A background and experience in early childhood education (ECE) does not necessarily commit you to a lifetime spent in the classroom. There’s certainly nothing wrong if that’s where your passion lies, but the skills you brought to and developed as a classroom educator are easily transferrable to other positions, which make it an ideal starter career.
When Kiddie Academy Vice President of Education, Joy Turner, fills staff positions, a background in ECE is a plus. “We have a variety of different folks on our team, all from different backgrounds, but all in the education field. When I’m looking to expand our team, we’re looking for more than just someone who wants to work with children. We want a difference-maker. Someone with an early childhood education background indicates to me that they want to make a difference. It’s how they go about making a difference in the life of a child that we’re looking for.”
Transferable Skills
Hiring managers know that those with ECE backgrounds are much more than glorified babysitters. When they see ECE experience on a resume, they know a candidate has a skill set that includes patience, compassion, flexibility, collaboration, communication, time management and myriad other abilities. What they see is a person who has been entrusted to patiently, lovingly guide children through the important developmental milestones that set the course for the rest of their lives.
Robert Bieschke, an Education Project Manager who is a former teacher at Kiddie Academy of Abingdon in Maryland, said, “Teachers are the most adaptable people I’ve ever met in my life. When I joined the corporate staff, I found that my time in the classroom really helped me adapt. As a teacher, I dealt with all kinds of personalities and needs and constantly had to pivot from situation to situation. The corporate world is the same way. It’s not linear. I have to adapt to other people’s styles and ideas. I have to be just as flexible as I was when I was teaching.”
Academy Opening Manager Ashley Meyers has had an experience like Robert’s. “I think there are many skills you pick up being a classroom teacher that transfer directly over to working in a corporate position. Everything from leadership to collaborating on a project to time management is huge – they’re all important skills for my current job.”
Find out more
Experience for yourself the difference you can make in the lives of children. Find out more about employment opportunities at your local Academy, as well as at other Academies from coast to coast, at kiddieacademy.com/careers.
