Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between recreation aides and child caregivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a recreation aide, becoming a child caregiver takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a child caregiver has an average salary of $32,065, which is higher than the $28,756 average annual salary of a recreation aide.
The top three skills for a recreation aide include customer service, CPR and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a child caregiver are child care, autism, and meal prep.
| Recreation Aide | Child Caregiver | |
| Yearly salary | $28,756 | $32,065 |
| Hourly rate | $13.82 | $15.42 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 43,283 | 43,573 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
A recreation aide is responsible for assisting with the planning of recreational activities, following the supervision of a recreational manager. Recreation aides prepare all the resources, guide the participants, maintain the activity equipment, facilitate the program, and reiterate the guidelines for the safe execution of the activity. They also ensure the cleanliness and orderliness of the facilities to be used. A recreation aide must have excellent communication and organizational skills, responding to the participants' inquiries and concerns, as well as performing administrative duties as the recreational manager advises.
Basically, a child caregiver looks after the fundamental needs of children like feeding, playtime supervision, and dressing. Child caregivers take responsibility for preparing and organizing the snacks and mealtimes for children. They organize the activities or implement a curriculum allowing children to learn about the world as well as explore their interests. It is part of their job to keep records regarding the routines, interests, and progress of the children. They may work as family childcare providers, nannies, or childcare center workers.
Recreation aides and child caregivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Recreation Aide | Child Caregiver | |
| Average salary | $28,756 | $32,065 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $36,000 | Between $22,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bellingham, WA | Santa Clarita, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | National Park Foundation | CARE |
| Best paying industry | Government | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a recreation aide and a child caregiver in terms of educational background:
| Recreation Aide | Child Caregiver | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Most common major | Business | Psychology |
| Most common college | Duke University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between recreation aides' and child caregivers' demographics:
| Recreation Aide | Child Caregiver | |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2% | Male, 10.1% Female, 89.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 5.0% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 21.7% Asian, 6.9% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 4% |