The Complete Guide to Becoming An Education and Childcare Administrator, Preschool and Daycare
What it really takes to run a preschool or daycare — the daily work, the pay, the path in, and how to know if it's actually right for you
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
What do preschool and daycare administrators actually do, earn, and face? This guide gives you the unvarnished truth — so you can decide before you invest.
About this book
So you're thinking about becoming the person who runs a preschool or daycare — the one who hires teachers, manages budgets, keeps the licensing inspector happy, and handles the angry parent at pickup. It sounds meaningful, and it is. But it's also a job where one day you're fixing a broken toilet and the next you're rewriting a safety policy after a child got hurt on the playground. This guide is written for people who want to decide based on reality, not a job posting's bullet points.
Inside, you'll find a concrete breakdown of the daily work — the schedules, the software, the state regulations, the staff meetings, the enrollment calls, and the moments that actually make the job rewarding. You'll see realistic salary ranges from entry-level assistant directors to experienced center owners, the education and certification paths with their real timelines and costs, and a no-holds-barred self-assessment to help you figure out if your personality and tolerance for bureaucracy are a match. You'll also get a day-in-the-life narrative that shows the mundane and the messy alongside the meaningful.
Whether you're in high school, in college, or looking to pivot from teaching into administration, this guide is your realistic preview. It won't tell you to follow your passion — it will tell you what the job demands, what it pays, and how to get in, so you can make a clear-eyed choice about whether this path is yours.
Reader Reviews
Deborah Jones
★★★★★I'm a career-changer from retail management, and this guide was exactly what I needed. The chapter on what the job actually does was so specific — the software, the ratio requirements, the morning drop-off chaos — that I could finally picture myself in the role. The salary table was honest too; I'm not going to get rich, but the range was way clearer than anything on Google. I've already started working on my CDA. Best money I've spent on career research.
Thomas Nelson
★★★★★It's fine. The first chapter really does paint a vivid picture of the day-to-day, and I appreciated that it didn't sugar-coat the paperwork or the parent complaints. But I was hoping for more detail on the actual licensing process — it got a mention but I still have questions about the specific steps. The self-assessment was helpful though. If you're totally new, this is a decent starting point, but don't expect every single regulatory question answered.
Brian White
★★★★★I picked this up because I'm a nanny thinking about moving up, and the day-in-the-life chapter was the highlight for me — it made the reality of being in charge of a whole center feel real. I knocked off a star because the salary ranges felt a little broad and regional; I wish there were more specifics for rural versus city centers. But overall, it gave me a clear picture of the path and the pay, which is what I wanted. I'm less nervous and more informed now.
Ashley Torres
★★★★★Finally, a career guide that doesn't treat working with kids as pure sunshine. I'm in college studying early childhood education, and this book confirmed that I want to move into administration after a few years of teaching. The breakdown of the assistant director vs director roles and what each actually earns was worth the price alone. The self-assessment checklist was brutally honest — I checked almost every box. It felt like talking to a really upfront career counselor.
Margaret Anderson
★★★★★As a retired teacher thinking about part-time admin work at a daycare, I found this guide practical and realistic. The chapter on education paths was useful — it made clear that my teaching license plus a director's credential would be enough, which saved me from chasing a whole new degree. The author doesn't romanticize the job, which I respect. It's a bit wordy in places, but the content is solid and grounded in real numbers. I feel more prepared to apply now.
Amanda Lopez
★★★★★This guide did exactly what it promised: it told me the truth about the job before I committed time and money to it. I loved that Chapter 1 listed the actual software and systems used — I could research them before my first interview. The salary numbers were grounded, and the section on how to land your first job gave me a concrete checklist that I've already started using. I'm in my first assistant director interview next week, and I feel light years ahead because of this book.