Salary child life specialist: Child Life Specialist Salary | Salary.com

Опубликовано: September 10, 2023 в 4:19 am

Автор: alexxlab

Категории: Child

How to Become a Child Life Specialist

What is a Child Life Specialist?

A child life specialist is a healthcare worker who is often employed in the pediatric department of a hospital among other venues. They work with children under 18 years of age (although patients are often younger children) and their families to ease discomfort during hospital visits as well as educate children on health issues and topics.

The role of a child life specialist is important within the pediatrics department at a hospital. Pediatricians receive special training to work with children, however they often rely on child life specialists to handle easing of emotional trauma and increasing health-related education of children and their families.

What Does a Child Life Specialist Do?

A child life specialist is mainly focused on easing psychological discomfort of children before, during, and after receiving medical care. They will use a variety of strategies to ease discomfort depending on the age and needs of the child.

For instance, a child aged 4-6 getting shots often experiences anxiety beforehand. A child life specialist can play with the child with jokes or make-believe or they may direct parents to comfort their child.

An older child aged 12-14 going in for surgery may have different needs. The child life specialist may offer to listen and discuss the pre-teen’s concerns and may distract them with a story, television, or a book. While strategies beforehand are often focused on reducing anxiety and increasing education, similar strategies can be employed after serious procedures to manage pain.

The job duties of a child life specialist go beyond direct comfort of children prior to medical procedures. Child life specialists often work directly with parents and caregivers as well.

In the example above with the pre-teen, the specialist’s job would also require comforting parents or caregivers and easing any worries related to their child’s procedure. They may work with the parents/caregivers and child separately or together as a unit.

Related Reading: What Jobs Can I Do With a Degree in Psychology?

Even when the child is not the individual receiving medical care, child life specialists are often present to provide care. For example, children need to be comforted when a person close to the child is receiving serious medical care like chemotherapy or extensive psychiatric care. A child life specialist will often discuss specifics with the child so they are informed and can better understand what is going on.

When a death in the family occurs within a hospital setting, a child life specialist can be there to speak with the child as well as give the child’s parents/caregivers guidance on how to ensure their child is appropriately adjusting to the change. They can refer children to therapists when needed; however some child life specialists work with outpatient facilities to continue care with children and their families.

It should be noted that a child life specialist is not involved with direct medical care such as taking vitals or physically preparing a child for medical care. These tasks are the responsibility of the pediatrician or pediatric assistant. However, a medical professional will often call upon a child life specialist to ease emotional stress related to the procedure either before, during, or after the patient receives medical care.

What are the Requirements to Become a Child Life Specialist?

Educational Requirements

A bachelor’s degree is required to become a child life specialist. Your degree should be in child life studies or a related field such as child development, child and family studies, psychology, or early childhood education.

Some programs may offer a degree in Child Life, a concentration within a human development field, or a minor in Child Life.

Programs typically focus on classes that teach students about child development, the bereavement process and coping techniques, communication, and basic medical jargon. The Association of Child Life Professionals lists certain courses that are required to become a certified child life specialist.

A Master’s degree in Child Life is an option for those who wish to expand their education, get more hands-on training, and become more competitive in the job market, however it is not necessary.

Master’s programs often last two years and can offer more in-depth education. For instance, students who know they want to work specifically with children in dental offices can find programs that offer relevant courses.

Child life specialists must undergo 600 hours of supervised training during an internship. A certified child life specialist must oversee all hours of the internship.

Certification Requirements

All child life specialists must become certified in order to work. The certification cannot be obtained until receiving at least a Bachelor’s degree, completing the internship, and taking an examination.

The Association of Child Life Professionals administers the exam three times a year. The exam is made of 150 multiple-choice questions that will test knowledge learned during internships and within educational programs.

Once the exam is passed, the individual will be considered a certified child life specialist for five years after which they will need to be re-certified.

Recertification can occur by taking the exam again or receiving professional development units. These can be obtained via supervised internship or by taking courses. This option is cheaper that retaking the exam, but often takes longer to complete.

