Career
Preschool teachers, except special education
Help young children learn through play before kindergarten.
$38,140
Median pay
+4.5%
Job growth, 2025–35
66,700
Openings a year
Associate's degree
Typical education
2 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order.
- Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
- Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play.
- Serve meals and snacks in accordance with nutritional guidelines.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then creation & expression?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Speaking, Instructing, Active Listening, Learning Strategies.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
2 years of education after high school (associate's degree), for a median of $38,140 a year and 66,700 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Teaching (by Grade Level)See the degree →
- Human Development and Family StudiesSee the degree →
- Bilingual and Multilingual EducationCIP 13.0201
- Teacher Education, Multiple LevelsCIP 13.1206
- Montessori Teacher EducationCIP 13.1207
- Waldorf/Steiner Teacher EducationCIP 13.1208
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education$62,680 · -0.3%
- Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education$63,970 · -0.4%
- Special Education Teachers, Preschool$64,830 · +2.4%
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School$74,260 · -0.2%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.