How to Build a Career in Early Childhood Education

If you’re an energetic and creative person with a passion for working with children, then a career in early childhood education (ECE) may be the ideal fit for you. Early childhood education focuses on the development of children from birth to 8 years old. An early childhood educator’s primary function is to provide a safe and nurturing environment in which young children will learn academically, but also develop social, motor, and adaptive skills.

Why Choose an ECE Career?

Working in the ECE field and becoming a teacher is a meaningful choice that can change the lives of children you work with, as well as your own. As an ECE teacher, your role involves creating educational programs that ignite the intellectual, physical, social, and emotional growth of children, and it is a very rewarding career path.

An early childhood educator positively influences the lives of children by giving them a great start in life. The ECE sector needs dedicated individuals like you to ensure that children are getting the best start academically. 

A Career Field in Demand 

The demand for highly trained early childhood educators is growing for many reasons, including: 

• More working parents need quality care and education for their kids.
• More 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 for the first time in several decades. Every ECE career is expected to grow by 2026. If you’re interested in becoming a teacher, or climb the ladder into an administrative position, you can feel confident that you’ll have a robust career field ahead of you. 

Choose Your Specialty 

Once you have finished your qualifications and training in early childhood education, the doors will open to some very exciting career opportunities. While there are numerous job options available, you might want to consider a specialty, such as becoming a teacher. There is a high demand for qualified preschool teachers, whether you wish to work in a public or private school, or an early education center. 

If becoming a preschool teacher isn’t for you, there are plenty of other career opportunities in the ECE field, including becoming a private tutor or nanny, owning and operating your own childcare center, or working at a childcare center as an administrator, lead teacher, or play specialist. These are just a few examples of the career possibilities you’ll have available to you once you complete your training. 

Set Yourself Up for Success 

Education and training vary depending on state regulations, but preschool teachers typically need an associates degree. The good news is, becoming a teacher in the ECE field doesn’t require going to a 4-year university, so you can get started in your new career much faster. 

If you’re interested in becoming a teacher, it’s important to start with a good foundation by attending a great ECE training/degree program, like the one offered at Athena Career Academy. 

Athena Career Academy is dedicated to offering prospective students like yourself an Early Childhood Education Associate Degree Program, Majoring in ECE, birth through age 5, school age programming, and studying the developmental levels of birth through age 8. You will learn all the necessary skills needed to effectively educate and motivate students to learn using developmentally appropriate practice methods. 

Ready to Get Started? 

New classes start approximately every three months at Athena Career Academy, but there are some admissions requirements that need to be met prior to enrollment. Contact us today to ensure you’re ready to go when the next class begins. We take pride in our student’s successes, and we look forward to helping you reach your dreams to become a teacher. Let’s set you up with a campus tour today!