profession.
A person who wants to pursue a career in early childhood education would have to work not only with toddlers and kindergarten children, but also with newborn babies. Whatever kids learn during childhood remains with them throughout their life. So, it is important to impart them with important values and skills from a very young age.
This field offers many career options. You can choose one that interests you. Many educational institutions offer courses with its specialization. One also has the option to do these courses on-line. Listed here are some of the career options in this field.

Child Daycare Worker

Pursuing a high school diploma in this stream will help you to take up the job of a day care worker. Here you will get a chance to interact with little babies and toddlers.
You can start your own daycare center, or apply at a center run by someone else. In this job, you need to be creative and innovative to teach children the basic skills through fun games and activities. This is quite a flexible job, where you can work either part-time or full-time.

Preschool Teacher

Preschool teachers teach kids who are 1 to 3 years old. In this age kids start exploring their surroundings, and have numerous queries in their mind. This job would be great if you have the patience and interest to be in the company of young children.
An associate degree or a bachelor's degree in this subject will be beneficial for this profession. In these courses, you are required to study about child development and child psychology. You will also be taught methods of teaching the kids basic concepts like alphabets, colors, numbers, etc.
Teaching in an education center primarily involves the use of fun, educational activities. The teacher is also responsible for enhancing the social skills, and developing self-confidence in the kids.

Kindergarten or Elementary School Teacher

Kindergarten and elementary school teachers have the responsibility of the academic education of children.
At this stage, kids have to be taught to read and write, and also be exposed to variety of subjects like maths, science, social studies, etc. This is a preparatory stage before high school, so the focus is on teaching basic concepts and skills related to various subjects.
It is necessary to have a bachelor's degree to teach at this level. This course helps the trainee teachers to develop expertise in teaching difficult concepts to kids, and also to deal with them in the classroom.
The children in class will have different capabilities, family backgrounds, etc. Sometimes there may even be kids who have certain limitations or difficulties. A good teacher should have the ability to attend to the needs of every child.

Education Administrator

Administrators are needed in every educational institution, be it a school or a day care center. Their duty is to supervise the everyday activities of the school. They are responsible for the smooth functioning of the school.
They are responsible for the smooth functioning of the school. They have to chalk out the curriculum, make budgets, and monitor the working of the teachers and other staff members. It is a full-time job and requires a Master's Degree or a PhD in the field.

Post Secondary Teacher

A post secondary teacher is a person who has a master's degree, and teaches children at the high school level. They can also take up the job of teaching student trainees who are pursuing bachelor or associate degree courses in this stream.
This field is a fast growing one with a plethora of career opportunities. Salaries would depend on the career path you have chosen in this field. Along with the monetary gain, the best thing about the field is the opportunity to shape and mold the personalities of young children.