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The differences between early childhood specialists and preschool teacher's assistants 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's assistant. Additionally, an early childhood specialist has an average salary of $35,575, which is higher than the $30,249 average annual salary of a preschool teacher's assistant.
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's assistant are open communication, child development, and child care.
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Teacher's Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,575 | $30,249 |
| Hourly rate | $17.10 | $14.54 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 33,451 | 48,217 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| 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.
Preschool teacher assistants, paid an average of $25K per year, must have skills in childcare and communication. This career requires a minimum of a high school diploma, though in some situations, a bachelor's degree may be needed. Those who choose this career path interact with children, prepare snacks, teach things like color and shapes, help children to get dressed and/or change diapers, and evaluate children's development and physical wellness.
Early childhood specialists and preschool teacher's assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Teacher's Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,575 | $30,249 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $50,000 | Between $23,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Harrison, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Edmonds Community College, Lynnwood | Archdiocese of Philadelphia |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Education |
There are a few differences between an early childhood specialist and a preschool teacher's assistant in terms of educational background:
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Teacher's Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Early Childhood Education | Early Childhood Education |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Fairfield University |
Here are the differences between early childhood specialists' and preschool teacher's assistants' demographics:
| Early Childhood Specialist | Preschool Teacher's Assistant | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 12.8% Female, 87.2% | Male, 7.1% Female, 92.9% |
| 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, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 5.3% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |