How To Become A Day Care Provider: What It Is and Career Path

What is a day care provider and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Laura Schroeder

The average day care provider salary is $31,164. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an business major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a day care provider. Day care providers with a Child Development Associate (CDA) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 61,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a day care provider?

Laura Schroeder

President, International Nanny Association

Young graduates will need to have some knowledge or experience in early childhood education, as help with the school day has become an important part of a nanny's job since the pandemic. They also must be able to work independently and be self motivated as their bosses will likely not be on site. There are jobs for nannies all over the U.S., but the best paying jobs tend to be in wealthier areas and larger cities, for example L.A., San Francisco, Seattle and Boston.

ScoreDay Care ProviderUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $31,164

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.00%

Asian 6.54%

Black or African American 7.28%

Hispanic or Latino 17.98%

Unknown 6.14%

White 61.07%

Gender

female 93.25%

male 6.75%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

3.7

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a day care provider

Explore day care provider education requirements

Most common day care provider degrees

High School Diploma

28.9 %

Bachelor's

27.8 %

Associate

25.2 %

Start to develop specific day care provider skills

Skills	Percentages
Child Care	67.15%
Nutritional Meals	11.14%
CPR	5.57%
Quality Care	1.96%
Direct Care	1.95%

Complete relevant day care provider training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New day care providers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a day care provider based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real day care provider resumes.

Research day care provider duties and responsibilities

Up hold all CPR and Minnesota regulate certifications.
Deliver patient belongings and information as well as provided exceptional assistance to patients and their families.
Create math, reading, bible, and art lessons.

Prepare your day care provider resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your day care provider resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a day care provider resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable day care provider resume templates

Build a professional day care provider resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your day care provider resume.

Apply for day care provider jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a day care provider job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do day care providers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Day care provider reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2022

Pros

I love working with kids

Cons

Working with kids means sometimes it can get overwhelming

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2022