This guide contains only a partial list of occupational titles and career fields that may be of interest to students considering a child development major.  In addition to the skills and knowledge gained through your college course work in this major, you may also need to acquire career related work experience, additional work related skills and/or additional education. Some of the occupations require an advanced degree to enter the field.

After you have identified possible occupations of interest to you, it is important to investigate the nature of work; education and training requirements; skills and special talents needed; types of employers; future trends and employment outlook related to each of these careers.  To obtain this information, you may want to research these occupations by reading the books and literature available in the Philadelphia House Career Resource Library, by reviewing the information available on the internet, and by contacting related professional associations.

This guide also provides information about obtaining related work experience including links to possible internships. However for the best information on current, local internships contact Sally Cardenas, Director of Internships and Community-Based Learning at 562-464-4533 or email her at scardenas@whittier.edu.

Career Options

Note: (2) refers to second information link for occupational title

Typical Employers

Boards of education, bookstores, colleges and universities, community organizations, courts and correctional institutions, government agencies, hospitals and clinics, libraries, museums, nonprofit organizations, overseas education institutions, parks and recreation departments, public and private schools, religious organizations

Liberal Arts Related Occupations
(click here for more options)

Marketable Skills Associated with Major

• Communication/interpersonal: writing clearly; presenting and defending a position; communicating across cultures/languages; relating well with people of differing personalities and background; adapting the presentation or information to different audiences; teaching; counseling;  interviewing;   recognizing cultural differences/similarities; identifying value systems; resolving differences; ability to persuade and influence others; good listening, clarifying, questioning and responding skills; comprehensive command of grammar and vocabulary
• Leadership/management:  leading, nurturing growth in people, understanding group dynamics, motivating individuals, guiding activites of others
• Project development: planning long-term projects, developing project designs, organizing group activities, maintaining records, evaluating
• Research/analysis: gathering and organizing data, evaluating theory and evidence
• Other: assessing the progress of individuals and the success of a program

Getting Career Related Work Experience

To be competitive in today's job market and to improve your qualifications for graduate school, gaining career related work experience while you are a college student is very important.  Career related work experience can include various forms of paid and volunteer experience (i.e. internships, some work study positions, summer or part-time jobs in your career field of interest, possibly fellowships, and some volunteer positions)

Child Development and Education Related Internships

Sources of Career and Employment Information

Career Information Links

• Education Information Links
• Social Service Information Links
• Links to Professional Associations

Employment Information Links

• Education Employment Resources
• Social Service Employment Resources
• General Employment Resources

Graduate School Resources

• General Graduate School Resources
• Education Related Programs
• Social Service Related Programs (psychology, social work, etc)