Majors for someone who wants to work with kids

[Anonymous]

DD is a junior and think she wants to get into early childhood education. She has been taking child development classes as her elective in HS and will have an internship her senior year.
She is thinking about majoring in early childhood education in college.
We would like to give her some ideas/options on other possible majors where she would still be able to able to work with young children.

[Anonymous]

speech therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, nursing, social work

[Anonymous]

Psychology (could do educational or clinical), physical therapy (could work for a school system or do early intervention with younger children), speech therapy, reading specialist, social work, nursing, Pre-med, Maybe throw in some business if she wanted to run a daycare center? Maybe even combine museum studies (if she wanted to work in/ direct a children's museum?)

[Anonymous]

Speech therapy, physical therapy, or occupational therapy (require minimum of a Master’s degree)

Psychology or special education, nursing, social work

[Anonymous]

If she ever wants to earn more than $10/hour as a preschool teacher, she’ll need options—teaching licensure, some type of certification (OT/SLP), nonprofit / public administration, or a master’s degree.

I’d suggest a broad major and minor (child and family studies? minor in nonprofit / public admin?) with a 5th year master’s / licensure in Early / Elementary Ed.

Look at NAEYC / your state’s guidelines for educational qualifications for teaching staff & directors. She wants to EXCEED those, because new regs & policies are coming down the pike. Check out NAEYC’s Power to the Profession and National Academies’ Transforming the Workforce—that will give you an overview of what she’s going to have to deal with.

If you’re in VA, there are some great scholarships (DSS / Project Pathfinders) that will pay for most of a degree in ECE if you do a 2+2 (say NVCC and then transfer to JMU).

Land Grant Us typically have the best early childhood programs because they’re very community focused (Virginia Tech, Eastern Kentucky, University of New Hampshire). If she’s at all inclined to do research, she needs to look at UVA (CASTL) and especially UNC (Frank Porter Graham) for grad. school. Bank Street or Columbia Teachers College are also excellent.

—early childhood policy nerd

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she ever wants to earn more than $10/hour as a preschool teacher, she’ll need options—teaching licensure, some type of certification (OT/SLP), nonprofit / public administration, or a master’s degree.

I’d suggest a broad major and minor (child and family studies? minor in nonprofit / public admin?) with a 5th year master’s / licensure in Early / Elementary Ed.

Look at NAEYC / your state’s guidelines for educational qualifications for teaching staff & directors. She wants to EXCEED those, because new regs & policies are coming down the pike. Check out NAEYC’s Power to the Profession and National Academies’ Transforming the Workforce—that will give you an overview of what she’s going to have to deal with.

If you’re in VA, there are some great scholarships (DSS / Project Pathfinders) that will pay for most of a degree in ECE if you do a 2+2 (say NVCC and then transfer to JMU).

Land Grant Us typically have the best early childhood programs because they’re very community focused (Virginia Tech, Eastern Kentucky, University of New Hampshire). If she’s at all inclined to do research, she needs to look at UVA (CASTL) and especially UNC (Frank Porter Graham) for grad. school. Bank Street or Columbia Teachers College are also excellent.

—early childhood policy nerd

Is the Child and Family Studies major the same as Human Services major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she ever wants to earn more than $10/hour as a preschool teacher, she’ll need options—teaching licensure, some type of certification (OT/SLP), nonprofit / public administration, or a master’s degree.

I’d suggest a broad major and minor (child and family studies? minor in nonprofit / public admin?) with a 5th year master’s / licensure in Early / Elementary Ed.

Look at NAEYC / your state’s guidelines for educational qualifications for teaching staff & directors. She wants to EXCEED those, because new regs & policies are coming down the pike. Check out NAEYC’s Power to the Profession and National Academies’ Transforming the Workforce—that will give you an overview of what she’s going to have to deal with.

If you’re in VA, there are some great scholarships (DSS / Project Pathfinders) that will pay for most of a degree in ECE if you do a 2+2 (say NVCC and then transfer to JMU).

Land Grant Us typically have the best early childhood programs because they’re very community focused (Virginia Tech, Eastern Kentucky, University of New Hampshire). If she’s at all inclined to do research, she needs to look at UVA (CASTL) and especially UNC (Frank Porter Graham) for grad. school. Bank Street or Columbia Teachers College are also excellent.

—early childhood policy nerd

Is the Child and Family Studies major the same as Human Services major?

Similar, though many places divide by areas of life span. Both would be under colleges of human services or education.

[Anonymous]

She may want to consider a broad undergraduate major to start and then as her specific interests are refined, select a specialization. She may need to do a post-bac certificate or accelerated undergrad-masters program for some particular specializations/licensing but she'll be broadly prepared for a range of things.

