We asked early childhood educators about their careers—and the answers will surprise you in the best way possible
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Imagine this: you turn up every day at a job you love and leave feeling like you’ve made some meaningful change.
It sounds like a fantasy—but the good news is if you’re looking at changing careers or kicking off your first one, then being an early childhood educator is an incredibly rewarding and much-needed role within the local community. By helping children develop vital skills and qualities, you help build an essential foundation for the rest of their life.
Not only is it the perfect job if you’re seeking to make a meaningful difference, but there are also plenty of career pathways available to you to help you find your niche within the sector.
Jinny Jeong has been working in early childhood education for six years—and while she never planned on making it her career, now she wouldn’t change it for the world.
“At first the reason I chose early education as a career was very different from now. I chose it because I needed to get my visa to live in Australia, but while I was studying, I realised that it’s a beautiful profession to support children, families, and their communities,” she says.
Now working as an educator at Communities at Work Abacus Child Care and Education Centre, she shapes the lives of Canberra children. But after six years in the industry, what does she love most about her job?
“I love to watch the children growing and being happy. They make my day. Every day, my job makes me want to go to work…I empower children and treat them as individuals.”
Jinny at Abacus.
For Jinny, one of the most important aspects of working as an Educational Leader and Assistant Manager at Abacus is not only to help the children develop the confidence to learn and grow, but also to empower the educators—especially during the current National Workforce Crisis in the early childhood workforce.
Supporting them in all aspects of their careers, Jinny is currently studying her Master of Teaching; but she says there’s also plenty of training and mentoring available for all staff at Communities at Work, including a unique, flexible ‘get paid while you learn’ traineeship called Ascend.
A fully paid early childhood education traineeship open to anyone who is passionate about working with children, it offers a bespoke learning experience, combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience.
Designed to be easily accessible, it’s the first step in a rewarding career as a qualified early childhood educator—providing peace of mind for anyone interested in the sector.
“We’re here to care for children, but I’m also here to value and support educators because, without educators, we can’t have any children,” says Jinny. “I believe it’s very important to keep our children’s educators happy and think about their wellbeing too.”
Ashlea Nicholson, Manager at Communities at Work Abacus Child Care and Education Centre, promises that as part of this focus on wellbeing, no new educators are left in the deep end when they choose to join the organisation.
“We’re really lucky to have an award-winning registered training organisation centred on professional learning and education,” she explains. “They offer qualifications that new educators can study, like a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, or a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, and our highly respected trainers are able to support the educators through their studies.”
“One of the great things about working for the organisation and having our own training calendar is it comes at no cost to the educators…they’re able to get inspired and motivated and bring the wonderful things that they learn back into the service, as well as through their thorough induction process.”
Ashlea says the mentoring and training support she received enabled her to rise to her current position as Centre Manager.
Starting with Communities at Work in 2009, Ashlea is the perfect example of a different career pathway educators can take. Starting off at Abacus doing a traineeship for her Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, not long after she finished studying she was offered a permanent role as an educator.
“It was a great career pathway of progression for me because I knew once I left school, I really wanted a full-time job, but I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do,” she says.
“After I completed my Certificate III and was offered an ongoing role as an educator, I then had the opportunity to complete my Diploma through our RTO…there’s an ongoing progression that’s available to us through qualifications. But that also opened the doorway to leadership roles in the service.”
“I know that the work that we do here directly impacts the people that we see here, but also impacts others across the community.”
So, what advice would they give to anyone looking at starting a career in Early Childhood Education?
“I would be honest and tell them it’s very rewarding work and it can be our lifetime work, but I would also tell them if you just wanted to get money it’s not the job for you,” says Jinny. “You have to love the job and you have to love children and want to support them.”
“If you’re wondering if this is the right pathway for you, I would say do a bit of research and give it a go,” adds Ashlea.
“Jump onto our website and even have a listen to some of our podcasts which talk about the different career journeys that people have. One talks specifically about how early learning matters and how you can matter in shaping the lives of young children.”
