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The differences between early childhood specialists and head start teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an early childhood specialist and a head start teacher. Additionally, an early childhood specialist has an average salary of $35,575, which is higher than the $33,865 average annual salary of a head start teacher.
The top three skills for an early childhood specialist include professional development, technical assistance and staff development. The most important skills for a head start teacher are kids, math, and CPR.
| Early Childhood Specialist | Head Start Teacher | |
| Yearly salary | $35,575 | $33,865 |
| Hourly rate | $17.10 | $16.28 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 33,451 | 67,747 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An early childhood specialist is responsible for managing the activities of young learners, monitoring their learning development, and designing engaging activities to observe their personal and social behaviors. Early childhood specialists assist the parents and the teachers of a child with administering programs that would expose their skills and their ability to solve basic problem-solving tasks. They coordinate with the parents to provide them progress updates and adjust learning strategies as needed depending on the child's performance.
A head start teacher is responsible for organizing lectures and monitoring classroom operations for students with financial difficulties. Head start teachers have the same roles as regular teachers, such as preparing lesson plans, conducting assessments to test the students' knowledge, documenting their progress, and planning group activities to observe their personal and social behaviors. They also coordinate with the students' parents to share the child's difficulties and strategize methods to enhance capabilities. A head start teacher must have excellent communication skills, especially in attending to students for their needs and encouraging them to reach their maximum potentials.
Early childhood specialists and head start teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Early Childhood Specialist | Head Start Teacher | |
| Average salary | $35,575 | $33,865 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $50,000 | Between $23,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Harrison, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Edmonds Community College, Lynnwood | Topeka Public Schools |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Education |
There are a few differences between an early childhood specialist and a head start teacher in terms of educational background:
| Early Childhood Specialist | Head Start Teacher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Early Childhood Education | Early Childhood Education |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between early childhood specialists' and head start teachers' demographics:
| Early Childhood Specialist | Head Start Teacher | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 12.8% Female, 87.2% | Male, 7.9% Female, 92.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 5.6% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 5.9% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |