Working with children can be an utter delight. They are naturally curious about the world, want to experience it, and are ecstatic about simple pleasures. There is something incredibly special about guiding a child through life, especially when you see them flourish into their own capable, independent adult. If you want to work with children, then there are so many exciting career options out there for you.
Understand the Work/Life Balance You Need
Some people love to stay busy and to keep a rhythm going. Others need a clear delineation between work hours and personal hours for their mental health or just to make time for their other passions. Some people like the structure of working in an office or physical environment like a school; others benefit when they work on their own time to match up with their body’s natural cycles. Regardless, it is crucial that your job supports the work/life balance your body needs.
There is no one way to work, and with the rise of remote working, there are more opportunities than ever to find a career that matches what you need and want out of your job.
There are also more options than ever before, even for those in careers that previously seemed cut and dry. In the past, for example, teachers often stayed working as teachers their entire lives. With EdTech and many new roles opening up that have realized the transferable skills that teachers can bring to the table, there are more opportunities to pivot in your career than ever before.
While you can, of course, always retrain or shift directions by earning another degree, it’s often better for your budget and your sense of fulfillment to kick off your career in what you are most passionate about.
Things can always change, of course, but by first understanding what you need out of your career, you can then narrow down career opportunities to what suits you best.
Mapping Out Requirements
When it comes to working with children, there are many hoops you’ll need to jump through. Some of the requirements will boil down to your education and license. Others will depend on your police-issued background check.
People need to know you have the skills and knowledge for the job and that you are a safe option around children. Understand what the requirements are for whichever job catches your interest so that you can get all your duck’s in a row before you apply.
Educational Requirements
No matter where you go, you’ll likely need to complete training of some sort before you can work in any child-related role. In most cases, you’ll even need a degree. The good news is that you have options. You can either specialize right at the start or specialize later on with a master’s degree.
Legal Requirements
In most cases, when you apply to any role working with children, you will also need to have completed a background check. This is usually only essential for roles that have you working directly with children rather than in administration or other support roles.
In some cases, you may need special training, like first aid, or to have completed a rescue course. There are many certifications and administrative prerequisites that will depend on the work and environment, so be aware in advance and ensure that your certifications and any licenses are up-to-date and valid.
Top Careers for Those Who Want to Work in Childcare, Education, or Social Work
There are many excellent career options for those who want to work in childcare, education, or in social work settings. With so many options, you can focus on the area of study and training that interests you the most and then work towards your dream job.
- School Counselor
School counselors are the go-to guidance and support expert in schools. In the past, they were referred to as guidance counselors, which may be why people get confused between a guidance counselor vs school counselor. While colloquially, people will use the terms interchangeably, the fact is that school counselor is the official title, and their work is far more encompassing than what an actual guidance counselor can offer. If you want to learn more about the difference between the two roles, click here.
School counselors are also often one of the first adults children will go to if there are issues at home, so professionals in this field typically have a strong network with other social workers as well.
- Teaching
Teaching is always going to be a rewarding option, but you do need to be aware of the state of teaching and where you teach. For most teachers, rewarding work happens when they have the support of their school and parents. This typically happens when they have small classrooms as well.
In short, when conditions are perfect, teaching can be an utter joy. The reality, however, is that there are massive shortages which means many teachers are taking on larger classrooms than they can handle.
That doesn’t mean you have to give up your dream of being a teacher, just that you need to rethink your strategy so that your own mental health and well-being as supported.
Many teachers, for example, will take a pay cut from working as a teacher in the public system for the smaller classrooms and greater resources available in the private system. Moving to rural areas can also be a great way to find a top teaching job, particularly in remote areas like Alaska, where wages are high and populations are low.
- Librarian
Libraries are incredibly important spaces, and if you think that no one uses them today, think again. Libraries are the go-to co-working, study, and community spaces that people use all the time. They are often full to the brink with students, those looking to work or find a job, and of course with families.
Libraries, in particular, are popular places because of the community events they host, from book readings to workshops to even plays for the little kids. There are so many ways that libraries connect people to the information that they need.
To become a librarian, you will often need to earn a degree in library science. This degree usually combines research skills with management so that you can lead a library and offer a full range of services to the community.
- Curriculum Development
Every year the curriculum updates and improves. You could be one of the people that work on updating textbooks and the curriculum to reflect the latest findings and the newest approach to teaching. If you consider how much education has changed in the past ten years, you’ll see big differences not only in how students are taught but also in what they are taught.
There are so many roles in this field. You can work in the research and development side that works to analyze data so that teaching approaches can be updated. You could work on content and update textbooks or create diagrams.
Today you can even take a passion for coding and design and work to create new digital tools for tomorrow’s classroom.
There are so many great ways that you can work in education to help improve a child’s education, meaning you can find an approach that you are passionate about.
- Social Work
Social work is a hard job. While reunification can be a highlight in your career, most often, your focus will be on extracting children from abusive situations and trying to connect them with a foster family that will provide the care and love that child needs. It is not a fun job or even a pleasant one, but it is a critically important one.
If you are passionate about helping children escape from bad situations and making them better, then this is a calling you cannot pass up. There is a growing need for social workers, and you don’t actually have to work for Child Protective Services directly to make a difference in this field. You can also work as a foster parent, as a therapist, as an advocator, and so on. There are many roles in social work that make the entire sector work, and any one of them will make a difference in a child’s life.
- Child Psychology
Children do not have the tools to process trauma, and in many instances, their parents are also ill-equipped to help them through it. Working in child psychology means helping children understand what they feel and giving them the tools they need to handle those emotions.
Child psychologists often work closely with social workers to help children during their development, particularly if they have come from troubled backgrounds. This can save lives down the line and is instrumentally important in both the public and private sectors.
- Workshop Leader
If you have a skill or area of interest that you are passionate about, then you can dedicate yourself to that and share your skills or knowledge with children. There are art classes, music classes, museum workshops, and so much more. If you want to focus on that very specific skill or field, then working outside of the school system can be a great fit for you to merge your passions.
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