For some people, the idea of working with children can be an exciting and gratifying one. Children offer a completely different working environment with their innocence, growing potential and unique view of the world. While working with children isn’t always easy, it’s certainly an appealing career path for those who simply love children.
Should You Work with Children?
There are many benefits to working with children, but a career role centered on children may not be for everyone. There could be a few circumstances in which you find yourself considering a long-term career with children.
These could be:
- You’ve never worked with children but always thought you’d like a career based on children
- You have experience working with children, and you’re considering your long-term career options
- You already work with children, but you’re looking for a job change which will allow you to work with children in a different way
- You have just become newly qualified to work with children but are unsure of your job options
No matter what situation applies to you, working with children can be a very rewarding career path for many reasons. These reasons include:
- There are usually a lot of job options relating to children. This means if you’re looking for a career option that will give you a lot of choice and potential, working with children could give you that.
- You will play an important role in the development of a child and help to shape their future
- If you’re naturally patient, compassionate, and caring, most job roles relating to children will have need of these positive characteristics
- There are many opportunities for change or progression
Working with Children: 7 Rewarding Job Options
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Elementary School Teacher
There may be nothing more rewarding than the idea of helping to shape a younger person and offer support, education, and guidance as they grow. While this applies to any teaching role, becoming an elementary school teacher means you’re a fundamental part of a growing child’s life during the key early stages of their educational development.
Becoming a teacher within this age group also means that you can find a balance between important education and fun, creative projects for a more relaxed learning environment.
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Pediatric Dentist
If you enjoy working with children, there are many ways you can couple that with existing job roles and skills. If you’re already a trained dentist or are planning to study dentistry, then you can fit a love for children around that by becoming a pediatric dentist.
Pediatric dentists focus on the oral care of infants, growing children, and adolescents. This job role allows you to focus on only those patients who are children, which can be appealing if you would like to work in a dentistry environment tailored for younger people and spend time with children during the course of your working day.
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Midwife
Working with children doesn’t have to mean during an age where you can talk to them. You may have a fondness for babies and expectant families in the environment of a healthcare role. Perhaps healthcare roles that work directly with adults and only adults isn’t appealing to you, and one which focuses on newborn babies does appeal.
By finding the right school for midwifery, you can fast-track your ideal career and learn all about working with expectant mothers, pregnancy care, delivering newborns, and more. This can be particularly appealing for those who already know that a healthcare role is the right one for them but would like it to have some relation to children. Midwifery is a responsible job which requires constant learning. This is why online courses such as Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) save their time and can be done while working.
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Family Social Worker
Social work in itself is very rewarding, but as a family social worker, you can make sure to work with those families and children who need your professional guidance and support. This allows you to get to know families and children on a personal basis and be an important professional figure in their life.
Social work, which focuses more on children specifically, such as children coming from abusive homes or who live in foster care, means you can work directly with them to improve their lives.
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Pediatric Nutritionist
Perhaps you have a passion for healthy living and nutrition, as much as you do for children. Combine the two by focusing on nutrition guidance for young people. The right nutrition for growing children is essential for healthy development, which means your pediatric nutritionist role will be an important one.
You could work as a consultant for professional institutions, like schools, to help guide child nutrition, or you would work on a more private basis to help those children and families in need for dietary advice or planning.
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Nanny
Becoming a professional nanny gives you the freedom to work with many different families — or perhaps even one main family — to assist with childcare, daily duties, and the development of children in your care. Becoming a nanny can be a great choice for those who want to work with children, but in a more relaxed or home-based environment rather than a large industry sector.
The role of a nanny is a crucial one for those families or single parents who need help with their everyday routine.
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A Professional Entertainer
Perhaps the appeal of working with children for you is to allow your inner child to come out, too. Your ideal working environment could be one that allows you to have fun with children every day, rather than a more challenging or serious role.
Becoming an entertainer means you can specialize in children’s events, parties, or any other social occasion in which you’re required to put on a show for a child or a bunch of children. A professional entertainer could be a magician, a dancer, a singer, a clown, or anything else where you can work your personable skillset and charm to bring joy to children’s lives.
Take Away
These are just a few examples of the job roles which are out there if you would like to work with children. As you can see, each role can vary in a huge way, from a skilled medical professional working with children to an everyday entertainer. Finding something which suits your personality, goals, and lifestyle will be key.
