4 answers
Katlin
Student
Portland, Oregon
10
Questions
Asked
2328 views
How long have you been working with children?
I am planning on taking a course on early childhood development and am curious on people's experience working with children.
4 answers
Tanceana Reynard
Teacher
4
Answers
Hockley, Texas
Updated
Tanceana’s Answer
Hi Kaitlin!
I have been working with children for the past 20+ years! :)
Believe it or not, my first Education Class was "Childhood Development," that after having taken that 'hands-on' course, I was hooked! I totally LOVED that class and I had the best college professor, EVER! Taking the Course not only opened my eyes to 'little people' and how they grow and develop, but also, it opened my heart to the possibilities of how I could make a positive difference in their little lives if I were ever given a chance.
Well, 20+ years later..... Here I am! :) With my Eyes and Heart still wide open!!!
I have been working with children for the past 20+ years! :)
Believe it or not, my first Education Class was "Childhood Development," that after having taken that 'hands-on' course, I was hooked! I totally LOVED that class and I had the best college professor, EVER! Taking the Course not only opened my eyes to 'little people' and how they grow and develop, but also, it opened my heart to the possibilities of how I could make a positive difference in their little lives if I were ever given a chance.
Well, 20+ years later..... Here I am! :) With my Eyes and Heart still wide open!!!
Thank you, Tanceana!
Katlin
Kodi Sarlett (Shiflett)
Software Engineer
25
Answers
Hayward, California
Updated
Kodi’s Answer
Hi Katilin,
I received a degree in Child Development from Fresno State (CSU, Fresno) back in 2011 and have worked in early childhood development for about 10yrs. I did switch my careers during the pandemic and as of 2021 I am now a software engineer. But I will tell my experience for the 10yrs I did work in early childhood.
Working with children has been the most rewarding job I've had and it has literally taken me all around the world. I've worked in international schools in both China and Japan for about 7yrs in total. I also co-founded a charity in Beijing, China that helped orphaned children with mental and physical disabilities. In doing that I was also invited to travel around India helping schools in their English departments with curriculums and also doing some volunteer work. These are just some of the major things I was able to experience working with young children. So don't limit your thinking to mainly working in preschools if you get a degree in Child Development.
Now though this career field brought me all around the world and I got to help many families and children it also is not the highest paying career. Living overseas you can make more money as an English teacher whether it's preschool age or elementary but living in a new country without knowing anyone is not the easiest thing to do, so that may or may not be for you but I think there is a lot of growth in doing so. But as I came back to the states and wanted to start a family of my own I chose another career that I was also interested in (tech) that pays easily 4x as much as I made in my early childhood education career. So from my experience I loved this field for my 20's and it has helped me as a family man having so much experience around the little ones but my career now gives me more financial freedom and benefits to support my household.
I hope this helps, I loved every moment I had with all my kids around the world and miss being in the classroom, luckily I am friends with many of the parents I met along the way and still get updates and surprisingly kids that are not 15 that I taught when they were 5 still remember me and it warms my heart. So like I said it is very rewarding and you do make a huge impact.
I received a degree in Child Development from Fresno State (CSU, Fresno) back in 2011 and have worked in early childhood development for about 10yrs. I did switch my careers during the pandemic and as of 2021 I am now a software engineer. But I will tell my experience for the 10yrs I did work in early childhood.
Working with children has been the most rewarding job I've had and it has literally taken me all around the world. I've worked in international schools in both China and Japan for about 7yrs in total. I also co-founded a charity in Beijing, China that helped orphaned children with mental and physical disabilities. In doing that I was also invited to travel around India helping schools in their English departments with curriculums and also doing some volunteer work. These are just some of the major things I was able to experience working with young children. So don't limit your thinking to mainly working in preschools if you get a degree in Child Development.
Now though this career field brought me all around the world and I got to help many families and children it also is not the highest paying career. Living overseas you can make more money as an English teacher whether it's preschool age or elementary but living in a new country without knowing anyone is not the easiest thing to do, so that may or may not be for you but I think there is a lot of growth in doing so. But as I came back to the states and wanted to start a family of my own I chose another career that I was also interested in (tech) that pays easily 4x as much as I made in my early childhood education career. So from my experience I loved this field for my 20's and it has helped me as a family man having so much experience around the little ones but my career now gives me more financial freedom and benefits to support my household.
I hope this helps, I loved every moment I had with all my kids around the world and miss being in the classroom, luckily I am friends with many of the parents I met along the way and still get updates and surprisingly kids that are not 15 that I taught when they were 5 still remember me and it warms my heart. So like I said it is very rewarding and you do make a huge impact.
This is so amazing! I am very interested in working with kids and have been for a while now! I eventually want to be a foster parent as well and I love the idea of helping today's youth so much! Thank you for taking the tim e to tell me about your experience!
Katlin
SHERIFAT AWODE
Nursing
1
Answer
Ibadan, Nigeria
Updated
SHERIFAT’s Answer
I have been working with children for the past 5 years, working with them was like having fun and at the same time impacting knowledge and gaining experience.
Different characters and trait , your ability to understand and read the mood of every child goes along way for them to open up to you and take you has their best friend.
You need to have passion for it and get necessary training to be a pro.
Different characters and trait , your ability to understand and read the mood of every child goes along way for them to open up to you and take you has their best friend.
You need to have passion for it and get necessary training to be a pro.
Thanks for the help.
Katlin
Dawn Reinarz
Speech Language Pathologist
4
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Dawn’s Answer
30 years. I started as a speech pathologist after earning a bachelor and master degree. I quickly realized I loved working with children more than adults. I found a position where I could be in the classroom. Then I took more courses and training specifically geared toward early childhood. I still love working with preschoolers after all this time. They’re awesome little people and the impact I have in their lives is fulfilling wether it’s recognized or not.
This was super helpful, thank you!
Katlin
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