Do you have what it takes to work in a position to educate young children? Are you a patient, organized individual who has the ability to multi-task even in the most stressful situations? Do you have the desire to plan interactive lessons and teach them to a group of students who are eager to learn? Do you have what it takes to commit to being a lifelong learner yourself so that you will always be abreast of the latest educational trends that may help your students learn in a more effective manner? If you were able to answer with a confident yes to each of these questions, then it is definitely the time to begin working on your early childhood education certificate. It is important to understand that without a formal degree or training there are practically no professional positions that you will be qualified to pursue in this field of study.
One possible employment avenue that you may want to consider is to become a preschool teacher. If you choose this path you will likely spend the majority of your time singing songs, doing interactive activities and play that will also teach a skill, and dancing to music. While preschool teachers have a very enjoyable job that seems to be solely centered on fun, you will be using these tasks and activities as a means of teaching important social, academic, and life skills to these young children. Or, perhaps working as a kindergarten teacher is more your speed. In this position you would work inside a self-contained classroom to teach your students meaningful lessons across all subject areas. No matter which of these positions you end up working in, it will be important that you are organized and that you are able to consistently pay attention to details. After all, the care and welfare of a group of students will be your responsibility.
A fairly new career path that exists within the field of early childhood education is to become a parent educator. In this position it would be your responsibility to help educate parents regarding the best practices of education, how to handle emotional and psychological development, and how to effectively motivate and encourage their children. In some cases, parent educators deliver instructional speeches or meetings to inform parents as a general group; at other times, parent educators are called upon to provide expertise to specific parents who are having difficulties of some sort. Another viable option for you to consider is an early childhood researcher. Should you choose this particular route of employment you will be responsible for conducting research and developing new and effective methods of teaching young children. In a position such as this it will be necessary for you to know the elements that make up an effective teaching practice, that you are willing to do the research in a variety of venues, to compile your findings, and to conduct practice implementations in order to test your new techniques.