Preschool and childcare center directors supervise and lead staffs, oversee daily activities, design curriculums, and prepare budgets. They are responsible for all aspects of their center’s program.

Preschool and childcare center directors work primarily in child daycare services. They generally work full time.

A college degree and experience in early childhood education is typically required to become a preschool and childcare center director. Some states or employers require preschool and childcare center directors to have a nationally recognized credential, such as the Child Development Associate (CDA).

Employment of preschool and childcare center directors is projected to grow 7 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Overall job opportunities for preschool and childcare center directors are expected to be favorable.

This occupation supported 63,800 jobs in 2012 and 64,000 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 0.3%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 17.1% in 2022 to 74,700 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 65,900, compared with an observed value of 64,000, 2.9% lower than expected. This indicates current employment trends are worse than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 6.6% in 2024 to 68,200 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 76,800 jobs for 2024, 12.6% higher than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are much worse than the 2012 trend within this occupation.