Are you looking to start a career in child care? Do you enjoy playing with and teaching small children? Are you a parent who wishes to receive additional income whilst caring for your own child? Or do you simply aspire to have a significant role in developing the skills and capabilities of the next generation? Whatever your reason might be, thinking about your new career brings a lot of excitement and delight. Take the next step into deciding on whether this is the correct career path for you. Can you related to the following reasons why you considering a career in child care?
1. A Rewarding Career
And you must already know why – because you will be spending valuable time with children! If you have that natural love and fondness for every little aspect of curious children then you’ll find that this is definitely the right career for you!
You’ll find simple tasks like bringing out their toys, preparing their food, or running after them, won’t feel like tasks anymore. They would simply feel like extensions of what you enjoy doing! And at that point is when you can truly say that you are having fun at work, right?
But please don’t forget that as with any other job, there will be challenges too. You should be able to go beyond your love for kids as many factors will test if you are really cut out for this career. No child is exactly like the other and so you will be dealing with different kinds of behaviours, needs, and wants. A huge amount of patience and understanding is required for someone who wishes to enter the workforce and knowing each time you overcome a difficulty is when you will feel accomplished and rewarded.
2. Become a Better Version of Yourself
Self-improvement is something that can be done anytime, anywhere, even at work. As a child care professional, you will be given heaps of opportunities to develop yourself through physical exhausting and emotionally challenging work in and around a child care centre. Some may find this too much to handle and may give up easily but when striving to overcome these difficulties, you will be training yourself to become a stronger person. The lessons learnt here would all be useful later in life as you move on to a different career, start a business, or build your own family. Patience, communication, initiative, being responsible and committed, and so much more – these are all but essential traits that will help you go through life.
On the other hand, there are also opportunities when you will need to go through professional child care training. Take advantage of gaining new skills and knowledge and be assured that they factor into you being able to perform better at work. Learning a new technique, updating yourself with the latest trend in child care, and refreshing your knowledge about important policies and regulations all contributes to your self-improvement.
3. Flexible Work Options: Work Life Balance
Many of child care professionals choose child care as a career as it offers flexible working hours to accommodate a work and life balance. This allows them to either work on a full time, part time, or casual basis. Aussie Childcare Network has reported on the minimum child care wages in Australia. Full time child care professionals spend an average of 38 hours per week, while those that work part time spend less than that but have predictable hours of work and should receive the equivalent working conditions to those working full time. While casual child care professionals spend a minimum of two hours per day and work for temporary or for relief purposes only.
Job Outlook has recorded about more than 51% of child care professionals are part time or casual employees. As a parent, this would be an ideal career option to consider, as you will be able to work part time and have ample of time to care for your own children after work. Either if you are studying and looking for experience in the field or require another job to bring in additional income, working part time is still an option. Just remember your letter of agreement/contract should specify the hours of work each day, the start and finish times, and which days are required during the week.
4. Career Growth and Pathway Opportunities
The child care industry can offer you several career opportunities depending on your skills, experience, and qualifications.
Possible career paths if you’re currently enroled in and are actively studying or completed a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care are:
- Childhood Educator or Assistant Educator
- Playgroup Supervisor
- Preschool Aide
- Family Day Care Educator
- Nanny
- Outside School Hours Care Assistant*
- Recreation Assistant
*Some jurisdictions may require Outside School Hours Care specific qualifications.
While if you’re currently enroled in and are actively studying or completed a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care then possible career paths for you are:
- Authorised / Nominated Supervisor (Children’s Services)
- Children’s Services Coordinator
- Centre Manager (Children’s Services)
- Director (Children’s Services)
- Child Care Educator
- Group/Team Coordinator/Leader (Children’s Services)
- Children’s Adviser
- Program Leader (Children’s Services)
- Children’s Service Director / Manager
- Child Development Educator
Early childhood qualifications do not stop there courses at a higher level that can see you studying a Bachelor’s Degree in Education (Early Childhood), if you have that desire to take your career to the limit and become a Primary Teacher or and Early Childhood Teacher.
5. High Demand for Child Care Professionals
You must have probably read lots of articles already about the booming child care industry and we have already covered that this is correct. The number of required child care professionals is on a very strong rise up until the year 2020 and will in fact reach more than 50,000 vacancies, as predicted by Job Outlook. Now wouldn’t you want to take advantage of this opportunity?
6. Child Care Professionals have Economic and Social Impact
Child care professionals play a vital role in our society that impacts our economic growth, as well as, influencing our social norms. Here describes is how influential the child care industry can be:
- Their service supports the overall development of children who are the future generation of our country
- They enable parents to go back to the workforce and lead productive careers that also contributes to the economy
- Many child care centres regardless of business size generate lots of jobs that will be available for those who need them
- The money spent by families on child care services circulates within the economy and therefore contributes to increasing our country’s monetary activity.
Feeling inspired? Think you have what it takes to be a child care worker now? Jumpstart your career by looking into these child care courses that are both designed to further prepare you for this job. If you still have any questions, please feel free to give us a call at 1300 236 364 to speak to a career consultant.
