7 Great Characteristics Of A Developmental Evaluator

So you want to venture out into a career as a developmental evaluator and you’re not sure it will work for you?  To be honest, this isn’t exactly the career path I was on.  I was teaching a preschool special education class, while taking coursework in school psychology and needed to do my internship prior to finishing. Of course, since the internship was during school hours, I had to quit teaching! This was really difficult for me. Yet, I knew it had to be done if I wanted to pursue a career in school psychology.

I was doing evaluations for the school I was working in and learned that they could be done as fee-for-service. I signed up with a few agencies and managed to keep myself fully employed (without benefits-but we will get into that another day) while doing my internships! I ended up enjoying my role as an evaluator and decided to stick with it instead of pursuing a career in school psychology. While these roles are similar, I felt that my personality and character traits more closely matched the role of a developmental evaluator. Looking back on my decision, I’m confident that I made the right choice! I know how difficult it can be to choose the career path that is best suited for you, especially when that choice is between similar careers. The struggle can be very real!   

That’s why I wanted toshare with you some signs that may indicate that pursuing a career as a developmental editor could be the perfect career choice for you! Of course, these are guidelines and not the end-all for choosing this career, but my hope is that these characteristics will help give you insight into some of the traits/skills that are very useful in this profession.  

1. You love working with kids.  A great evaluator loves kids and understands child development.  While that may seem like a given, many people who work with children do it for other reasons aside from a love of children.  They may like that they will never have to work the night shift or enjoy having weekends and summers off.  Getting the best results involves forming a bond with children.  Children can sense how others feel about them and will naturally gravitate to a caring adult.

2. You can think in the moment.  You can think on your feet and come up with solutions quickly. Children, especially active ones, are not known to be patient and you will need to be able to come up with solutions quickly.  A good evaluator is able to sense the needs of the child and adapt quickly.

3. You can handle stress and pressure.  Scheduling appointments, traveling from site to site, and handling deadlines can be stressful. Taking time for yourself and doing things you enjoy is crucial to reducing stress and maintaining a healthy work/life balance.

4. You have great time management skills. The evaluator role involves juggling many balls, therefore, knowing how to structure your time is crucial.  Having great time management skills can be a great way to reduce stress by helping you to prioritize your tasks and plan your day effectively.

5. You love being independent.  At first, when you’re starting out doing evaluations on your own may be a bit daunting, but if you enjoy working independently you will get used to it quickly.  This role has minimal supervision and you will need to learn a lot on your own.

6. You can be a team player.  As the developmental evaluator, you will be asked to work alongside other disciplines. Over the years, I have worked closely with team members and learned a lot from the other disciplines. In order to get children the services they need, it is important for everyone to be able to work together.

7. You enjoy writing. Let’s face it, doing evaluations involves  a lot of report writing; there is no way to get around it!  If you don’t enjoy writing, it will get tedious very quickly!  You need to be able to write a report that defines and describes a child, while keeping the parents in mind. 

   
   

A career as an educational evaluator can be a difficult one, however, the rewards can definitely outweigh the challenges!  As with any career choice, an important key to success is  remembering to make time for yourself in order to avoid stress and burnout! The developmental evaluator role is a vital and rewarding role and one you will enjoy!

Many people find report writing a tedious and boring part of the job, so I created this detailed EI Report Template to make your life easier.