Teaching and community
What does a Childcare Worker do?
Helping people learn, cope and get back on their feet.
What the day is like
- Indoors, under a roof.
- People all day.
The facts
- Pay
- $34,980 a year, median
- Childcare Workers, May 2025
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Weeks to months. Most people can start from where they are.
- Jobs
- -2% projected change in jobs, 2025-2035 projections
- Demand looks shrinking
What is good about it
- You can be earning at it within months rather than after years of training.
What people find hard about it
- Low pay
- Noise
- Responsibility without status
Employment is expected to fall, and pay is among the lowest in the handbook.
Will machines take this job?
Hard for machines to take over. Preparation and marking are automating. Presence, trust and pastoral responsibility are not.
How to find out whether it suits you
Work a week in a nursery, including the end of the day when everyone is tired.
Would this actually suit you?
CareerDNA works that out from what you choose rather than from what you say about yourself: two minutes of choosing between real jobs, a few puzzles, and some questions about what you are like. It is free, it saves as you go, and it will tell you plainly where the answer is thin.