Essential Skills

Essential skills and qualifications needed to be successful as a child life specialist:

Strong communication and interpersonal skills
Strong organizational and problem-solving skills
Knowledge of child development and family dynamics
Flexibility, cultural competence, and adaptability
Experience working with children and families in a healthcare setting
Knowledge of leisure and play activities for adolescents and children

What Do You Learn in a Child Life Specialist Degree Program?

Child Development Knowledge: Child life specialists need to be familiar with the typical behaviors, thoughts, and emotions experienced by children from ages 1 to 18. Programs will begin to introduce students to differences between age groups, particularly during internship programs.
Therapy Basics: While child life specialists are not therapists, certain therapy-based skills like listening and empathy are taught and practiced within programs.
Methods of Play: As play is a common distraction technique for anxiety and pain, programs will introduce students to examples of play and which are best for a particular age group.
Methods of Communication: Communication with children, teens, parents/caregivers, and fellow staff all take different forms which requires practice to ensure communication goes smoothly and is helpful to patients and families.
Bereavement Education: As not all child life specialists have personal experience with bereavement, programs introduce specialists to the ways in which children cope with bereavement, tactics for easing emotions, and special methods of communicating with children.
Basic Medical Terminology: Although not taught in all programs, child life specialists will need to become familiar with some basic terminology in order to better communicate with medical professionals.
Chronic Illnesses: Education surrounding chronic illnesses is taught, with particular focus on illnesses that affect children and what resources they need to cope with the illness. Programs also touch on illnesses that impact adults so they can better help children who have family members that are impacted.
Hospital Protocol: Many child life specialists in training do not have extensive knowledge of basic hospital protocols. This information is often learned via internships.
Application of Skills: Internships are an important part of applying skills learned in classrooms. A few internships are offered at the undergraduate level but are more common in graduate programs.

Where Does a Child Life Specialist Work?

Child life specialists work primarily in the pediatric department of hospitals. They may be called to assist in other departments within the hospital setting to comfort children when an adult in their life is receiving care.

Some child life specialists work in less common settings like dental offices, schools, or funeral homes. These specialists may work as independent contractors who move between several locations depending on needs.

Child life specialists working with children who have chronic illnesses but still attend school may educate the child’s classmates on the child’s illness.

The specialist is often a familiar face to children who receive care from a host of medical professionals, so it is often important they attend to needs outside of the hospital as well. While these child life specialists are employed at the hospital, the location of their job duties will vary depending on the child’s needs.

What are the Pros and Cons of Being a Child Life Specialist?

Pros

Personal Fulfillment: Helping children, particularly those who experience traumatic events or who are suffering from a chronic illness, can be very rewarding. Many specialists can see the direct impact of their work in their daily job duties.
Variety of Job Duties: Depending on the location, child life specialists can have a variety of tasks to perform on a daily basis. Even those who work repeatedly with the same children need to insert a variety of games and communication styles to keep children distracted and entertained.
Variety of Job Locations: Although the majority of child life specialists work in the hospital setting, there are other facilities where they can work. Within the hospital, there are also a variety of settings to work in.
Being a Team Member: Working as a member of a medical team can be a fulfilling experience, particularly for those who are working within the hospital setting. There are opportunities for specialists who wish to work primarily on their own as well.
Growing Respect Within Medical Field: Having colleagues who appreciate the role of a child life specialist can increase job satisfaction immensely. Not all hospitals hire specialists, but those who do value their role within the medical field.
Application of Learned Skills: While not all fields directly utilize skills learned in education programs, child life specialists will be able to directly apply and practice techniques learned in order to help patients.

Cons

Emotional Strain: Some child life specialists work with children who have terminal illnesses that require assistance for many years. The loss of a patient can be very upsetting for those on the child life team.
Competitive Field to Enter: While there are numerous openings for child life specialists, those with additional education, certification, and hundreds of volunteer and internship training hours have the advantage. Patience is required throughout the process.
Misunderstanding of Job Duties: In some situations, parents and caregivers may underestimate the role child life specialists play in helping their child. While specialists should listen to parents and their concerns, there will likely be times when adults do not appreciate the role specialists play.

What are the Advancement Opportunities for a Child Life Specialist?

