The Field Of Early Childhood Education Offers Many Career Options

Parents who are thinking of enrolling their children in an early childhood education may encounter a lot of issues regarding the appropriateness. There is an on-going debate with regards to sending children to school before they even reach 5 years old. Some people believe that kids are better off playing and enjoying their childhood, while others think that children need to be taught early on. Both of these may be due to the fact that they just want their children to enjoy, while others simply want to take advantage of the intelligence they possess during this stage.

The field of early childhood education offers many career options. You can choose one that interests you. Many educational institutions offer courses in early childhood education. One also has the option to do these courses online. Listed below are some of the career options in the field of early childhood education.

Child Daycare Worker
Pursuing a high school diploma in early childhood education 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 some other person. Day care centers do not need actual teaching skills. Here, you need to be creative and innovative to teach children 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 have the responsibility of teaching kids ranging from 2 years till the age they are ready to join kindergarten. This is the age when young children 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 early childhood education will be beneficial to become a preschool teacher. In these courses, you will have to study about child development and child psychology. You will also be taught skills and methods of teaching children basic concepts, like, the alphabets, colors, numbers, etc. Teaching in an early childhood education center primarily involves the use of educational and fun games and activities and teaching through play. The preschool teacher is also responsible for enhancing the social skills of little children and developing self-confidence and self worth in them.

Kindergarten or Elementary School teacher
Kindergarten and elementary school teachers have the responsibility of the academic education of children. At this stage, children 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 skills and expertise to teach difficult concepts to children and also to deal with them in the classroom situation. In a class, there will be children of different capabilities, family backgrounds etc. Sometimes there may even be children 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 child day care center. The duty of the educational administrator is to supervise the everyday activities of the school. They are responsible for the smooth functioning of the school and 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 the qualification required to become an educational administrator is a Master's Degree or a PhD.

Postsecondary teacher
A post secondary teacher is a person who has a master's degree and teaches children at the high school level. Postsecondary teachers can also take up the job of teaching student trainees who are pursuing bachelor or associate degree courses in early childhood education.

The field of early childhood education is a fast growing one with a plethora of career opportunities. Salaries would depend on the career path you have chosen in this field. But, along with the monetary gain, the best thing about the field of early childhood education is the opportunity to shape and mold the personalities of young children.