Whatever your kids do to celebrate Father’s Day this year, take a few minutes to congratulate yourself on the care and education you’ve given them over the years.

And then think…maybe you could use all that experience as the starting point for a new career in early years education.

Why not? You know what makes children tick, how to keep their interest and what they’re capable of at different ages; you can settle them when they get upset; you probably even enjoy their company…most of the time..!

Like in any other important profession, lived experience is not enough. You need to study for early years qualifications before you can be ‘let loose’ on a roomful of children. But there are lots of options for fitting those in around voluntary or part-time work experience, so it needn’t take forever to change careers.

And there’s a growing sense that the heavily female-dominated early years sector needs more men in it.

You can read the first of our case studies about MITEY men (some of them dads) to find out about their journeys, below:

Case study: Looking after kids held no fear for me

Case study: Without my children I don’t think I would have found my place

Case study: Being part of the first years is so valuable

Check out our guide to Finding your place in early years education, and our list of local MITEY networks, in case you’d find it useful to connect with men already working in the field.

Later this year we’ll be running some online support sessions for MITEY men and those who are considering early years as a career. Sign up here to receive updates about these sessions, more case studies and useful resources as they appear.