Human Development and Family Services tend to be the broad category that lead to social work, community development work, non-profit org work with children and families etc. Can work directly with families or in administration of programs etc.

Educational Psychology--prepares her for both research based work (e.g., data analysis on program efficacy), assessment coaching in schools, program evaluation-- and individual educational consulting, tutoring etc. This is a good option for people who initially want to work directly with kids but also want to impact a broader system in education.

Education--she could go for elementary education certification
Special education--specific certification for various disabilities (e.g. ABA certification in autism) or broad special education

Developmental psychology: This can prepare for both clinical work with individuals or broader research work.
Clinical psychology--this leads to direct work as a psychologist--usually requires graduate degree.

Pediatric health services--a whole range of professions --most require post-graduate work


Much of the broad coursework will tick the boxes to be an early childhood educator while she's in college--that's a common 'part-time'/summer job for college students--there will likely be on-campus daycares etc.

[Anonymous]

Human Development and Family Services tend to be the broad category that lead to social work, community development work, non-profit org work with children and families etc. Can work directly with families or in administration of programs etc.

Is is possible to go this route and still get the elementary education certification, possibly after a 5th year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she ever wants to earn more than $10/hour as a preschool teacher, she’ll need options—teaching licensure, some type of certification (OT/SLP), nonprofit / public administration, or a master’s degree.

I’d suggest a broad major and minor (child and family studies? minor in nonprofit / public admin?) with a 5th year master’s / licensure in Early / Elementary Ed.

Look at NAEYC / your state’s guidelines for educational qualifications for teaching staff & directors. She wants to EXCEED those, because new regs & policies are coming down the pike. Check out NAEYC’s Power to the Profession and National Academies’ Transforming the Workforce—that will give you an overview of what she’s going to have to deal with.

If you’re in VA, there are some great scholarships (DSS / Project Pathfinders) that will pay for most of a degree in ECE if you do a 2+2 (say NVCC and then transfer to JMU).

Land Grant Us typically have the best early childhood programs because they’re very community focused (Virginia Tech, Eastern Kentucky, University of New Hampshire). If she’s at all inclined to do research, she needs to look at UVA (CASTL) and especially UNC (Frank Porter Graham) for grad. school. Bank Street or Columbia Teachers College are also excellent.

—early childhood policy nerd

OP here. Thanks for the information - very helpful. We are in MD so are there any MD state schools that you would recommend for the child/family studies major?

[Anonymous]

Maybe UMES?

https://www.umes.edu/HE/Pages/Child-Development/

https://www.umes.edu/HE/Pages/Family-and-Consumer-Sciences/

[Anonymous]

Hello, have you thought about reaching out to her high school guidance counselor? Usually they are trained to help students put together a college curriculum and pursue classes in a degree they are interested in. They can also administer tests to see in which areas she has innate interests and abilities in, which could help her decide how best to apply her interests in early childhood education. That is definitely a subject in which there are many ways she can apply what she learns. Does she like helping others solve problems? Is she compassionate and possess a desire to serve others? All of these personality traits and interests will help focus her classes and her gifts into a career she will love.

[Anonymous]

There are also programs in recreation management if that is a direction she’d like to go in.

[Anonymous]

K-3 teachers are considered early childhood teachers, as are preschool special ed teachers, and preschool teachers in public schools that have universal PreK. Teaching is a difficult job, with lots of unpaid overtime. The pay isn't great, but in most areas it's a living wage. But it can also be very rewarding, and it usually comes with job stability and benefits. If my son or daughter wanted to be a K-3 teacher, I'd encourage them to spend as much time in early childhood classrooms as possible before it was too late to change majors, and then to listen to their heart.

Preschool teachers, other than special ed and UPK in those states that have UPK as part of the public school (e.g. not the NY or FL model of UPK through private entities) generally have most of the hard parts of being a teacher, and none of the benefits. They don't earn a living wage. They don't get good benefits. They are some of the most underpaid and under appreciated workers in our country. If my son or daughter was looking at a degree specific to preschool (other than preschool special ed), I'd do everything in my power to convince them to do something else.

Therapists and related service providers (e.g. speech and language, OT, child psychologist etc . . . ) generally have more job flexibility, sometimes better pay, and better working conditions. But they require grad degrees that are more intense and last longer than a one year M.A.T.. I'd encourage my child to explore those as well.

[Anonymous]

Lots of great advice. Also, make sure that whatever major she chooses that it has lots of options. Majoring in Elementary Education really locks kids in and then they don't have a lot of flexibility when they want to move on. I am a veteran teacher and I cannot tell you how many young men and women get into teaching and don't even make it to the 5 year mark before they desperately make their way out. Please encourage your child, OP, to choose a major and minor that give her some flexibility.