Child Care Worker
Impact: Child development, family support
Nurtures and supervises children in various settings, ensuring their safety, well-being, and developmental growth through engaging activities and supportive care.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- 80% Team / 20% Solo
- Client facing
- Frequent
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- Minimal
- Schedule flexibility
- Structured
- Remote work
- On-site Only
- Typical work hours
- 35-45 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $35,000
- Entry-level
- $25,000 - $30,000
- Senior
- $45,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 6% (as fast as average)
- Demand
- Growing
- Freelance potential
- Moderate
- Salary growth potential
- Moderate to 60-80% growth from entry to senior
- Typical student debt
- Minimal
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- First Aid
- CPR
- Child Development Knowledge
- Activity Planning
- Behavior Management
Soft skills
- Patience
- Communication
- Empathy
- Problem-solving
- Organization
- Adaptability
Technical complexity: Low
How to get there
- Minimum education
- High School Diploma
- Licensing
- Varies by State
- Years to mid-career
- 3-5 years
- Years to senior
- 7-10 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Child Care Worker
- Lead Child Care Worker
- Child Care Center Director
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 1% to very low risk due to high human interaction and emotional intelligence requirements
- AI disruption risk
- Very Low
- Demand trend
- Growing
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.5/10
- Meaning
- 4.2/10
- Work-life balance
- 3.2/10
- Prestige
- 4.5/10
- Social perception
- High