Education · Helping & Teaching
Early childhood educator: what the job actually is
Teaching and caring for young children in child care and early learning settings, where playing, feeding and comforting are all the curriculum.
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The work
What this job actually is
- Planning and running learning for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, and looking after their daily needs: meals, naps, toileting, comfort and safety.
- Learning through play is the method, not an excuse. Setting up a table of water, sand or blocks and watching what the children do with it is how a skilled educator teaches.
- A lot of the work is observation and documentation, noting what each child can do and what they are ready for, and talking to parents about it.
- You work as a team in a room, and who is where, and who is watching which children, shapes how the whole day runs.
- Job Bank lists child day-care services and elementary schools as the main employers. In Ontario, Registered Early Childhood Educators are regulated by the College of Early Childhood Educators.
A Tuesday
What a normal day looks like
Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.
- 6:45 — Open the room, check it is safe, set out the morning activities before the first children arrive.
- 7:30 — Arrivals. Some children walk in happily and some cling to a parent's leg. Both need your full attention.
- 8:30 — Breakfast and a circle time. Eight children, three of them wanting to say something at once.
- 9:30 — Free play, while you watch, join in and write quick observation notes.
- 10:30 — Outdoor play in whatever the weather is. You are dressing small humans in snowsuits, which is a skill in itself.
- 12:00 — Lunch, then settling children for rest. One refuses to sleep and keeps the others awake.
- 13:00 — Your break, and then planning and documentation while the room is quiet.
- 15:00 — Snack and a messy art activity. The mess is the point.
- 16:30 — Parents arrive. You give each one a short, honest account of their child's day.
- 17:30 — Clean up the room, wash down toys and write a note for tomorrow's team. You go home tired and a bit sticky.
Honestly
Who loves this, and who should not do it
The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.
- You are good with small children and you like how they think, including the questions that have no answer.
- You are patient and can stay calm when a room is loud, messy or has a crying child in it.
- You enjoy being creative with simple materials and making an ordinary activity into a learning moment.
- You can talk to parents honestly and kindly, including when there is a worry.
- You want a college route to a regulated profession in about two years.
- You dislike noise and mess. A day with a group of toddlers has plenty of both.
- You need a high income quickly. Read the wage figures further down this page against what you would need to earn, and be honest about the gap.
- You get ill easily. Child care settings pass colds around constantly.
- You find constant supervision exhausting. You are responsible for small children's safety at every minute.
- You want more independence in how you teach. Many settings follow a programme set by the centre or the province.
- You find lifting, bending and being on the floor all day hard on your body.
The route in
How you actually get there in Ontario
Finish high school with English and any science or social science you enjoy
Durham College lists an OSSD or mature student status and Grade 12 English at the college or university level with a minimum grade. Requirements vary by college, so check the ones you are interested in.Complete an approved early childhood education programme
Durham College describes it as an Ontario College Diploma over four semesters with three supervised placements in semesters two, three and four. Placements require a criminal background check, first aid and CPR certification and immunisation records.Apply to the College of Early Childhood Educators
Graduates apply to the College to become a Registered Early Childhood Educator. The College lists a list of approved education programmes and an online application through a member account. Check its requirements page for the current steps before you apply.Work, and think about where it can go
Child care centres and schools are the main employers. Some educators move into supervisor or director roles, and some continue to a teaching degree. That is a separate route with its own requirements.
Where this comes from: College of Early Childhood Educators — Apply to the College · Durham College — Early Childhood Education programme
The money
What it pays in Ontario
Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.
- $17.95
- Low (hourly)
- $22.00
- Median (hourly)
- $31.00
- High (hourly)
Ontario, NOC 42202. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.
Source: Job Bank — Early childhood educator wages in Ontario
Where it is heading
The outlook for the next three years
Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.
Good4 out of 5 stars
- Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
- Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
- There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.
What is changing in this work
- Public sector investments in the child care system to create more day-care spaces and bolster the early childhood educator workforce
- Generally, steady opportunities as more parents participate in the workforce
Who hires for it
- The majority are employed in child day-care services
- Elementary schools
- 85,300
- people work in this job in Ontario
- more than 95%
- are women (48% across all jobs)
- 10%
- are self-employed (15% across all jobs)
Source: Job Bank — Early childhood educators and assistants job prospects in Ontario (NOC 42202). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.
Before you leave school
Things you can do now
- Take Grade 12 English and a course that involves children or development if your school offers one, such as a child studies or family studies class.
- Do your community involvement hours with children, such as a day camp, a recreation programme, a library story time or a child care centre if they take volunteers your age.
- Babysit properly. Not for the money but to find out whether you like the logistics, not just the cuteness.
- Ask your guidance counsellor whether your school has a co-op placement in an early learning setting.
Test it
Do this before you decide anything
Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.
Spend a morning being the adult in charge of play
About 90 minutes- With a parent's agreement, find a safe setting where you can spend time with small children, such as a family event or a younger relative. You are never alone responsible for a child's safety.
- Set up one simple activity, such as water, blocks or paper and crayons, and mostly watch. Write down three things you noticed each child do.
- Notice how you felt when a child cried or refused. Did you stay calm or want out?
- Read the College of Early Childhood Educators' page for applicants and write down the next three steps.
What it tells you. If the observation was interesting and the crying did not rattle you, that is a real sign that the patient, watchful side of the work suits you. If you spent the time wanting to leave, or the noise and mess wore you down fast, learn that now, because the day in a room of children is made of exactly that.
Better than any article
Questions for somebody who does this job
Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.
- “What does a normal day look like and what part is the hardest?”
- “How do you stay patient at the end of a long day?”
- “How do you talk to a parent when you are worried about their child?”
- “What do you wish you had known before you started the programme?”
- “Where do people go after a few years in the job?”
- “How are your pay and your hours compared with what you expected?”
Could you own one of these?
The part other career sites never mention
Yes, in some forms. Job Bank's workforce data shows a share of early childhood educators are self-employed, and some people run licensed home child care. Running a centre or a home child care means licensing, inspections, insurance and finances, which is a significant business, so ask the regulator what is required before you plan.
Not sure this is the right list to be reading
Start from yourself, not from the job.
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Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.
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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.