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Childcare Workers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play.

Related: Home Health Aides Kindergarten Teachers Nannies Personal Care Aides Preschool Teachers

Industries: Health & Counseling Service Education

Summary
Details

Create developmentally appropriate lesson plans.
Organize and participate in recreational activities and outings, such as games and field trips.
Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for people with disabilities.
Discipline children and recommend or initiate other measures to control behavior, such as caring for own clothing and picking up toys and books.
Perform housekeeping duties, such as laundry, cleaning, dish washing, and changing of linens.
Provide care for children with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities.
Perform general personnel functions, such as supervision, training, and scheduling.
Sterilize bottles and prepare formulas.
Sanitize toys and play equipment.
Perform general personnel functions, such as supervision, training, and scheduling.
Help children with homework and school work.
Instruct children in health and personal habits, such as eating, resting, and toilet habits.
Perform general personnel functions, such as supervision, training, and scheduling.
Organize and store toys and materials to ensure order in activity areas.
Observe and monitor children's play activities.
Identify signs of emotional or developmental problems in children and bring them to parents' or guardians' attention.
Dress children and change diapers.
Regulate children's rest periods.
Accompany children to and from school, on outings, and to medical appointments.
Perform general administrative tasks, such as taking attendance, editing internal paperwork, and making phone calls.
Keep records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered.
Communicate with children's parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviors, and related issues.
Maintain a safe play environment.
Read to children and teach them simple painting, drawing, handicrafts, and songs.
Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.
Assist in preparing food and serving meals and refreshments to children.
Identify signs of emotional or developmental problems in children and bring them to parents' or guardians' attention.

Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

37800/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

18.18/hr

Currently Employed

13,870

Yearly Projected Openings

2510

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Self Control
Concern for Others
Integrity
Stress Tolerance
Cooperation
Attention to Detail

Alarm systems
Automobiles or cars
Balance or gross motor equipment
Building blocks
Car seats
Carriages or perambulators or strollers
Cognitive toys
Desktop computers
Domestic clothes washers
Domestic microwave ovens
Domestic ranges
Domestic tumble dryers
Feeding bottles
Fire extinguishers
Mobile medical services first aid kits
Mobile phones
Notebook computers
Oral or enteral liquid medication syringe
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Sand or water tables or activity centers
Vacuum cleaners
Wet mops

Calendar and scheduling software
Computer based training software
Desktop communications software
Internet browser software
Multi-media educational software
Office suite software
Project management software
Word processing software

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