Early childhood educator career insights

Friday, June 10, 2022

When exploring the ins and outs of a career in early childhood education, the best place to get information is from the people working in this growing sector. Of course, not everyone has their own early childhood educator on hand to ask questions, which is why we had a chat with an educator for you!

Mikhaila Pendlebury had always wanted to work with children;“I was only 9 years old when my niece was born, and I think that’s inspired me to want to work with children,” she explains.

Her career in early childhood education has so far lived up to Mikhaila’s expectations!

Rewards outweigh the challenges in early childhood education

Currently Mikhaila works full time in early childhood education in a breaks role, which she loves. This role can be challenging at times, as it involves Mikhaila adapting to rooms quickly. Often things are changed around but being adaptable certainly helps. There are also days when children are unsettled, but according to Mikhaila, the good days always make it worth it.

Working predominantly with children in the youngest room in the service — that is, aged 6 weeks to 2 years old — Mikhaila finds it immensely rewarding watching those in her care reaching their developmental milestones and growing in front of her eyes.

Leveraging your unique qualities as an educator

Often our individual experiences both in life and work can contribute to a range of skills that lend themselves to working in early childhood education. These transferable skills are something we work on recognising and developing throughout the courses we offer at Practical Outcomes. For Mikhaila, her role as a mum empowered her with many valuable qualities that she utilises in the workplace. One of the key ones is patience, says Mikhaila:

“Being a mum myself helped me to have patience with other children as I would with my own at that age.”

Upskilling for a growing career

Starting with a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care as an entry point into the sector, Mikhaila recently upskilled with the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care.

With a Diploma, you can open doors to more opportunities in the sector. Perfect for career growth long-term.

For Mikhaila, her ultimate goal is to one day open her very own family day care service, offering in-home care for children in her local community. Running your own family day care business is an exciting career avenue that can be explored when you have qualifications in early childhood education.

A flexible and balanced training experience

Whether you’re a mum like Mikhaila or you have other life commitments, the thought of juggling studies with work, parenting and other responsibilities can be overwhelming. We get that life can be busy, which is why our approach is designed to fit in with you.

This worked perfectly for Mikhaila, who was specifically looking to undertake classes in an online learning space. Straightforward, simple and easy to use are the words Mikhaila used to describe her experience with studying online.

“Studying online is so doable, especially while juggling being a mum.”

Trainer support for online studies

Rather than just be left to navigate the online course alone, Practical Outcomes learners are assigned their own dedicated trainer to be there every step of the way. Each trainer has their own lived experience within the early childhood education sector and an in depth understanding of what you need to succeed. Having an experienced trainer proved to be a great support for Mikhaila who really valued her trainer’s role:

“My trainer kept me on the right track and pushed me even when I didn’t know that I needed it.”

If you’re concerned about needing extra assistance with your studies, we also have a Learner Success Team who can assist with language, literacy and numeracy skills as well as any other challenges you might face during your course.

A bright future in a fulfilling career

Early childhood education is in need of caring, compassionate and committed educators who want to make a difference in children’s lives and educations.

For anyone considering early childhood education for their next career move, Mikhaila’s advice is:

“Go for it! Your trainer is there to help you, so just take your time and reach out for support when you need it”.

For support planning your study journey in early childhood education, reach out to our team here at Practical Outcomes.