High Paying Early Childhood Education Careers

If you enjoy working with children and are searching for a meaningful career that provides more than just a paycheck, becoming a teacher is a great career choice to consider. The demand for highly trained early childhood education (ECE) workers is growing for many reasons, including an increase in working parents needing quality care and education as well as government support of the ECE sector through subsidized funding for education and training.

With a renewed focus on the importance and benefits of early childhood education, the field is growing at a stable rate with every ECE career expected to grow by the year 2026. If you are unsure if teaching is the right fit for you, the field of early childhood education is rapidly evolving with more higher paying opportunities available. 

It’s always a good idea to explore your career choices to see what opportunities exist beyond entry-level positions. Here are some ECE career options offering a higher earning potential that you could pursue once you earn your degree and start working in the field: 

Education Consultant 

Average salary: $60,330 

Job Description: An education consultant is an experienced education professional, typically a former administrator or teacher who provides clients with recommendations on how to provide instruction to students. Their clients may include families, schools, or educational organizations. 

Educational consultants use their experience to guide families in finding suitable learning environments for their children, help schools develop programs and policies, and work with organizations to develop resources for both students and teachers. 

Instructional Designer

Average salary: $63,972

Job Description: An instructional designer is an education professional who develops, evaluates, and implements strategies that educators can use to instruct their students. As technology and society evolves, instructional designers help teachers adjust their teaching styles, curriculum, and resources to better fit their students’ evolving needs. They research emerging educational trends, including ECE trends, and use educator and student feedback to recommend teaching strategies. Instructional designers work for public and private schools. 

Researcher 

Average salary: $71,066

Job Description: A researcher is a professional who conducts studies in their field to make important contributions and advancements to improve processes. Educational research focuses on specific areas within the field of education, like child development. They conduct studies and experiments to learn more about how people learn, explore the factors that affect learning abilities and publish their research findings to help educators and organizations develop curriculum and policies. 

Childcare Center Director 

Average salary: $47,310 

Job Description: A childcare center director is responsible for overseeing a childcare facility to ensure that children have a safe environment to learn and socialize. Their duties include the hiring and evaluating of staff, creating budgets, marketing the facility, managing the facilities finances, developing a curriculum and program, and proactively communicating with parents about their children’s progress. 

Family Support Specialist

Average salary: $43,259

Job Description: A family support specialist is a professional who provides counseling and rehabilitation services to families facing crisis to improve their lives. Family support specialists conduct interviews with family members to determine areas needing support, like bullying, domestic violence, or homelessness. They collaborate with healthcare and social professionals to evaluate caseload needs. In cases of relevant child protection, family support specialists are required to attend court sessions. 

Ready to Explore Your Career Options? 

In the field of education, it is always a mixture of experience and continuing education. The more certifications you earn, the more flexible you become as an educator. Earning a degree in early childhood education is an excellent first step in expanding your career opportunities. 

The good news is early childhood education provides plenty of room for growth. If you’re interested in becoming a teacher, or exploring another career in the field of early childhood education, contact Athena Career Academy for more information about our Early Childhood Education (ECE) degree program.