Child life specialists are often hired directly from educational programs and after obtaining certification into work facilities like hospitals. Some of these individuals have already advanced from a child life assistant, which only requires a two-year degree.

From the child life specialist position, there can be advancement opportunities into leadership and team management positions. Child life specialists can also choose to work for different facilities that may pay more, however their job duties will remain relatively similar across locations.

How Much Does a Child Life Specialist Make a Year?

The salary of a child life specialist depends on location, experience, and education. As of March 2023, average Child Life Specialist salary in the United States is $57,726, with experienced professionals earning over $70,000.

Child life specialists in California on average earn $64,480 pear year. Child life specialists working in New York, Texas, Florida and Arizona on average earn $60,636, $63,541, $61,473 and $63,975 per year respectively.

As of March 2023, child life specialists working in Illinois, Michigan and Missouri on average earn $59,285, $57,773 and $55,013 per year respectively.

Furthermore, as of March 2023, child life specialists working in North Carolina, Ohio and New Jersey on average earn $55,071, $56,364 and $57,055 per year respectively.

Hourly wages are often reported as child life specialists may work on contract so do not earn an annual salary. Hourly wages reported vary between $22-$34 per hour, with higher wages earned for those at more illustrious institutions (like UC San Francisco Medical Center).

What is the Job Outlook for Child Life Specialists?

Those looking to become a child life specialist will be happy to know the job outlook for the field is expected to grow in the next several years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a 7% growth is expected for individuals in this field and of child life workers in general.

Despite the low birth rate in the United States, hospitals and other facilities have grown to appreciate the role a child life specialist plays. While previously parents or medical professionals were responsible for filling the role of psychological easement for children, it has become clear that child life specialists are needed address this need.

Child Life Specialist Salary (June 2023)

Rank	State	Salary” data-sort-direction=”false”>Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Count
1	Nevada	$65,636	$31.56	319
2	New York	$64,402	$30.96	2,413
3	California	$76,488	$36.77	3,545
4	Illinois	$60,524	$29. 10	1,528
5	Delaware	$59,003	$28.37	158
6	Arkansas	$57,930	$27.85	312
7	New Mexico	$67,864	$32.63	211
8	New Jersey	$60,188	$28.94	1,060
9	District of Columbia	$74,872	$36. 00	182
10	Michigan	$54,700	$26.30	1,071
11	Pennsylvania	$53,720	$25.83	1,719
12	Florida	$55,170	$26.52	2,330
13	Mississippi	$57,054	$27.43	235
14	Kansas	$54,748	$26. 32	363
15	Arizona	$53,229	$25.59	913
16	Minnesota	$56,282	$27.06	788
17	Connecticut	$56,644	$27.23	417
18	Maryland	$55,787	$26.82	948
19	North Carolina	$53,528	$25. 73	1,140
20	Massachusetts	$52,172	$25.08	2,170
21	Texas	$52,961	$25.46	2,446
22	Virginia	$56,549	$27.19	1,040
23	South Carolina	$53,436	$25.69	422
24	Hawaii	$48,811	$23. 47	142
25	Rhode Island	$51,043	$24.54	152
26	Wisconsin	$50,740	$24.39	641
27	Washington	$51,105	$24.57	953
28	Kentucky	$51,786	$24.90	359
29	Louisiana	$49,682	$23. 89	386
30	West Virginia	$48,841	$23.48	177
31	Missouri	$50,350	$24.21	657
32	Oklahoma	$47,055	$22.62	409
33	Georgia	$50,491	$24.27	1,099
34	Indiana	$48,870	$23. 50	719
35	North Dakota	$44,991	$21.63	121
36	Oregon	$50,104	$24.09	476
37	New Hampshire	$50,698	$24.37	182
38	Nebraska	$45,014	$21.64	332
39	Idaho	$44,479	$21. 38	250
40	Colorado	$48,136	$23.14	721
41	Alabama	$48,902	$23.51	396
42	Tennessee	$48,587	$23.36	610
43	Iowa	$42,257	$20.32	536
44	Ohio	$47,086	$22. 64	1,031
45	Montana	$34,172	$16.43	206
46	Maine	$38,450	$18.49	181
47	Alaska	$28,275	$13.59	154
48	Utah	$43,006	$20.68	353
49	South Dakota	$38,097	$18. 32	126
50	Vermont	$39,086	$18.79	89
51	Wyoming	$43,173	$20.76	56

How to become a child life specialist

Child life specialists work directly with children and their families during difficult times in their lives. Whether the child is suffering from an illness or has experienced a traumatic event, a child care professional can offer support and care. If you enjoy working with children, being a child worker can be beneficial because you can be a positive influence on them. In this article, we will look at what a child life specialist is, what they do, how to become one, and what is the salary of a child life specialist.

