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How to Become a Preschool Teacher

By Martina Mascali, Monster Contributor
teacher with children in classroom

Are you considering a career in early education? In this article, we show you how to become a preschool teacher and help young children get accustomed to the school environment, learn fundamental skills, and transition to elementary school. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that for preschool teachers the projected average growth rate is 15%, which is three time the average for all occupations.

What Is a Preschool Teacher and What Does a Preschool Teacher Do?

A preschool teacher is an educator working with children under the age of five, helping them to learn through play and engaging them in activities to develop important language, motor, and social skills. The main responsibilities of a preschool teacher include:

  • Contributing to child learning, growth, and advancement.
  • Displaying a passion for developing age-appropriate educational activities and practices.
  • Maintaining a positive mindset toward child learning and social-emotional development.
  • Working efficiently within existing learning structures and believing in the capability of children to excel.
  • Promoting problem-solving.
  • Serving as a role-model to students.
  • Investing in the students’ well-being, health, and safety.
  • Demonstrating fast learning abilities.
  • Managing groups of students in a classroom environment and communicating effectively with students, including on potentially sensitive topics.
  • Adhering to school processes and protocols.

How to Become a Preschool Teacher

Now, let’s explore the most common preschool teacher education requirements. onto give you a general idea about how to become a preschool teacher, we are describing the most common paths, but keep in mind that preschool teacher requirements by state vary. For this reason, don’t forget to also check the government official website for your state to see their specific preschool teacher requirements.

Preschool Teacher Requirements

Even though preschool teacher requirements by state are different, one thing they all have in common is that to work in head start preschool programs and public schools you need to have at least an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree depending on the job specifics.

What degree do you need to be a preschool teacher?

The preferred subjects include early childhood education and child development. Preschool teacher education requirements typically also include earning a certification in first aid and child CPR.

Do you need a degree to be a preschool teacher?

It depends. Private and parochial schools are allowed to set their own standards, and many such institutions require their preschool teachers to have at least a high school diploma only. However, remember that a college degree will give you access to more, better-paid preschool teaching opportunities.

Preschool teacher certification and licensing requirements

The last step of becoming a preschool teacher is checking on your state’s regulations regarding certification and licenses. If your state requires its preschool teachers to obtain a license or a certification, you most likely will have to take few skills tests and pass a background check to obtain it.

Skills Needed to Be a Preschool Teacher

Here is a list of the most common and relevant professional skills for preschool teachers:

  • Knowledge of instructional methods that are appropriate for preschool-aged children.
  • Desire and ability to work with children with diverse backgrounds and levels of ability toward accomplishing their educational and developmental goals.
  • Familiarity with multiple toddlers learning areas.
  • Ability to organize tasks and manage time to meet deadlines.
  • Working familiarity with assistive technologies including internet and email systems, word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet software.
  • Working knowledge of various office and video equipment.

Careers Similar to Preschool Teacher

Also check out the following articles to learn more about other interesting teaching careers:

How Long Does It Take to Become a Preschool Teacher?

Most people become preschool teachers in two to four years after graduating high school, depending on if they are pursuing an associate or bachelor’s degree. Many people also begin working as preschool teachers right after high school, in environments where their diploma is enough, like private or parochial schools. If you’re in this position, you could also study in for your higher degree at the same time to work towards unlocking better opportunities.

How Much Is a Preschool Teacher Salary?

According to Monster’s research the average preschool teacher salary in the U.S. is $13.07 per hour within a range of $10.48 to $18.38 per hour. Your exact preschool teacher salary will depend on your experience and education, job environment, and other influential aspects.

You can, however, get a closer estimate by searching salaries by location on Monster’s Salary Tool. Use the search bar to quickly find out the salary of preschool teachers and other careers in education in your town and compare them with other location near or far.

How to Find Preschool Teacher Jobs

Let’s close this article on how to become a preschool teacher with some job search tips and hot job locations. When looking at Monster’s selection of preschool teacher jobs, you’ll notice that each is rather different they are one from another.

For this reason, you should never rush a job application. Instead, take the time to optimize your preschool teacher resume and also write a teacher cover letter tailored for each listing.

The top five states by concentration of preschool teacher jobs are:

And the top metropolitan areas are:

Start Your Career in Early Education with Help from Monster

Now that you know how to become a preschool teacher, join Monster for free and upload your resume to find opportunities in preschools in your area. You can also opt in to receive custom notifications when new jobs are posted to our database, so you’ll never miss a chance to send in your applications and boost your chances of getting hired.