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Early Childhood Education

What Early Childhood Education Majors Need to Know

Studies in Early Childhood Education develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Early Childhood Education graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Early Childhood Education emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Early Childhood Education program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Early Childhood Education careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Early Childhood Education graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.0 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	3.7 / 7
Developing Objectives and Strategies	3.7 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Early Childhood Education professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Padlet	Computer based training software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Seesaw	Multi-media educational software	—
Children’s educational software	Computer based training software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Bloomz	Desktop communications software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Early Childhood Education graduates include:

• Educator
• Instructor
• Montessori Teacher
• Teacher
• Early Childhood Teacher
• Art Teacher
• Classroom Teacher
• Physical Fitness Teacher
• Physical Education Teacher (PE Teacher)
• Kinder Teacher
• Kindergarten Classroom Teacher
• Bilingual Education Teacher
• Transitional Kindergarten Teacher
• Title One Kindergarten Teacher
• Bilingual Kindergarten Teacher

What Can You Do With a Early Childhood Education Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Early Childhood Education commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Education Teachers, Postsecondary	2.4%	$98,329	$80,157–$116,500
Teaching Assistants, Special Education	9.5%	$96,801	$75,024–$118,577
Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education	9.8%	$89,337	$72,651–$106,022

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Early Childhood Education graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	32.8%
Doctoral degree	25.4%
High school diploma or equivalent	11.3%
Master’s degree	11.2%
Some college courses	6.3%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	4.6%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	4.4%
Postsecondary certificate	4.0%
Less than a high school diploma	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

How Much Do Early Childhood Education Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Early Childhood Education graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$44,857
4 years	$43,846
5 years	$48,879

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $48,879 — roughly 9% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Early Childhood Education Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Early Childhood Education. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	114	54
Bachelor’s	67	45
Master’s	69	31
Doctoral (Research)	1	2

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Early Childhood Education Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Early Childhood Education graduates earn a median of $43,846 four years after completion — roughly 15% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	108,054
Elementary Education and Teaching	42,205
Education, General	27,481
Secondary Education and Teaching	10,594
Teacher Education, Multiple Levels	8,732
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, Other	6,573
Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor	5,071
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching	2,976
Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching	2,616
Teacher Assistant/Aide	2,543
Teaching Assistants/Aides, Other	1,322
Bilingual and Multilingual Education	932

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.