III. EXPLORING POSITIONS
Description: College professors (including instructors, assistant professors, associate professors, and professors) are involved in educating people interested in careers in early childhood and school-age programs. In addition to their teaching responsibilities they are often involved in conducting research in the evaluation and study of children and programs.
Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions: Advanced education in child development and age-appropriate programming strong analytical skills, and ability to communicate clearly.
Employment Settings: Two- and four-year colleges and universities teaching in undergraduate and graduate programs
Qualifications: A college professor has a deep knowledge of a specific content area, teaching skills, statistical analysis, and written communication skills.
Preparation: College professors typically require an advanced degree usually a Ph.D. or Ed.D. Typical courses include child development, early childhood education, childhood education, research methodology, and statistics.
Job Outlook: As the field of early childhood has grown there has been a corresponding demand for college professors to help prepare people for the field. The change in teacher certification requirements (certification for teaching children birth to grade 2) has also led to increased demand for early childhood professors.
Earnings: Earnings in this area vary greatly.
Opportunity for Advancement: College professors can advance to administrative positions in colleges and universities.
Related Careers:
Serving Children Directly – Program Administrator
Providing Information Goods and Services – Researcher, training specialist