What is a child life specialist?

Child life specialist is a healthcare professional who helps children and their families cope with illness, injury, or hospitalization. They usually work as part of a team that may include chaplains, nurses, social workers, and doctors. Child life specialists are healthcare professionals who pay particular attention to the psychosocial needs of a child. They work to educate caregivers, the public and other professionals about the impact of high stress on children, general child health issues and other topics related to children.
Related: 9 Counseling Jobs to Consider

Where Does a Child Life Specialist Work?

Child life professionals often work with early intervention programs, community programs and nursing groups, and some may even visit children at home. Child life specialists may also work in the emergency department, providing mental health care for anxious children who have experienced trauma or illness. Although pediatricians treat children, they often use a child life specialist to help children and their families alleviate emotional trauma. They work in various conditions such as:

What does a child life specialist do?

One of the benefits of working as a child life specialist is the varied daily responsibilities. The duties of child life specialists fall into three categories:

work directly with children

The primary focus of a child life specialist’s work with children is to support the child’s mental, emotional and social needs. They can soothe a child before, during, and after a medical procedure. They do not provide direct medical care and do not prepare them for medical procedures. Child life professionals can use play activities to help children understand what happens when they have undergone major surgery, injury, or illness. A child life specialist can provide grief counseling to children who have experienced a terminal illness or the death of a family member.

Working with the child’s family

Child life specialists can work with families, leading pre-admission and pre-surgery tours to allay their fears. The specialist can explain the results of medical tests or answer questions about medical procedures the family may have. They also provide support to the siblings of a sick child through basic counseling or therapy play to help them cope with their sister’s or brother’s treatment.

educate the public

Child life specialists educate the public on how to help children who are experiencing violence or trauma. A child life specialist can teach community leaders and other child care professionals to watch for signs of depression, post-traumatic stress, or anxiety. They can also help communities develop and coordinate therapeutic interventions.

How to become a child life specialist

Here are seven steps to becoming a child life specialist:

1. Earn a bachelor’s degree

To become a child life specialist, you can earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology, sociology, child development, or human development. The content of this degree focuses on documentation, child development, communication, medical terminology, therapeutic play, and family-oriented care. Additional courses in expressive therapy, family dynamics, therapeutic relaxation, and cultural diversity may also be helpful.
Related: Is it worth getting a bachelor’s degree?

2. Earning a Master’s Degree

While earning a master’s degree is not a prerequisite to becoming a child life specialist, earning a master’s degree can provide you with practical training and help you be more competitive in the job market. A master’s degree usually takes at least two years after completing a bachelor’s degree.

3. Complete an internship

To become a certified child life specialist, you must complete a 480-600 hour Supervised Internship. Your Internship Supervisor must have a minimum of 4,000 hours of paid clinical experience working with children and a current Child Life Specialist Certification. The internship provides hands-on experience in a variety of settings, such as a children’s hospital, children’s burn centers, or specialized camp programs for children diagnosed with diabetes, cancer, or another disease.

4. Get certified

There are professional organizations and associations that offer a variety of courses to help you meet the requirements to become a child life specialist. Certification exams take place throughout the year and often consist of multiple-choice questions to test the knowledge and experience gained during the internship and degree.

5. Recertified every five years

The Child Life Specialist Certification is valid for five years. After five years, you need to re-certify by passing an exam or taking refresher courses. You can earn professional development units through internships or courses.

6. Decide on a specialization

Child life specialists can remain generalists and work with a wide range of patients, but there are opportunities to specialize in working with specific types of patients, such as emergency room patients, cardiac patients, or outpatient surgery patients.

