Childcare Workers
Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play.
- O*NET-SOC code
39-9011.00 - Preparation Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$34,980
Employment, U.S.518,910
Median hourly wage$16.82
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $24,260 | $29,360 | $34,980 | $38,570 | $46,010 |
By state (51)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 4,580 | $22,720 | 0.65 |
| Alaska | 1,340 | $36,200 | 1.24 |
| Arizona | 5,530 | $35,100 | 0.51 |
| Arkansas | 5,400 | $28,450 | 1.24 |
| California | 52,780 | $40,020 | 0.87 |
| Colorado | 13,310 | $40,750 | 1.39 |
| Connecticut | 12,020 | $36,660 | 2.12 |
| Delaware | 1,230 | $33,210 | 0.76 |
| District of Columbia | 1,350 | $47,340 | 0.58 |
| Florida | 21,760 | $34,210 | 0.66 |
| Georgia | 21,040 | $28,020 | 1.29 |
| Hawaii | 1,870 | $37,030 | 0.89 |
| Idaho | 4,430 | $30,160 | 1.55 |
| Illinois | 23,900 | $35,830 | 1.17 |
| Indiana | 8,280 | $30,180 | 0.78 |
| Iowa | 6,020 | $28,420 | 1.16 |
| Kansas | 7,430 | $29,240 | 1.55 |
| Kentucky | 5,820 | $28,920 | 0.87 |
| Louisiana | 8,000 | $22,900 | 1.24 |
| Maine | 4,990 | $36,350 | 2.33 |
| Maryland | 9,750 | $36,030 | 1.06 |
| Massachusetts | 13,140 | $40,900 | 1.08 |
| Michigan | 14,010 | $30,970 | 0.95 |
| Minnesota | 11,570 | $35,520 | 1.17 |
| Mississippi | 5,420 | $22,050 | 1.40 |
| Missouri | 12,430 | $30,790 | 1.27 |
| Montana | 2,190 | $35,120 | 1.29 |
| Nebraska | 9,390 | $30,740 | 2.75 |
| Nevada | 3,740 | $29,740 | 0.72 |
| New Hampshire | 2,820 | $37,080 | 1.24 |
| New Jersey | 25,070 | $36,390 | 1.75 |
| New Mexico | 4,120 | $35,840 | 1.42 |
| New York | 44,020 | $37,590 | 1.36 |
| North Carolina | 12,550 | $29,140 | 0.76 |
| North Dakota | 4,030 | $30,290 | 2.81 |
| Ohio | 11,300 | $29,680 | 0.61 |
| Oklahoma | 7,590 | $27,730 | 1.33 |
| Oregon | 5,240 | $38,650 | 0.80 |
| Pennsylvania | 13,000 | $30,140 | 0.64 |
| Rhode Island | 1,800 | $36,940 | 1.08 |
| South Carolina | 10,660 | $29,650 | 1.39 |
| South Dakota | 2,370 | $27,940 | 1.56 |
| Tennessee | 13,650 | $29,660 | 1.25 |
| Texas | 34,160 | $28,570 | 0.73 |
| Utah | 4,830 | $31,630 | 0.83 |
| Vermont | $38,030 | ||
| Virginia | 13,930 | $34,330 | 1.02 |
| Washington | 4,340 | $41,680 | 0.37 |
| West Virginia | 1,930 | $27,710 | 0.83 |
| Wisconsin | 5,560 | $32,460 | 0.57 |
| Wyoming | 1,110 | $28,250 | 1.19 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education | 3 | 0.974 |
| 2 | Bartenders | 1-2 | 0.962 |
| 3 | Nannies | 1-2 | 0.959 |
| 4 | Special Education Teachers, Preschool | 4 | 0.958 |
| 5 | Psychiatric Aides | 1-2 | 0.957 |
| 6 | Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses | 3 | 0.955 |
| 7 | Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education | 3 | 0.953 |
| 8 | Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School | 4 | 0.953 |
| 9 | Coaches and Scouts | 4 | 0.952 |
| 10 | Teaching Assistants, Special Education | 3 | 0.950 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Childcare Workers, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychiatric Aides | Social Perceptiveness | 0.87 | 0.957 |
| Animal Trainers | Learning Strategies | 0.76 | 0.948 |
| Tellers | Mathematics | 0.87 | 0.935 |
| Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks | Management of Personnel Resources | 0.88 | 0.933 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Childcare Workers, excluding software Childcare Workers already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Appletree | 4 of 20 | 26.4x |
| Children's educational software | 4 of 20 | 20.5x |
| Padlet | 4 of 20 | 10.9x |
| ClassDojo | 3 of 20 | 23.1x |
| Screen magnification software | 3 of 20 | 17.3x |
| Flipgrid | 4 of 20 | 8.0x |
| Kahoot! | 3 of 20 | 15.4x |
| Screen reader software | 3 of 20 | 15.4x |
| Edmodo | 3 of 20 | 13.8x |
| ParentSquare | 3 of 20 | 10.7x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.50 | 3.12 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 3.38 | 3.25 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.38 | 2.12 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.12 | 1.88 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.50 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 1.25 | not rated |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.12 | not rated |
