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The differences between early childhood specialists and preschool 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 teacher. Additionally, an early childhood specialist has an average salary of $35,575, which is higher than the $33,582 average annual salary of a preschool 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 teacher are child care, CPR, and classroom management.
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Teacher | |
| Yearly salary | $35,575 | $33,582 |
| Hourly rate | $17.10 | $16.15 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 33,451 | 55,298 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| 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 project leader is in charge of managing and leading a team to reach project goals in adherence to schedules and budgets. Their responsibilities revolve around setting objectives and guidelines, assessing workforce performance, assisting staff in difficult areas, answering inquiries, and resolving issues to maintain an efficient workflow. A project leader must also produce progress reports and presentations, updating managers or supervisors as needed. Furthermore, as a project leader, it is essential to lead and encourage the team, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Early childhood specialists and preschool teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Teacher | |
| Average salary | $35,575 | $33,582 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $50,000 | Between $23,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Harrison, NY | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Edmonds Community College, Lynnwood | Kings Canyon Unified School District |
| Best paying industry | Professional | - |
There are a few differences between an early childhood specialist and a preschool teacher in terms of educational background:
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Teacher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Early Childhood Education | Early Childhood Education |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | San Diego State University |
Here are the differences between early childhood specialists' and preschool teachers' demographics:
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Teacher | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 12.8% Female, 87.2% | Male, 6.4% Female, 93.6% |
| 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, 8.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 5.5% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |