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Career Change Finder

Jobs for Former Childcare Workers

Childcare Workers build service orientation, social perceptiveness and coordination skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education (88%).

Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers

Skills you enjoy

Pick the skills you want to keep using. The list re-ranks.

Sorted by skill match.

25 careers that use your skills

  1. 1Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
    88%
    Median pay
    $38,140
    Pay change
    +9%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  2. 2Psychiatric Aides
    74%
    Median pay
    $44,910
    Pay change
    +28%
    Extra educationNone
  3. 3School Bus Monitors
    73%
    Median pay
    $35,100
    Pay change
    0%
    Extra educationNone
  4. 4Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education
    73%
    Median pay
    $62,680
    Pay change
    +79%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  5. 5Physical Therapist Aides
    73%
    Median pay
    $35,240
    Pay change
    +1%
    Extra educationNone
  6. 6Nursing Assistants
    73%
    Median pay
    $42,260
    Pay change
    +21%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  7. 7Special Education Teachers, Preschool
    73%
    Median pay
    $64,830
    Pay change
    +85%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  8. 8Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
    72%
    Median pay
    $31,200
    Pay change
    −11%
    Extra educationNone
  9. 9Concierges
    71%
    Median pay
    $38,950
    Pay change
    +11%
    Extra educationNone
  10. 10Bartenders
    71%
    Median pay
    $34,340
    Pay change
    −2%
    Extra educationNone

Compared with Childcare Workers, median $34,980. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.

Your transferable skills

How important each skill is in work as childcare workers (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).

Service Orientation3.38
Social Perceptiveness3.25
Coordination3.12
Complex Problem Solving3.00
Instructing3.00
Judgment and Decision Making3.00

Skills to learn

The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.

  • Operation and Control
  • Management of Financial Resources
  • Instructing
  • Management of Material Resources

Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.

Your top 3 moves, up close

A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

88% skill match · $38,140 · +9% pay

First step

  • Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (29% of workers).
  • Usually needs vocational training or an associate degree — more preparation than your current job.
  • A certification can help.
  • On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.

Skills to add

Instructing · Management of Material Resources · Coordination

Is this right for you?

  • Long hours on your feet

Psychiatric Aides

74% skill match · $44,910 · +28% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Some College Courses (46% of workers).
  • A certification can help.
  • On-the-job training: over 1 month, up to and including 3 months.

Skills to add

Operation and Control · Management of Financial Resources · Management of Material Resources

Is this right for you?

  • Exposure to disease or infection
  • Dealing with conflict is part of the job
  • Mistakes can have serious consequences

School Bus Monitors

73% skill match · $35,100 · 0% pay

First step

  • On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.

Skills to add

Operation and Control · Management of Financial Resources

Is this right for you?

No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.

Similar roles in the same field

If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.

Free help near you

Former childcare workers can get free career counseling, job search help and, if you qualify, help paying for training through American Job Centers, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Find an American Job CenterFind training programs

Links go to CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Questions former childcare workers ask

What jobs can former childcare workers do?

The closest matches are Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education (88% skill match, median $38,140), Psychiatric Aides (74% skill match, median $44,910) and School Bus Monitors (73% skill match, median $35,100), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.

Which childcare worker career changes pay more?

Among the 25 matches, 18 pay more than childcare workers at the median. The biggest increases: Special Education Teachers, Secondary School (+112%, $74,260), Occupational Therapy Assistants (+107%, $72,300) and Special Education Teachers, Preschool (+85%, $64,830).

Do former childcare workers need another degree?

15 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.

How is the skill match calculated?

We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.

Keep exploring

Sources. Skills, tasks and education: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Data Sources & Licenses