Having worked hard to complete your online childminding courses, you are now focused on getting a job and building a career. You have already made a positive choice, as you have gained industry-specific qualifications – and this is the best way to progress, guaranteeing your employability. Most jobs in childcare see these qualifications as a prerequisite, whether it is a nursery, as a social worker, family support officer or youth worker.
However, it is not just conventional careers that would benefit from the skills learnt on an online childcare course level 3. You could quickly become self-employed, setting up your own day-care or childminding business. Consequently, a qualification that is specific to your area of interest and opens many opportunities – whether following a career or becoming your own boss.
What else does your childcare course give you?
Maybe you have to think more broadly about the skills you have now gained. Learning about childcare has much broader application than setting you up in a rewarding job. A childcare course will also expand your knowledge for aspects of life that you will meet each day. It will be especially satisfying for those looking to have children of your own.
A great example of the power of a childcare course beyond employability is the qualification in child psychology. You have learnt so much about the child’s mind. You now understand ideas from how they develop language and their social development to the growth of their morals and their personality. Understanding how people become the individuals they are can be useful when working with adults too. You could quickly develop your specialism further looking at how to apply this knowledge to coach professionals or counsel those who are struggling.
Childcare courses can also help you develop appreciate of special educational needs. This knowledge could help you towards a career in teaching, but it could equally help you become more tolerant of those who struggle to access the world in the same way as you do.
A focus on children is really an exploration of people. You can apply the knowledge at work, as a teacher, coach, counsellor or more, or you can use them in your home.
A rewarding career
Realistically, you have chosen a childcare course because you want to enjoy a rewarding career. A career in childcare has many perks. First, you have the opportunity to make a difference in the life of a young person. Children are highly susceptible to positive reinforcement and role models. You could be the adult who helps a child find their place in the world. You could be the one grown-up who helps them understand how to be content and safe.
By learning how to tell stories, play games, demonstrate daily tasks and project what it means to be a good person, you will be shaping that child. Through your relationship with children, you will see them learn, grow and develop before your eyes. The tangible outcomes are rewarding. You will never doubt why you do your job – they will be running around your feet every day.
There are other bonuses too. Childcare positions often offer a flexible working schedule. This schedule will help you to fit your work around your personal commitments. You may need a job that works for school hours so that you can care for your children. You may want to shape your working hours so that you can create the perfect balance between work and life. This is one of the few career sectors where this is possible.
It’s also a career choice that can grow with you. You have your Level 3 qualification now, but nothing is stopping you aspiring to Level 5, 6 or even 7 – you could become an expert voice in teaching or psychology. You could become the leading voice in the sector, delivering papers to journals or lectures to university students. Humans always need to know better how to care and shape the lives of our young people. The changing demands of modern society make this more critical than ever before.
Your important takeaway
You may have gained your Level 3 childcare course for a specific reason. You may have thought you would like to work in a day-care centre or maybe as a preschool teacher. However, this is a narrow view of this specific qualification. You are starting down a road of specialist knowledge that needs gifted and committed people. You may begin as a youth worker, but you may end up as an influential advocate for all children across the world.