Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare

Median salary

$59,300

Average salary

$64,800

Employment

73,660

Projected growth

2.5% decline

Annual openings

5,500

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

What Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare Do

Plan, direct, or coordinate academic or nonacademic activities of preschools or childcare centers and programs, including before- and after-school care.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: Less than 5 years
On-the-job training: None
Self-employed: 4.9%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 4 of 5

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Experience: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
Education: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.5/5
Education and Trainingimportance 4.3/5
Administration and Managementimportance 4.1/5
English Languageimportance 3.9/5
Psychologyimportance 3.5/5
Public Safety and Securityimportance 3.5/5
Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 3.5/5
Sales and Marketingimportance 3.5/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

Contact With Others5.0/5
Telephone Conversations4.9/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.9/5
E-Mail4.8/5
Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers4.6/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.5/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling99% skill match
Education Administrators, Postsecondary98% skill match
Financial Managers98% skill match
Gambling Managers97% skill match
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers97% skill match
Lodging Managers97% skill match
First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers97% skill match
Instructional Coordinators97% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Coordinationimportance 4.0/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.9/5
Instructingimportance 3.9/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.9/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.9/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.9/5
Time Managementimportance 3.8/5
Management of Personnel Resourcesimportance 3.8/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

ACS Technologies HeadMaster
Auburn Software Debit Square
B&I Computer Consultants Childcare Sage
Bloomz
Cirrus Group Daycare Works
Emerging Technologies Office Center
GroupMe
Jackrabbit Technologies Jackrabbit Care

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Dependability
Cooperation
Leadership Orientation
Integrity
Empathy
Optimism
Social Orientation

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

SocialHigh
EnterprisingMedium
ConventionalMedium
InvestigativeLow
ArtisticLow
RealisticLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).