7. Decide on your career aspirations

Child life professionals can choose to work with patients throughout their career. Promotion opportunities exist for child life professionals interested in leadership and team positions.
Related: 7 tools to plan your career the right way

Average salary

The salary of child life specialists depends on their experience and education, as well as the location of the position you are applying for. Most child protection specialists work in full-time positions, but there are also contract positions. The median annual salary for a child life specialist is $51,418.

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a child life specialist

The profession of a child specialist has many advantages and disadvantages, for example:

Advantages

The advantages of working as a child life specialist are as follows:

A Variety of Job Locations: Child life professionals can work in a variety of locations where there are children in need of support, such as hospitals, funeral homes, or courtrooms.
Personal fulfillment: Helping children who have experienced traumatic events or who are suffering from illness can bring emotional satisfaction to the child life specialist when he sees that his patient is thriving.
Miscellaneous Job Responsibilities: The tasks of child life specialists vary depending on the institution they work for, but they may act as an advocate for children’s needs, provide information to families, or develop age-appropriate strategies to support children in need.
Being part of a team: Child life professionals often work with a multidisciplinary medical team to support a child and family.

Disadvantages

There are also disadvantages to working as a child life specialist. These include:

Emotional stress: Child life professionals may work with children with terminal illnesses and this can cause significant emotional stress for the professional.
Competition: The job market for child life professionals is very competitive. You may need to complete higher education and specialization to improve your competitive edge in hiring.

Salaries in Finland – average, minimum, social.

payments

Suomi has long been one of the most favorable countries for life, which attracts a large number of migrants. There is a high standard of living and social protection, excellent ecology, developed infrastructure, and the Finnish education system is recognized as one of the best in the world.

In addition, Finland is known as a country with a fairly high level of wages. Let’s try to figure out together how work is assessed in Suomi, what tax the Finns pay on their salaries and what professions are now in demand in Finland the most.

Average (median) salary in Finland

According to Statistics Finland, the average salary in the country in 2022 is 3444 euros. Compared to last year, this figure increased by 1.8%.

Immediately, we note that the minimum wage, according to various sources, is approximately 1200 – 1700 euros. In general, this money is enough to live relatively comfortably for a month. Read more about the standard of living in Finland here.

Salary in Finland by profession

Below is a list of approximate salaries that we have compiled based on data from several Finnish websites, such as this one.

Doctor ( lääkäri ) – 3000 – 7500 €
Surgeon ( kirurgi ) – 6300 €
Dentist ( hammaslääkäri ) – 3000 – 7000 €
Programmer ( ohjelmistokehittäjä ) – 5000 €
Police officer ( poliisi ) – 2 500 – 7000 €
Teacher ( optaja ) – 1400 – 5000 €
Engineer ( insinööri ) – 3800 – 4800 €
Nurse ( sairaanhoitaja ) – 3200 €
Electrician ( sähköasentaja ) – 2700 – 3200 €
Bus driver ( kussikuski ) – 2500 – 2700 €
Welder ( hitsaaja ) – 2200 – 2900 €
Trucker ( rekankuljettaja ) – 2600 €
Builder ( rakennusmies ) – 2500 €
Driver ( kuljettaja ) – 2500 €
Cook ( kokki ) – 1500 – 2500 €
Cleaning lady ( siivooja ) –1500 – 2100 €

As we can see, cleaners and cooks earn the least in Finland. Doctors, programmers, policemen and teachers have the highest salaries.

Taxes in Finland – income tax

High quality of life in Finland is achieved, among other things, through high taxes. Suomi has a progressive taxation system, which means that the higher the salary, the greater the tax. That is, it is unprofitable to be rich in Finland.

As of 2022, if an employee’s salary is:

19,200–28,700€, income tax will be 6% ,
28,700–47,300 € – 17.5% ,
47 300 -82 900 € – 21.25% ,
€82,900 or more – 31.25% .

Income less than €19,200 is not taxed .

When calculating income tax in Finland, the year of birth of the taxpayer, his marital status, the presence of children or dependents, etc. are taken into account. On this site, the Finnish taxpayer can calculate their income tax.

Finland also has a simplified tax system.