Care for and supervise young children, leading play and learning while keeping them safe.
You may also see this posted as: Child Care Worker, Childcare Provider, Infant Teacher, Toddler Teacher, Caregiver, Child Caregiver.
Daycares, homes, and preschools; on your feet, active with children.
Full-time and part-time; early mornings and long days are common.
Social
helping, teaching, caring for, or supporting other people
Artistic
creating, designing, performing, or working without a rigid script
Conventional
organizing information, following systems, and getting details right
O*NET job zone 2 of 5
Some preparation—often a high school credential and on-the-job learning—is usually needed.
Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.
May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.
Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.
“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.
BLS estimates 21.2% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.
Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.
High school / no degree
Training path: Trained on the job.
Related work experience: None.
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training.
No license for workers, though programs and some states require training.
You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.
Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.
Underpaid for what it is — often a step toward early-childhood education credentials.
Run the Reality Check — build the life you want and see the salary it takes, then compare it to this one.
Browse verified internships, fellowships, and programs — many paid — that lead into fields like this.
Free resume templates, interview practice, and getting-hired guides in the Careers kit.
Standard Occupational Classification 39-9011. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.