There are a few career paths that I hope to be able to
fulfill in the field of early childhood.
The first is that I want to be an instructor. I have had the opportunity to teach at
several early childhood conferences and I really enjoy it. I have taught both teachers and
administrators and find that I have much knowledge and experience that I can
offer. I can relate to their experiences
and I understand what they are going through. I have developed a skill for presenting in front of large and small groups over the past several years and find pleasure in this accomplishment and the feedback I receive after each presentation.
To fulfill this I can work for our local Child Care Resource
and Referral (CCR&R) agency, which is through Care About Childcare and the
Office of Child Care. I can teach
classes for those needing yearly training hours, those working on their CDA, or
those who just desire to learn more. I
can also work as an adjunct instructor at our local universities, Weber State
University, the University of Utah, or Utah State University, all of which are
less than one hour from my home.
To teach for CCR&R I just need a degree (Associate,
Bachelor, or Master) in Early Childhood with specific coursework and at least
two years paid professional experience working directly with children and at
least six months direct responsibility for professional development of adults
(Weber State University, 2015). I
currently meet these requirements and could start teaching in the evenings in
addition to my current employment. To
teach as an adjunct instructor for the university I need to have a minimum of a
Master’s degree in Child and Family Studies or related field, but they prefer a
Ph.D. It is also preferred that I have teaching experience in higher education
(Weber State University, 2015). I will
have my master’s degree in less than two months and then can qualify to teach
part time in addition to my current employment.
Another career path that is interesting to me is to be a mentor,
coach, or consultant in the field of early childhood. I see this several different ways. I really enjoy going into programs and
evaluating their program, giving suggestions and recommendations of ways the
program can increase in quality, and then following up to see the changes that
were made. I have also done this
mentoring in individual’s homes, helping parents work better with their
children, set up daily routines and schedules in the home, and work with the
specific needs of their children. This
has been internally rewarding to teach what I know and then see the difference
it makes when others implement what I teach.
I also enjoy mentoring on an individual basis, helping those in the
field reach their own professional development goals. I have coached several people through getting
their CDA’s, going back to school and getting a degree, and even becoming
specialist in certain areas in the field.
This has also been rewarding to see the changes they make through my
guidance.
As far as career paths in this way of mentoring, coaching,
and consulting, I only found a few agencies that offer things like this. Again, our local CCR&R has program
observers who use environmental rating scales to assess early childhood
programs. Those results are then shared
with the program, Care About Childcare and the Office of Childcare. Sometimes those results are used for grant
funding, but many times they are administered for programs who wish to raise
the quality of care for their center.
This position requires a degree (Associate, Bachelor, or Master) in
Early Childhood Education and two years paid professional experience working
directly with children and six months direct responsibility over professional
development of adults (Weber State University, 2015). I currently meet these requirements.
I could also work for an organization called The Children’s
Center (2015). They provide mental
health care for families with young children including therapeutic preschool
programs. Additionally, which is the
part that appeals to me, they provide observation and mentoring to early
childhood providers in the area. They come
out to the center, observe a classroom or a specific child with challenging
behaviors, and provide feedback of how the program can better meet the needs of
the children. This requires a bachelor
or master degree in early childhood and experience working with children and
professionals in the field. I currently meet the requirements for this
position.
An additional job consulting would be a Child Life
Specialist who works with children and their families in overcoming challenging
events in life, especially those in a healthcare and hospitalization
environment. The Child Life Specialist
acts as a resource to the family by providing education information and support
and guidance to family members as well as educating caregivers, administrators,
and the general public about the needs of children under stress (Child Life
Council, 2015). To qualify for this job,
I would need to be a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS). This requires a bachelor or master degree as
well as some additional coursework in understanding how to work with families
and children under stress, do some practicum work, and then pass a national
examination.
I have also thought about starting my own nonprofit that
would allow me to provide consulting work and topic specialist work for
centers, home providers, and families on working with children with challenging
behaviors. With my own small nonprofit, I could also continue to do presentations for early childhood conferences or for staff trainings at centers.
References
Child Life Council (2015). The child life profession. Retrieved from http://www.childlife.org/The%20Child%20Life%20Profession/
The Children's Center (2015). Mental health care for families with young children. Retrieved from http://tccslc.org/
Weber State University (2015). Child and family studies job search. Retrieved from https://jobs.weber.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1431696380281
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