Summary. We reviewed real candidate profiles to learn the best path to become an education paraprofessional. We'll guide you through the education, experiences, and skills hiring managers look for in an education paraprofessional.
Most companies require a education paraprofessional to have a bachelor's degree degree in a related field, such as psychology or business.
Common job titles before becoming an education paraprofessional include substitute teacher, teacher, and sales associate.
Hiring managers expect an education paraprofessional to have soft skills such as communication skills, interpersonal skills, and patience.
Once you have all the required skills and experience, it doesn't take any job training to become an education paraprofessional.
Getting a certification as a Medical Assistant will help you to earn more as an education paraprofessional.
Before becoming an education paraprofessional, 58.5% earned their bachelor's degree. When it comes down to graduating with a master's degree, 8.9% education paraprofessionals went for the extra education. If you're wanting to pursue this career, it may be possible to be successful with a high school degree. In fact, most education paraprofessionals have a college degree. But about one out of every seven education paraprofessionals didn't attend college at all.
Those education paraprofessionals who do attend college, typically earn either a psychology degree or a business degree. Less commonly earned degrees for education paraprofessionals include a elementary education degree or a education degree.
If you're interested in becoming an education paraprofessional, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 58.5% of education paraprofessionals have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 8.9% of education paraprofessionals have master's degrees. Even though most education paraprofessionals have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an education paraprofessional. When we researched the most common majors for an education paraprofessional, we found that they most commonly have psychology, business and elementary education.
Education Paraprofessional Major | Percentages |
---|---|
Psychology | 14.20% |
Business | 10.20% |
Elementary Education | 9.60% |
Education | 7.30% |
Other Degrees | 58.50% |
It'll be a good idea to develop education paraprofessional skills before applying for a job. Here are some skills commonly requested in education paraprofessional job descriptions:
Skills | Percentages |
---|---|
Autism | 10.17% |
Behavioral Issues | 9.22% |
Mathematics | 8.18% |
Math | 8.12% |
Instructional Materials | 7.82% |
Certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for this position. They can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a certification, having one may help you stand out in an application. Plus, the process of getting a certification can teach you new skills that you can bring to your work. We determined the most common certifications for education paraprofessionals. The most common certification is Medical Assistant, but Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE) is also frequently seen in education paraprofessionals resumes.
When you decide to become an education paraprofessional, It's important to know what duties and responsibilities are required for this position. Some common responsibilities are a part of most education paraprofessional jobs. Here is a list of the main duties that define the role:
Finally, when you already have checked the skills and responsibilities for this role, you can start creating your resume. Everything that goes into creating a perfect resume can take hours, days, or even weeks. No worries, we created a resume builder to make this process as easy as possible with tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and a summary.