Child daycare worker education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a child daycare worker. Child daycare workers usually study psychology, general studies, or business. 42% of child daycare workers hold a high school diploma, and 27% hold an bachelor's degree. We analyzed 5,484 real child daycare worker resumes to see exactly what child daycare worker education sections show.

The most common colleges for child daycare workers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

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

There are certain child daycare worker certifications that you should consider. These child daycare worker certifications include First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor and Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED.

What education do you need to become a child daycare worker?

What degree do you need to be a child daycare worker?

The most common degree for child daycare workers is high school diploma, with 42% of child daycare workers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are bachelor's degree degree at 27% and bachelor's degree degree at 17%.

High School Diploma, 42%

Bachelor's, 27%

Associate, 17%

Diploma, 7%

Other Degrees, 7%

What should I major in to become a child daycare worker?

You should major in psychology to become a child daycare worker. 11% of child daycare workers major in psychology. Other common majors for a child daycare worker include general studies and business.

Psychology, 11%

General Studies, 10%

Business, 9%

Early Childhood Education, 8%

Other Majors, 62%

Most common colleges for child daycare workers

Child daycare workers often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Liberty University, and University of Pennsylvania. Here are the most common colleges for child daycare workers in the US based on their resumes.

Child daycare worker common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	13.71%
Liberty University	8.87%
University of Pennsylvania	7.26%
Grand Canyon University	5.65%
Brigham Young University	4.84%

Show more common child daycare worker colleges

Best majors for child daycare workers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Psychology	11.2%
2	General Studies	10.0%
3	Business	9.0%
4	Early Childhood Education	8.4%
5	Nursing	8.2%

Show more common child daycare worker majors

Best colleges for child daycare workers

The best colleges for child daycare workers are Vanderbilt University, University of Rochester, and University of Virginia.

A child daycare worker 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 daycare workers. 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 daycare workers.

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 daycare workers

Advertising disclosure

1. Child Care as a Business

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. Home-Based Child Care

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...

3. Fully Accredited Professional Child Psychology Diploma

4.3

(1,436)

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

4. Introduction to Child Psychology - ACCREDITED CERTIFICATE

4.5

(2,244)

Learn about child behaviour, parenting styles, relationships and socialising, cognitive development, counselling & more!...

5. Child Nutrition and Cooking

Eating patterns that begin in childhood affect health and well-being across the lifespan. The culture of eating has changed significantly in recent decades, especially in parts of the world where processed foods dominate our dietary intake. This course examines contemporary child nutrition and the impact of the individual decisions made by each family. The health risks associated with obesity in childhood are also discussed. Participants will learn what constitutes a healthy diet for children...

6. Everyday Parenting: The ABCs of Child Rearing

Everyday Parenting gives you access to a toolkit of behavior-change techniques that will make your typical day in the home easier as you develop the behaviors you would like to see in your child. The lessons provide step-by-step instructions and demonstrations to improve your course of action with both children and adolescents. Among many techniques, you will learn how even simple modifications to tone of voice and phrasing can lead to more compliance. The course will also shed light on many...

7. The Complete Daily Positive Habits Building Course

4.4

(1,366)

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

8. Safeguarding Children Level One

4.5

(343)

Safeguarding, Spotting Abuse, Sharing Concerns and Child Protection...

9. Social Policy for Social Services & Health Practitioners

In the U.S., social policy accounts for two-thirds of government spending. Knowing how policies are constructed, what values underlie them, and how they succeed or fail makes everyone more effective at work or in their civic role. This specialization includes an HONORS track in which learners will complete a professional social policy analysis.\n\nTeachers, health care workers, police, and social workers interact with policy daily, but all of us should care about the impact and effectiveness of...

10. Active Directory & Group Policy Administration for IT Techs

4.5

(651)

Active Directory & Group Policy Administration Basics for Helpdesk and Desktop / IT Support Technicians...

11. Child Psychology (Advanced Level) - ACCREDITED CERTIFICATE

4.5

(2,417)

Childhood development and behaviour, psychology theories of cognition, learning, and memorising, milestones and stages...

12. Heal the Inner Child - Fully Accredited Course

4.5

(361)

Become a practitioner for healing the inner child. Heal past trauma and hurt from childhood. Discover your true self...

13. Active Directory on Windows Server

4.6

(8,804)

Learn how to deploy and manage all aspects of Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS and many more technologies...

14. Fully Accredited Heal Your Inner Child Diploma Course

4.7

(381)

Easy & Effective Techniques To Heal Events From Childhood. Using The Tools Of Hypnosis To Set Yourself Free!...

15. Active Directory & Group Policy Lab

4.5

(11,596)

Learn REAL job skills and stack your resume with the experience you will gain in this course!...

16. Conflict Resolution for Co-Workers

4.4

(266)

You'll learn diagnosis and resolution techniques for tense, sensitive conflicts with your co-workers, manager or peers...

17. [Active Directory] Management using Windows PowerShell

4.5

(1,078)

[Power Shell] Simplified practical knowledge for automation & management of [Active Directory] using Windows Power Shell...

18. Azure Active Directory Masterclass

4.6

(1,270)

Learn to be a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on Azure Active Directory...

19. Mastering Planning Vol 1: Hourly and Daily Planning

(428)

Learn the system for planning on an hourly and daily scale and the PAMe La (Plan, Act, Measure, Learn) Planning System...

20. Develop Daily Self-Discipline

4.1

(2,523)

Everyday Habits and Exercises to Build Self-Discipline and Achieve Your Goals...

Top 10 most affordable universities for child daycare workers

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

If the best universities for child daycare workers 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 daycare workers.

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 daycare workers

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

Some great schools for child daycare workers 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 daycare workers 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

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 daycare workers

The easiest schools for child daycare workers 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 daycare worker 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 daycare workers.

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 daycare worker salary by education level

Child daycare workers with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $33,663 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, child daycare workers earn a median annual income of $30,422 compared to $28,401 for child daycare workers with an Associate degree.

Child daycare worker education level	Child daycare worker salary
Master's Degree	$33,663
High School Diploma or Less	$26,644
Bachelor's Degree	$30,422
Some College/ Associate Degree	$28,401

Child daycare worker education FAQs

What is the best college for Child Daycare Workers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common personal care and attendants questions.

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Updated January 8, 2025

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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