Childcare Workers

Overview

Childcare Workers has a national median salary of $34,980 per year, with -2% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play.

Work Values

• Relationships
• Support
• Independence

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Maintain a safe play environment.
• Observe and monitor children's play activities.
• Communicate with children's parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviors, and related issues.
• Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.
• Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for people with disabilities.

Work Activities

• Assisting and Caring for Others
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Thinking Creatively
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Getting Information
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Performing General Physical Activities

Detailed Work Activities

• Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
• Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished a bachelor's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Bachelor's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for a high school diploma or equivalent.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Childcare Workers:

Video Resources