Child care director vs assistant center director

The differences between child care directors and assistant center directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a child care director and an assistant center director. Additionally, an assistant center director has an average salary of $48,348, which is higher than the $37,471 average annual salary of a child care director.

The top three skills for a child care director include customer service, childhood and critical care. The most important skills for an assistant center director are customer service, patients, and CPR.

Child care director vs assistant center director overview

	Child Care Director	Assistant Center Director
Yearly salary	$37,471	$48,348
Hourly rate	$18.01	$23.24
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	79,105	41,569
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

What does a child care director do?

Child care directors manage the staff at a child care center. Their responsibilities include guiding and supporting their teaching staff and creating an environment where parents and children will feel secured and well taught. They provide their staff with constructive criticisms and suggest action plans on how they can improve. Directors continuously research new techniques to be used in educating, communicating, and rearing a child. To be an effective leader to the staff, parents, and children, they should have good communication skills and exceptional interpersonal skills.

What does an assistant center director do?

Assistant center directors oversee daycare centers or preschool facilities and watch over kids. The assistant center directors teach children how to play. They are responsible for providing children with their early childhood education. It is part of their job to see to it that the kids are in a healthy environment and are safe. They provide assistance in the development and implementation of the center's plans and goals.

Child care director vs assistant center director salary

Child care directors and assistant center directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Child Care Director	Assistant Center Director
Average salary	$37,471	$48,348
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $57,000	Between $34,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	Easton, PA	Portland, OR
Highest paying state	Pennsylvania	Nevada
Best paying company	Anthem	Chicago State University
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between child care director and assistant center director education

There are a few differences between a child care director and an assistant center director in terms of educational background:

	Child Care Director	Assistant Center Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Early Childhood Education	Business
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Pennsylvania

Child care director vs assistant center director demographics

Here are the differences between child care directors' and assistant center directors' demographics:

	Child Care Director	Assistant Center Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%	Male, 28.6% Female, 71.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 4.3% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 4.2% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between child care director and assistant center director duties and responsibilities

Child care director example responsibilities.

Manage care for k-5 kids before and after school.
Establish cooperative relationship with state/regional USDA CACFP office.
Require to acquire CPR, first aid, a training.
Develop compliance and audit program for Medicare.
Certify medication & CPR, maintain portfolio for each student
Charge clients for daycare payments and merchandise using POS system.

Assistant center director example responsibilities.

Manage delivery of quality early childhood education programs by establishing an environment of learning and maintaining the integrity of the programs.
Update and maintain preschool's website and Facebook pages, verifying all information on social media are accurate and appropriate.
Develop cross-training program and revise departmental staffing model to reduce FTE requirements while promoting departmental unity.
Review Medicare and non-Medicare insurance benefits to determine coverage and resolve any potential barriers regarding claiming payments.
Deliver information presentations utilizing Microsoft PowerPoint.
Maintain financial records, supervise staff and children, and communicate with families on a regular basis, follow DPW regulations.

Child care director vs assistant center director skills

Common child care director skills

Customer Service, 19%
Childhood, 10%
Critical Care, 9%
Child Development, 8%
Quality Care, 7%
CPR, 6%

Common assistant center director skills

Customer Service, 13%
Patients, 13%
CPR, 9%
Child Care, 7%
Patient Care, 6%
Professional Development, 6%

Child Care Director vs. similar jobs

Child Care Director related careers

Child Care Director related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Child Care Director
Child Care Director vs Assistant Center Director

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs