I think I will have to sit and talk with one of our advisers and with one at USM. I was thinking of going back into child care, but have decided against it (not really wanting to go back into owning my own business and employees in most centers around here just are not paid enough). I am looking at this degree probably more to working for the state in training child caregivers and directors and I would love to work for the state inspecting child care centers and their programs.
just as a heads up-before you invest allot of time and money on your education, you would do well to check with the state and find out what the actual minimum qualifications are for someone to train. often training positions in government agencies do not require the trainer to have a degree in what they are training. with ece in particuluar, since most states require caregivers and directors to have actual college units in ece, you might find that while the colleges will require a related degree to what a staff member is teaching (and additionaly a graduate degree), the state staff (trainers) are more often those people who have degrees or experience in adult education (i presented training sessions in subject matter that was in no way related to my degree).
the same thing goes for the inspecting positions. while you would think that someone charged with inspecting a childcare facility absolutly needed a background in ece, the reality is it might only be a government requirement that the managing supervisor or division manager has that degree while the inspection staff might not be required to be degreed at all (and often those supervisory or division manager positions are only attainable through promotion, so it can work to a person's advantage to get hired in entry level and take advantage of employer reimbursement programs for continuing ed to get your degree).
some state websites show the m.q.'s weather a job is hiring or not, for those that don't you can call hr and ask them for a copy to be sent.
btw- back when i got my teaching credential it was the RARE person who majored in ece. reason was you could only get into a credential program for k-3 which was very unmarketable (schools wanted someone who, if needed, could teach k-6th). those that were interested in ece just did an associates degree (you could be a director with one and have spent far less $$$). at the university dh goes to they have some kind of ece program where it's called an education major with an ece emphasis-with this major a person can qualify to go into the credentialing program to get a k-6 license.
if you're like dh and you REALY want to teach or train adults-consider looking into some of the programs some colleges are offering that specialize in adult education (whole different world from teaching kids).
good luck in whatever you decide to do.
