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The differences between early childhood specialists and preschool lead 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 preschool lead teacher. Additionally, an early childhood specialist has an average salary of $35,575, which is higher than the $33,176 average annual salary of a preschool lead teacher.
The top three skills for an early childhood specialist include professional development, technical assistance and staff development. The most important skills for a preschool lead teacher are CPR, professional development, and child care.
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Lead Teacher | |
| Yearly salary | $35,575 | $33,176 |
| Hourly rate | $17.10 | $15.95 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 33,451 | 54,870 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| 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 preschool lead teacher is responsible for managing the overall learning progress of preschool students. Preschool lead teachers to develop engaging and fun activities for the young learners to monitor their personal and social development. They also utilize learning techniques suitable for young learners' minds to improve their competencies and build self-confidence. They create progress reports and communicate the children's development to their parents. A preschool lead teacher should always adhere to the school regulations to ensure a safe and secure environment for the children.
Early childhood specialists and preschool lead teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Lead Teacher | |
| Average salary | $35,575 | $33,176 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $50,000 | Between $24,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Harrison, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Edmonds Community College, Lynnwood | Columbia University in the City of New York |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Government |
There are a few differences between an early childhood specialist and a preschool lead teacher in terms of educational background:
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Lead Teacher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Early Childhood Education | Early Childhood Education |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between early childhood specialists' and preschool lead teachers' demographics:
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Lead Teacher | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 12.8% Female, 87.2% | Male, 6.0% Female, 94.0% |
| 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, 16.1% Asian, 6.0% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |