Working in a daycare?

Question

I'm 14 and I'll be a freshman in high school next year in Texas. It might be a little early to think about what I want to do in life (or so I'm told...) but I am. I want to work in a daycare and I have a few questions.

How is the pay?

What education/experience would I need?

Anything else I should know?

Answer 1

I work in a daycare/preschool right now and I have only been there for about 3 months but I love it. Yes the pay isnt all that great. But its enough. In my daycare I didnt need educational experience. I am in college and majoring in elementary education but I am not even close yet. It will depend on where you work what education you need. Experience wise it always helps to have experience with kids. Anything will be better than nothing.

If you like kids you will love this job! I love kids and I love my job. The kids are amazing. If you are having a bad day you can walk into a room with those kids and play and joke around and you day totally changes. Kids are amazing and helping them learn and grow is a great opportunity and you can learn and grow yourself.

If you like kids I would highly recommed working in a daycare/preschool.

Answer 2

At first, no, the pay will not be that great.  However, there are many career paths that a motivated teacher can follow.  I started off as an assistant teacher at a daycare while I was still in college. At the time, I made $8.50 per hour (this was in 1998.) After I graduated, (I did not major in Early Childhood Education, although I kind of wish I had, because it's such an interesting subject!) I took a position running an infant program, managing staff and designing the program curriculum. Throughout the years,  I also taught gymnastics, music, swimming and art--it's always a good idea to specialize in something, specialty teachers usually make a higher salary/hourly rate.  Nine years later,  I'm the director for a The Little Gym (link below)  and my goal is to open my own franchise in a few years.  I don't make big money, but I get by just fine.  AND I go to work in track pants, I'm barefoot all day, and I get paid to turn cartwheels and do the Chicken Dance and get tons of hugs.  You can't beat it.  That being said, there is also a strong business aspect to most childcare programs, which will be essential for you to understand if you do want to make a career out of this.  In addition to early childhood education courses, marketing, accounting, and management are all courses you should take in college--and yes, you will defintely need a college degree of some sort.....no matter what you wind up doing, go to college!  Even a 2 year degree from a community college and a CDA (Child Development Associate credential) will get you a step ahead in the game.

In the meantime, get as much experience as you can with kids.  Babysitting is always a good path, as is tutoring/mentoring at an elementary school or HeadStart program.  You can also work at a summer camp as a volunteer or junior counselor.  Check with your local Red Cross, and if you're old enough, see if you can take a course to be Infant/Child CPR and First Aid certified.  It's a great skill to put on your "resume" and may even earn you a few more bucks an hour as a babysitter.  Parents will be impressed, to say the least.  

Not everyone has what it takes to be a good teacher, but if it's "in" you at 14, that's a great sign!  The personal rewards will make it worth it....work hard, keep learning, and the money will come.  I wish you nothing but luck! :)

Answer 3

pay is not great. It's usally about minimum wage, maybe a little higher. You can advance, to be a manager, or owner of a daycare, which pays more.

Some don't require any education. Depends on where you are planning on working. Some would like you to have a bachelors, or 2 year degree on child development, or child psychology

Childcare is tough at times! You might want to try volunteering at a church's nursery, daycare, or babysit to see if it really interests you! I work with young children, and love it! I don't know for sure WHAT i want to do later on, but i know that working with kids is very rewarding!

Answer 4

Generally the pay is pretty low for those working in a daycare. It depends on if you live in a city or rural area, how much education you get, and if you want to have your own day care center or day care home.

There are options in order to work on the higher end of pay, such as public schools, Head Start, and state or government jobs. Those positions will require more education. The first place to start is to get a CDA (12 hours or available though vo-tech and community ed), an associate degree, and then a bachelors. You can go higher, if you want to.

If you have a vo-tech program in school that would be an awesome place to get started and make sure you like it.

It is rewarding work and most of us do it for the benefits beyond the money, because you will never make enough for all the work you do. If you love it, you will do it and make it work for you. Good Luck!

Answer 5

Pay is low. You do it because you love children. Education varies from state to state. Good luck and God Bless!

Answer 6

You can be a daycare teacher without any special degrees (although experience helps). I'm a college student and I worked at a Kindercare over the summer in Ohio for $8.50 an hour. Depending on where you work, the pay could be a little more or a little less than that.

If you want to make a little bit more money in daycare, you can be one of the people in charge, which requires a degree (I'm not sure in what). Or there's a certification you can get (the name of which fails me at the moment- I'm thinking ECE, but I might be wrong) which will make you more qualified and you can get paid more. Getting first aid/cpr training through the red cross is also helpful.

General things to know about daycare- It would be a hard job to have as a career, in my opinion. I'm hoping to become an elementary school teacher, so I like it for the experience, but I honestly don't think I could handle a lifetime of it. The days are long and working overtime is pretty common, especially if there's a shortage of staff, because there are certain staff/child ratios that need to be held, so you have to be there and you have to stay until enough children have been picked up for you to go home, unless you are deathly ill. Working with the kids is fun and refreshing at times, but a lot of the time it's just crazy and exhausting and overwhelming. It's especially hard if you don't have the hang of discipline yet, because the kids will walk all over you (that's what happened to me). And it is hard to discipline them because you can't spank them, you can't withhold snack or their toys from them, and (at least at Kindercare) you can't even put them in timeout (although you can have them sit quietly with you for a couple minutes). All in all, it's a tough and tiring job, and it doesn't pay great, but if that's what you want to do, more power to you. And kudos to you for thinking about what you want to do with your life already.