Sharing my own experience..
My time just passed, few initial years did some time pass courses and by not choosing a correct line. When I thought of taking Early Childhood courses, took one it was hard to go back to study after so many years plus by that time I got Aash . I could hardly do 2 to 3 courses…
worked part time with children.
Sometimes applied for jobs but they were full time so never took it.. Recently when I started applying for same type of jobs their requirements and needs have increased and truly speaking never want to go back into preschool environment for full time…so went and applied for elementary school came to know that they don’t need early childhood course they need cbest and teachers credentials. So again same instead of ECE courses I should have given cbest.
I have gone through this as I was unaware So In short
1) for day care you don’t need any courses or units just need 15 hours of CPR ( Red Cross ) and few safety things (child proof) at home.
2) If people are really interested working in preschool/opening their own preschool then ECE courses is recommended. ( benefits working full time for people who need insurance, medical, 401 etc)
3) IF elementary then Cbest and teachers credentials – Benefits to get into public school and most of the tutoring company require that or even if you do private tutoring it counts… ( 401, medical etc depends on the company and whether you work part time or full time)
previously cbest was only 3 to 4 times a year but now you can give it online below is the link
Just to add on to the list. To work in private elementary schools you do not need to have teaching credential. That is what I saw about 2 to 3 years ago with Stratford and challenger. I am not sure if it is true of all private schools.
You can also work as an Instructional Assistant with public school or work as Behavior therapist for autistic students ( they train you ) without any credential or
you can also work in the after school program
There are lot of avenues in education but since we know very few Indians ( people whom we know) it is hard to navigate and know the system.
You can also work as teacher in the school district when you are in the process of getting your credential. Edjoin is a great website to look for jobs in education in california
Great & very useful article Poonam.
Neelam for after school programm what I have seen in public school is mostly run by YMCA or similar to it so you enroll through them and they need CPR training basically. to work as Behavior therapist for autistic students you really need patience and that type of willingness and courage.
Thanks Bhavini.
This is really interesting. We all want the best in education for our kids but surprisingly very few people know about various avenues to service this field.
However in our group we now do have few people entering this field and would be interesting to know their experiences and various avenues they want to pursue in education.
To apply for day care license in California
following is the website and requirements
http://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/Child-Care-Licensing/How-to-Become-Licensed