Kids, little ones, munchkins, rugrats—no matter what you call them, they're a force to be reckoned with. Fun-sized humans with insane amounts of energy, crazy imaginations, and an honest streak a mile wide.

If you're the type who wants to start every day being dog-piled by about twenty adoring munchkins, being a daycare worker is a great way to turn your love for kids into a paycheck.

It's not a big paycheck, mind you. Starting pay is usually just above minimum wage (source). People want the best care for their kids, but young families usually don't have a lot of money to spend. This is a job that's done for love, not money.

Daycare jobs are plentiful, because, frankly, it's not a job everyone can do. Pint-sized humans do not pack pint-sized punches. They're loud, chaotic, messy, germy, mercurial, emotionally fragile, and really bad at remembering to use their inside voices.

 

And they will do anything for snacks. (Source)

But, if you really love kids—if you aren't afraid of runny noses, enjoy helping them learn, and have the patience of Mother Teresa—daycare is a great place to start after high school graduation.

Most entry-level daycare jobs have simple qualifications: Get your high school diploma or GED, be certified in childhood CPR (safety first), and pass a background check. The background check will include having your fingerprints on file with the state agency that approves daycare licenses where you live.

If you're just looking for a chance to test your teaching mojo on the younger set before you invest in that elementary education degree, this is a good way to do it. But if you decide that you'd like to hang with the littlest ones for a while longer, swapping stories over juice boxes and Cheerios, there are degrees that you can pursue to improve yo' self.

Child development, for example. A two-year college program costs about $2,500 per year (source) and will help you understand what the heck is going on with little Taylor. You can learn a lot about how kids work just from being around them, but formally studying child development will definitely up your game. You'll learn all about the developmental stages children go through mentally, as well as when they should be hitting big milestones: walking, speaking in complete sentences, and so on.

If you start craving something a little more rigorous than what the daycare circuit can offer, but you're not quite ready to give up snack time, you can start teaching pre-K. Many public schools now have pre-K programs for three- and four-year-olds, and they tend to be more curriculum-driven than most daycare programs.

A lead teaching job at a public school pre-K will require at least a four-year college degree, average cost $7,100 per year, in early child education. Or you can skip the college degree and become a classroom aide. The pay's not as good, but the prerequisites for being an aide are the same as being a daycare teacher.

What else do you need to work with the pre-K set? Well, you need tons of energy, lots of patience, and a boatload of creativity to design fun activities that teach and prepare kids for school. It's definitely not all coloring and cartoons these days.

 

So glad I asked for juice and not milk. (Source)

Three- and four-year-old children have thirsty brains and it takes a lot of painting, paper-cutting, gluing, and coloring to keep them busy and productive. Just make sure repetitive music doesn't bother you, because you'll be singing "Five Speckled Frogs" and "Little Bunny Foo Foo" a lot.

You might have people tell you that your job must be easy. Try not to laugh in their faces. You'll be working hard all day, every day—and you can bet your behind that you'll be making a difference.

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