Education Career Center

Our Mission: The Education Career Center is committed to providing our students, alumni, and industry partners with career planning and development services.

Get Started

Taking a online career assessment can help you determine what type of career is a good fit for you. You can explore your passions and discover what careers align with your personal values!

Working in Early Childhood Education

You should now have a clear picture of your career interests- ones that align with your personal skills, traits, and attributes. Next, consider the various careers options in the industry and think about the living wages you desire. For example, a typical salary for a childcare worker might be $25,000-$30,000 while a typical salary for a public school teacher or program administrator might be $50,000-$75,000. Which avenue is right for you? To reach the level you desire, take the necessary steps to grow professionally.

Pay attention to your GPA. If you have a GPA of less than 3.0, you should strive to raise that GPA to where it is above a 3.0. Students with a GPA of at least a 3.0 are becoming critical thinkers and preparing themselves for more education in the future. Most graduate schools require a GPA of at least a 3.0 for students to be accepted into an education program. Our Alternative Route to Teacher Certification Program (ARC) here at Charter Oak State College requires that students have a GPA of at least 3.0 to be accepted. So, if you think you may want to go on to public school teaching, now is the time to pay attention to your GPA.

As you work through your various courses, you will want to form relationships with your instructors with whom you feel would be an important professional connection. Consider asking for a Letter of Recommendation from your instructors when you are graduating. Or, ask an instructor that you have established a relationship with if you could use her/him/them for a reference when you apply for your next job or for graduate school.

Have you set some short term AND long-term goals for yourself? If you do not have goals, then how are you going to succeed? If you do not want to be on this career journey alone, the best thing to do is to create a SMART goal for your own professional development. Don’t forget to share your goals with others. As a student in higher education, you should be saying to yourself. ‘My professional growth is my responsibility, and I am going to do what I can to let others know so that they can support me’. Of course, this statement without the work is not going to move you far along, but with the right work ethic, you can achieve anything you want to when it comes to a career in education.

Our Services

Career Center Hours; Monday-Friday 10:00AM - 4:00PM ET

Career Planning Resources

View Resources

Career Options

View Options

Education Career Center

Education Career Center Home Career Planning Resources Career Options Join Us on LinkedIn

Your Program Director

Maureen Hogan, PhD

Maureen is the Director of Early Childhood Education programs at Charter Oak State College. She provides both academic and career advising to students to ensure that they have a positive experience at the college, and that they obtain a degree that can help them achieve their goals. Her real-world experience includes over 15 years as a director of NAEYC accredited early childhood programs worldwide, and eight years of higher education teaching experience both on campus and online. Maureen subscribes to the concept of “teaching teachers the way we want teachers to teach!”

Your Counselor

Katharine Griffin

Kate Griffin serves as the Interim ARC Coordinator here at Charter Oak State College. In addition to supporting the certification students at Charter Oak and teaching courses, she also provides academic advising to Child Studies undergraduate students. Before joining COSC in September of 2019, she worked as an Education Manager at a large Head Start program in New Haven, CT for several years. She has been a Preschool Teacher, an Infant & Toddler Caregiver, and Enrollment Specialist, an Education Coach, and a Disabilities & Mental Health Coordinator, all in a variety of program settings. While transitioning into administrative positions in early childhood, she obtained a Master of Science degree in Early Childhood Education at CCSU. “I hope to put my ‘student’ hat back on in May of 2023 to pursue a Doctorate in Educational Leadership”.

She plays a lot of different roles, but her favorite is being a mom. Kate has a 13 year old daughter and an 11 year old son. She married her husband in October 2020 and gained a bonus kid, a 17 year old stepdaughter, and also fostered her best friend for a period of time. Kate has had the joy of seeing how the principles that she learned in her undergraduate work in Human Development and Family Studies at UCONN has applied to her own, growing family. “I look forward to connecting with you soon and hearing about your journey in this field!”

Phone: (860) 515-3876
Email: kgriffin2@charteroak.edu

Charter Oak State College is regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education