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Child care sitter education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a child care sitter. Child care sitters usually study nursing, business, or psychology. 32% of child care sitters hold a high school diploma, and 31% hold an bachelor's degree. We analyzed 1,307 real child care sitter resumes to see exactly what child care sitter education sections show.

The most common colleges for child care sitters are the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania State University.

There are also many online child care sitter courses to help get the education required to be a child care sitter.

What education do you need to become a child care sitter?

What degree do you need to be a child care sitter?

The most common degree for child care sitters is high school diploma, with 32% of child care sitters earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are bachelor's degree degree at 31% and bachelor's degree degree at 20%.
  • High School Diploma, 32%
  • Bachelor's, 31%
  • Associate, 20%
  • Diploma, 9%
  • Other Degrees, 8%

What should I major in to become a child care sitter?

You should major in nursing to become a child care sitter. 15% of child care sitters major in nursing. Other common majors for a child care sitter include business and psychology.

Most common colleges for child care sitters

Child care sitters often get their degrees at Pennsylvania State University, University of Phoenix, and Louisiana Tech University. Here are the most common colleges for child care sitters in the US based on their resumes.
Child care sitter common collegePercentages
Pennsylvania State University7.89%
University of Phoenix7.89%
Louisiana Tech University5.26%
Sacred Heart University5.26%
Florida State College at Jacksonville5.26%

Best majors for child care sitters

RankMajorPercentages
1Nursing15.4%
2Business10.6%
3Psychology9.6%
4General Studies8.7%
5Criminal Justice8.2%

Best colleges for child care sitters

The best colleges for child care sitters are Vanderbilt University, University of Rochester, and University of Virginia.

A child care sitter with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for child care sitters. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become child care sitters.

1. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

In-state tuition

$17,653

Enrollment

16,405

2. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

In-state tuition

$49,816

Enrollment

6,840

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$10,610

Enrollment

40,329

5. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Enrollment

34,564

6. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

7. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

8. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

9. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

10. University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, WI • Private

In-state tuition

$10,555

Enrollment

30,360

20 best online courses for child care sitters

Advertising disclosure

1. Child Care as a Business

coursera

This course is targeted toward individuals wishing to run a home-based child care center. It covers topics such as the fundamentals of an in-home childcare setting as a business; the importance of financial management of a child care center; the creation of a child care contract; and an exploration of how to set tuition rates. Since a Family Policy Handbook is essential for anyone operating a family day care center, this course includes the development of one of three imperative sections of the...

2. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course

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The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...

3. Providing Trauma-Informed Care

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4.7
(1,276)

Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...

4. The Key to Happiness: Self Care

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4.6
(413)

Discover Self Care as a tool for creating positive change in your mental health, behaviours, and well-being...

5. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children

coursera

Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...

6. Thinking About Care

coursera

Although all humans require care to develop and thrive, it is rarely the focus of academic studies. This course enriches learner’s understanding of this critical yet underappreciated facet of their lives by addressing such questions as: What is care? Who has traditionally provided it? How valued is care work? Does money take the care out of care work? In addition to advancing learner’s knowledge of the place of care in modern society and controversies surrounding it, Thinking About Care will...

7. Self-Care Life Coach Certification (Boundary Setting)

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4.6
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Empower Your Life Coach Your Clients to Develop Self-Care, Self-Love, Boundary Setting and How to Say No...

8. Fully Accredited Professional Child Psychology Diploma

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4.3
(1,436)

Learn or Specialise Your Therapy in Child Psychology with this Fully Accredited Diploma Course...

9. Home-Based Child Care

coursera

This series of courses is intended to provide learners with the tools to develop and operate a home-based childcare center. Stages of child development, best practices to stimulate learning, important safety measures, and business fundamentals are introduced...

10. Health for All Through Primary Health Care

coursera

This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...

11. Coping Skills and Self-Care for Mental Health

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4.5
(443)

Essential skills to manage intense emotions and develop a self-care practice to promote mental health...

12. The Complete Daily Positive Habits Building Course

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4.4
(1,366)

Increase Happiness and Decrease Procrastination Using SSP Brain Training...

13. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care

coursera

This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...

14. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care

coursera

In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...

15. Palliative Care Always

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Palliative Care Always is a specialization for health care practitioners, patients and caregivers. We’ve designed this specialization to demonstrate how palliative medicine integrates with patient care, and to help you develop primary palliative care skills. Over the next five courses, you will develop skills in symptom management, goals of care and effective communication to improve the quality of life for patients and families suffering with serious illness. Our hope is that you feel...

16. Caring for Others

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Caring for Others examines how society cares for its at-risk members and the experiences of its caregivers. This specialization addresses questions such as: How much suffering is in the world today? Does digital media sensitize/desensitize us to the anguish of distant others? What are the different types of paid care work? How do care workers manage their emotions? And much more. This specialization is relevant to individuals interested in becoming a helping professional as well as anyone...

17. Trauma Emergencies and Care

coursera

Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

18. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative

coursera

Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...

19. The Business of Health Care

coursera

This Specialization was designed to help you keep pace with the rapidly changing world of health and health care. Through partnership with Wharton and Penn Medicine, you’ll learn from experts in business acumen, health care management, and health care policy to develop the skills you’ll need to successfully navigate the quickly evolving landscape of this fast-growing field.* By the end of this specialization, you will have a strong foundational understanding of the American health care system,...

20. Newborn Baby Care

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A newborn baby is an amazing beautiful life filled with hope. Unfortunately, many babies die or experience preventable harm even in 21st century. It is imperative that babies who are born healthy get off to a healthy start in the first month of life. There are some easy tenets of care to implement that help ensure that babies and families get off to a healthy start no matter where they are in the world. In this specialization learners will acquire the skills necessary for newborn baby care to...

Top 10 most affordable universities for child care sitters

The most affordable schools for child care sitters are University of Florida, california state university - bakersfield, and brigham young university.

If the best universities for child care sitters are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for child care sitters.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

3. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

4. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

5. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

6. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

7. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

8. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

9. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

10. California State University - Northridge

Northridge, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,893

Cost of attendance

18,870

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for child care sitters

The hardest universities for child care sitters to get into are Vanderbilt University, University of Rochester, and University of Virginia.

Some great schools for child care sitters are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for child care sitters based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

2. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

3. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

Admissions rate

26%

SAT average

1,427

4. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

5. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

6. Clemson University

Clemson, SC • Private

Admissions rate

47%

SAT average

1,337

7. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

8. University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL • Private

Admissions rate

32%

SAT average

1,365

9. Baylor University

Waco, TX • Private

Admissions rate

39%

SAT average

1,307

10. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

Admissions rate

58%

SAT average

1,309

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for child care sitters

The easiest schools for child care sitters to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, adventhealth university, and la roche college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a child care sitter without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for child care sitters.

1. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

2. AdventHealth University

Orlando, FL • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,016

3. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

4. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

5. Pennsylvania State University - Worthington Scranton

Dunmore, PA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

1,056

6. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

7. The University of Texas Permian Basin

Odessa, TX • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,046

8. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

9. Rochester University

Rochester Hills, MI • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,002

10. Pennsylvania State University - Shenango

Sharon, PA • Private

Admissions rate

75%

SAT average

989

Average child care sitter salary by education level

Child care sitters with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $40,567 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, child care sitters earn a median annual income of $37,276 compared to $35,194 for child care sitters with an Associate degree.
Child care sitter education levelChild care sitter salary
Master's Degree$40,567
High School Diploma or Less$33,365
Bachelor's Degree$37,276
Some College/ Associate Degree$35,194

Child care sitter education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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