Early Childhood Education Salary Range

The number of families looking for child day care is steadily rising, and for the past few years the spending of the states which support the pre-kindergarten program has also seen an incline. The salary range is dependent on the employer, for example, child day care, preschools, kindergarten, or grade school offer different salaries to their employees. The other contributing factor to the salary range is the location you work, some metropolitan areas pay much more than the average salary. An economy in recession and a fast growing world has led to both parents in a family to work, this has opened good career options for people interested in early childhood education. College grants for single moms have also risen and this has led to job opportunities for pre-school and after school, early childhood educators. Early childhood education programs are offered by many schools and some of the programs are also available online. These training schools will prepare you for all the work ranges that come under the preschool teacher job description.

Education and Job Description

People who like to be around children and have lots of patience can have wonderful and fulfilling careers as early childhood educators. The job is mostly dealing with children below the age of 8, but under special circumstances like summer camp and grade school you will deal with little older children. Most early childhood educators are hired as teachers assistants and require no formal education other than a high school degree. A formal education as a child educator will ensure you a good pay packet. Community colleges and training schools offer a 1 year certification program after which you can apply for the state licensing examination. You can also opt for a 2 years associate degree course as this will help you get those lucrative job offers.

A child educator will have to deal with children from birth to age 8 and needs to care for them while teaching important coping and education skills. Teaching kids language and art activities are the main focus points for a child educator. The skill lies in incorporating the teachings in the form of games, kids' craft, and group activities, which foster quick and fun learning environment. Use of appropriate literature and poems is required to impart knowledge to the young audience. One of the important things that a child educator needs to do is impart social skills training with the help of group activities. A career in early childhood education can be very satisfying as you get to shape the minds of the young.

Salary

Employment outlook for this career option is steadily on the incline and job prospects are looking good for the next coming years. Like most salary ranges for jobs an early childhood educators salary is also decided taking into consideration the years of experience and the educational qualification. The geographical location of the job is also a major contributing factor when it comes to the salary range for early childhood education. The salary range is around USD 22,300 to USD 39,400 annually for most states. In states like New York and Michigan the salary range is between USD 31,000 to USD 39,000 and some metropolitan areas in these states offer salaries above USD 40,000. Early childhood educators working as administrators earn an average median wage of USD 39,000 annually. Individuals working at the entry-level for a child day care center earn an average salary of USD 18,000 annually. If individuals have a master's degree in early childhood education then they can apply for administrative positions which are high paying teaching jobs. Early childhood educators in the role of teachers aides get comparatively less salary than the administrators, the difference can add up to USD 15,000 annually.

The salary range has a lot of variations and the mitigating circumstances that decide the salary figure can vary for different states and education institutions.