| Science | Essential skill | 1.12 | not rated |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.73 | 3.95 |
| English Language | 3.51 | 2.70 |
| Education and Training | 3.36 | 2.98 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.18 | 2.22 |
| Psychology | 3.04 | 2.63 |
| Administration and Management | 2.87 | 2.05 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.60 | 1.47 |
| Mathematics | 2.48 | 1.79 |
| Administrative | 2.44 | 2.15 |
| Computers and Electronics | 2.18 | 2.30 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 2.18 | 1.80 |
| Food Production | 2.10 | 1.41 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 2.10 | 1.36 |
| Sales and Marketing | 2.03 | 1.50 |
| Law and Government | 2.02 | 1.14 |
| Production and Processing | 2.02 | 0.78 |
| Economics and Accounting | 2.01 | 0.93 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.97 | 1.44 |
| Communications and Media | 1.87 | 1.51 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.70 | 1.56 |
| Fine Arts | 1.67 | 0.73 |
| Chemistry | 1.66 | 1.37 |
| Engineering and Technology | 1.66 | 0.76 |
| Foreign Language | 1.66 | 0.70 |
| Geography | 1.62 | 1.05 |
| Telecommunications | 1.52 | 0.48 |
| History and Archeology | 1.46 | 0.75 |
| Design | 1.43 | not rated |
| Biology | 1.37 | 0.76 |
| Transportation | 1.34 | not rated |
| Physics | 1.22 | not rated |
| Building and Construction | 1.15 | not rated |
| Mechanical | 1.15 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Oral Comprehension | 3.88 | 3.75 |
| Oral Expression | 3.75 | 3.50 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.62 | 3.38 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Far Vision | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Selective Attention | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Information Ordering | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Near Vision | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Written Expression | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Time Sharing | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Originality | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Visualization | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Memorization | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.62 | 2.38 |
| Perceptual Speed | 2.62 | 2.38 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 2.50 | 2.62 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.50 | 2.38 |
| Static Strength | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.25 | 2.25 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 2.25 | 2.00 |
| Stamina | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Manual Dexterity | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Dynamic Strength | 2.12 | 1.75 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Number Facility | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Depth Perception | 2.00 | 1.38 |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Explosive Strength | 1.38 | 0.62 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.38 | 0.50 |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.25 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.12 | not rated |
| Reaction Time | 1.12 | not rated |
| Response Orientation | 1.12 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.12 | not rated |
| Control Precision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Rate Control | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Office software hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Educational software
- Google Classroom
- Nearpod
- Scheduling software
- Schoology
- Seesaw
- Tadpoles
- Web browser software
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bismarck, ND | 770 | 3.24 | $30,650 |
| Lincoln, NE | 1,920 | 3.15 | $29,860 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 4,940 | 2.97 | $31,330 |
| Lewiston-Auburn, ME | 460 | 2.89 | $34,570 |
| Fargo, ND-MN | 1,380 | 2.79 | $30,030 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | 3,720 | 2.76 | $38,020 |
| Sumter, SC | 300 | 2.61 | $27,660 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 2,000 | 2.59 | $28,730 |
| Portland-South Portland, ME | 2,460 | 2.56 | $36,620 |
| Waterbury-Shelton, CT | 1,350 | 2.51 | $35,670 |