Jobs / Child Care Jobs / Nanny Jobs

Career Guide to Caregivers

Do you think of ways of creating new and more innovative ways to supply energy to help the population and the future?  There are many facets involved in the Public Utility field.  From engineering to public relations, our future depends on it!

If you want to help children grow into responsible adults, then consider a career in childcare.

If you are still in high school or college and are thinking about working in childcare, then get as much experience as you can. The best way to do this is to start with babysitting experience. From there, you can move on to other childcare experiences that will prepare you for a job in the field. For instance, you could teach Sunday school at church. You can also volunteer as a classroom helper or daycare assistant to find out how you want to interact with children. Many different things will look good on your resume in childcare.

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, then a career in childcare, being a nanny or a caregiver might be for you!

Due to the growing number of double-income families in America, the need for childcare providers is constantly on the rise. Just take a look at the statistics: According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in their May 2005 Data book, 11.6 million children under age 5 were in some type of regular childcare arrangement every week.

In the 2004 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, a whopping 63% of children under age 5 are in some type of regular childcare arrangement every week.

How does this impact our society in general?

These statistics show that more than half of preschool-age children spend a majority of their waking hours in the care of non-family members. According to records, these children spend an average of 36 hours per week in a private or public childcare facility.

These figures become significant when we consider that the first few years in a child's life are the so-called 'formative years.' These are when kids' brains imbibe a lot of inputs from his environment. Thus, the people with whom he spends much of his waking hours impact his development significantly.

Other qualifications. Helping children grow, learn, and gain new skills can be very rewarding. The work is sometimes routine but new activities and challenges mark each day. Child care can be physically and emotionally taxing, as workers constantly stand, walk, bend, stoop, and lift to attend to each child’s interests and problems.

States regulate child care facilities, the number of children per child care worker, staff qualifications, and the health and safety of the children. State regulations in all of these areas vary. To ensure that children in child care centers receive proper supervision, State or local regulations may require a certain ratio of workers to children. The ratio varies with the age of the children. Child development experts generally recommend that a single caregiver be responsible for no more than 3 or 4 infants (less than 1 year old) and toddler’s (1 to 2 years old) or 6 or 7 preschool-aged children (between 2 and 5 years old). In before- and after-school programs, workers may be responsible for many school-aged children at a time.

Family child care providers work out of their own homes. While this arrangement provides convenience, it also requires that their homes be accommodating to young children. Private household workers usually work in the homes or apartments of their employers. Most live in their own homes and travel to work, though some live in the home of their employer and generally are provided with their own room and bath. They often come to feel like part of their employer’s family.

The work hours of child care workers vary widely. Child care centers usually are open year round, with long hours so that parents can drop off and pick up their children before and after work. Some centers employ full-time and part-time staff with staggered shifts to cover the entire day. Some workers are unable to take regular breaks during the day due to limited staffing. Public and many private preschool programs operate during the typical 9- or 10-month school year, employing both full-time and part-time workers. Family child care providers have flexible hours and daily routines, but they may work long or unusual hours to fit parents’ work schedules. Live-in nannies usually work longer hours than do those who have their own homes. However, although nannies may work evenings or weekends, they usually get other time off.

What Education/Certifications do you need for:

Caregiver Jobs / Child Care Jobs / Nanny Jobs

The training and qualifications required of child care workers vary widely. Each State has its own licensing requirements that regulate caregiver training. These requirements range from a high school diploma, a national Child Development Associate (CDA) credential to community college courses or a college degree in child development or early childhood education. State requirements are generally higher for workers at child care centers than for family child care providers. Child care workers in private settings who care for only a few children often are not regulated by States at all. Child care workers generally can obtain some form of employment with a high school diploma and little or no experience, but certain private firms and publicly funded programs have more demanding training and education requirements. Some employers may prefer workers who have taken secondary or postsecondary courses in child development and early childhood education or who have work experience in a child care setting. Other employers require their own specialized training. An increasing number of employers require an associate degree in early childhood education.

Current & Future Job Outlook for:
Caregiver Jobs / Child Care Jobs / Nanny Jobs

Child care workers held about 1.4 million jobs in 2006. Many worked part time. About 35 percent of child care workers were self-employed; most of these were family child care providers.

Child day care services employed about 18 percent of all child care workers and about 20 percent work for private households. The remainder worked primarily in educational services; nursing and residential care facilities; religious organizations; amusement and recreation industries; civic and social organizations; individual and family services; and local government, excluding education and hospitals.

 Child care workers are expected to experience job growth that is faster than the average for all occupations. Job prospects will be excellent because of the many workers who leave and need to be replaced.

Job prospects. High replacement needs should create good job opportunities for child care workers. Qualified persons who are interested in this work should have little trouble finding and keeping a job. Many child care workers must be replaced each year as they leave the occupation to fulfill family responsibilities, to study, or for other reasons. Others leave because they are interested in pursuing other occupations or because of low wages.

Employment change. Employment of child care workers is projected to increase by 18 percent between 2006 and 2016, which is faster than the average for all occupations. Child care workers will have a very large number of new jobs arise, almost 248,000 over the projections decade. The proportion of children being cared for exclusively by parents or other relatives is likely to continue to decline, spurring demand for additional child care workers. Concern about the safety and supervision of school-aged children during non school hours also should increase demand for before- and after-school programs and the child care workers who staff them.

The growth in demand for child care workers will be moderated, however, by an increasing emphasis on early childhood education programs, which hire mostly preschool workers instead of child care workers. While only a few States currently provide targeted or universal preschool programs, many more are considering or starting such programs. A rise in enrollment in private preschools is likely as the value of formal education before kindergarten becomes more widely accepted. Since the majority of workers in these programs are classified as preschool teachers, this growth in preschool enrollment will mean less growth among child care workers.