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Career

Childcare Workers

Typical education: High school diplomaLower pressure Bright Outlook

What they do

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

Kinds of work

  • Social: Helping, teaching, caring for and supporting other people.
  • Artistic: Creating, designing and expressing ideas through art, writing, music or performance.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

Lower pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $34,980 Median per year · $16.82/hr Most earn $24,260–$46,010

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Identify signs of emotional or developmental problems in children and bring them to parents' or guardians' attention.
  • Instruct children in health and personal habits, such as eating, resting, and toilet habits.
  • Communicate with children's parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviors, and related issues.
  • Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for people with disabilities.
  • Identify signs of emotional or developmental problems in children and bring them to parents' or guardians' attention.
  • Provide care for children with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities.

Job outlook

Bright Outlook Numerous Job Openings

United States
2% fewer jobs by 2035, declining · about 150,300 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Child daycare services29.1%
  • Self-employed (their own business)24.2%
  • Private households16.7%
  • Elementary and secondary schools11.5%
  • Fitness and recreational sports centers2.8%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 1 to 2 years

Some people start through an apprenticeship: paid training on the job, often with classes. Search apprenticeships on Apprenticeship.gov (opens in a new tab) ↗

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: High school diplomaExperience before this job: 1 to 2 years

Childcare Worker is an entry-level job that generally needs only a high school diploma, but people usually spend about 1 to 2 years in related work, like babysitting or nannying, first. With that experience, many people can get started in a few years after high school.

  1. High school diploma

    4 years

    You build basic skills in reading, writing, math, and health, and you can start getting childcare experience through babysitting and volunteering.

  2. Nanny

    1-2 years

    Working regularly with children in a family home builds the hands-on skills, routines, and trust that employers look for in childcare work.

  3. Childcare Worker

    Ongoing

    You care for children at schools, businesses, households, or childcare centers by feeding, dressing, supervising play, and keeping them safe.

Where it can lead

  1. Preschool Teacher

    1-2 years of experience first

    You move from caring for children to planning lessons and teaching early learning skills, which usually requires a certificate or a similar credential.

  2. Kindergarten Teacher

    Varies, usually after a bachelor's degree of experience first

    You take on a classroom of your own in a school setting, which requires a bachelor's degree and teacher preparation.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Babysit for neighbors or relativesRegular babysitting gives you real experience with feeding, bathing, and watching children, which is what childcare employers want to see.
  • Take child development or family and consumer sciences classesThese classes teach how children grow and learn, which helps you understand what to expect at each age.
  • Get first aid and CPR certifiedMany childcare jobs require this, and a school or local Red Cross-style class can often be taken as a teen.
  • Volunteer at a day camp, library story time, or youth centerWorking with groups of kids builds patience and supervision skills and gives you a reference for future jobs.
  • Get a summer job as a camp counselor or lifeguardCamp and pool jobs teach you to keep many children safe and organized, which is a core part of childcare work.

In college

  • Take early childhood education or child development coursesCoursework on how young children learn and behave gives you a strong base for childcare and any later teaching path.
  • Work a campus or town job at a daycare, after-school program, or campPaid, regular work with children adds the hands-on experience that usually takes 1 to 2 years to build.
  • Get CPR, first aid, and any childcare certificate your area offersThese credentials show employers you can handle emergencies and meet safety standards.
  • Join a student education or childcare clubClubs connect you with mentors and job leads, and they give you a chance to plan activities for kids.
  • Ask a childcare center for a practicum or internshipA supervised placement lets you practice daily routines and get a reference from people who know your work.

Tips for getting started

  • Get experience early by babysitting, helping neighbors with kids, or volunteering at a youth program, since employers look for prior work with children.
  • Take a first aid and CPR course, which many childcare employers ask for and which you can often finish in a single day.
  • Ask a childcare center or family you know if you can shadow them, so you can see the daily work up close before you commit.

Related jobs that often lead here

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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