児童指導員 児童指導員

Japan Social Services 分類:08_049-05 Confidence ★★★★★

Average annual pay
¥4.42M
≈ $28,086
Top pay (est.)
¥7.30M
Top 10% ¥6.34M
Pay in 5 years
¥5.24Mest.
2031
Pay in 10 years
¥6.22Mest.
¥5.35M–¥7.23M
Outlook score
73/100
★★★★☆ Good
AI replacement risk
10%
Very low
Labor demand
Very high
Openings-to-applicants 2.65x

What 児童指導員 do

An English description is being prepared. Japanese description:

児童指導員は、保護者のいない児童や虐待されている児童など、家庭環境上養護を必要とする子どもが入所する施設等で子どもたちの育成、生活指導等を行う。
 例えば、児童養護施設は、基本的に2歳から18歳未満の子どもを対象とし、子どもとその家族への支援を行い、入所した子どもたちが健全に成長・自立できるよう、18歳以降のアフターケアも含めて援助、育成、生活指導を行うものであり、子どもたちの家庭の事情や成長の様子を見極め、一人ひとりに合わせた支援計画をたて、サポートする。
 児童指導員は子どもの日常生活の支援、社会ルールの習得、学習や遊びなどの支援・指導に当たる。
 児童指導員の仕事は、基本的に子どもたちの生活時間と連動している。朝は子どもを学校に送り出し、その後は日誌を記録するなど事務作業を行い、子どもたちが学校から帰ってきたら、学年別に勉強の手伝いや身の回りの世話等を行う。発達に特性がある子どもも少なくなく、対応には様々な工夫が求められる。必要に応じて保護者や児童相談所などと面談し、対応方針等の検討も行う。
 進路相談の際には、子ども一人ひとりに対して異なる対応が求められる。例えば、中学卒業時はほとんどの子どもが高校などに進学をするが、進学先は様々であり、個々の状況に応じた支援が必要となる。また、高校卒業時においても、子どもの希望に応じて就職・進学できるよう支援することが必要である。子どもとより良いコミュニケーションを図り、いかに親身になって満足のいく進路相談ができるか、平素から子どもたちとの信頼関係を築き、適切なアドバイスをすることが求められる。

◇ よく使う道具、機材、情報技術等
 パソコン、事務処理ソフト(文書作成等)

Employment type of workers

児童指導員 salary

The average annual pay for 児童指導員 in Japan is ¥4.42M (≈ $28,086; Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2025), national). The estimated median is ¥4.11M, the typical range is ¥3.13M–¥7.30M and the top 10% earn about ¥6.34M.

Average pay
¥4.42M
≈ $28,086
Median (est.)
¥4.11M
≈ $26,137
Low end (est.)
¥3.13M
Entry level, early 20s
Top 10% (est.)
¥6.34M
≈ $40,318
Top pay (est.)
¥7.30M
≈ $46,423
Hourly wage
¥2,217
1.9× the national minimum wage (¥1,177)
Advertised monthly wage
¥252,000
vs. last year +¥9,000

How does your pay compare with people your age?

Your numbers are not sent or stored. The distribution is estimated from Japan's national wage statistics, including pay differences by age.

Pay by ageest.

20s
¥3.29M
30s
¥3.86M
40s
¥4.35M
50s
¥4.78M

Estimated from the average pay and average age (46.0) using the age-wage curve of the Basic Survey on Wage Structure.

Pay by experienceest.

Entry level
¥3.34M
1–3 yrs
¥3.70M
3–5 yrs
¥4.06M
5–10 yrs
¥4.52M
10+ yrs
¥5.06M

Pay by employment typeest.

Full-time employee ¥4.42MPart-time ¥1.85MFreelance / self-employed ¥4.64MContract / temp ¥3.44M

The average hourly wage of ¥2,217 is 1.9× Japan's national average minimum wage of ¥1,177 (fiscal 2026). Minimum wage by prefecture →

Japanese pay is shown in yen (¥5.57M = 5.57 million yen ≈ 557万円). Dollar figures use the current rate of 157.25 yen per dollar and are for reference only; purchasing power differs.

Pay over time

YearAverage payEmploymentOpenings ratio
2021¥4.04M——
2022¥4.16M——
2023¥4.26M—2.79x
2024¥4.41M—2.72x
2025¥4.42M—2.65x

How median, percentiles and the pay range are defined →

Projected pay for 児童指導員 (3, 5 and 10 years)est.

Today ¥4.42M → in 3 years ¥4.90M → in 5 years ¥5.24M → in 10 years ¥6.22M (10-year range ¥5.35M–¥7.23M). The model assumes pay growth of +3.5% per year.

¥4.42M
Now
2026
¥4.90M
In 3 yrs
2029
¥4.52M–¥5.33M
¥5.24M
In 5 yrs
2031
¥4.72M–¥5.84M
¥6.22M
In 10 yrs
2036
¥5.35M–¥7.23M

What drives the annual growth rate

Base wage growth +1.8%Labor demand +0.72%Wage momentum +0.67%AI impact +0.3%Total +3.5% / yr

Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (the job-openings-to-applicants ratio), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →

Outlook score for 児童指導員

73/100
★★★★☆
Good · ranked #5 of all Japanese occupations
AI resistance
90 pts
Entry barrier
69 pts
Pay level
31 pts
Labor demand
84 pts
Wage momentum
67 pts
Aging workforce
81 pts

Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.

Will AI replace 児童指導員? AI replacement risk

10%
Very low
Ranked #27 safest from AI among all Japanese occupations
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

How AI is changing this job

A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.

AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using the MHLW job tag survey on work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →

Labor demand for 児童指導員

Openings-to-applicants ratio
2.65x
ranked #82 of all Japanese jobs
Demand score
Very high
80/100
Advertised monthly wage
¥252,000
Hello Work postings
Workers
—
Population Census
Average age
46.0
Hours per month
161
Openings in 5 years
+18.2%
est.
Openings in 10 years
+32.7%
est.

A ratio above 1.0 means there are more job openings than applicants (a labor shortage). The 5- and 10-year figures are estimates from the openings ratio, wage momentum and AI replacement risk.

The same job in the United States

児童指導員
Japan
Social and Human Service Assistants
United States
Median / average pay¥4.42M
≈ $28,086
$45,930
Pay in 10 years (est.)¥6.22M$63,200
Outlook score7362
AI replacement risk10% Very low40% Low
Workers—438K

Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.

Skills, education and requirements for 児童指導員

Key skills

Active Listening
4.9
Social Perceptiveness
4.3
Instructing
4.2
Service Orientation
4.1
Coordination
4.0
Speaking
3.8
Persuasion
3.7
Writing
3.6

Skill levels from the MHLW job tag worker survey.

Key knowledge areas

Psychology
2.8
Education and Training
2.5
Therapy and Counseling
2.2
Sociology and Anthropology
2.2
Customer and Personal Service
2.1
English Language
1.9
Administrative
1.7
Communications and Media
1.6

What the work involves

Assisting and Caring for OthersEstablishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsMonitoring Processes, Materials, or SurroundingsIdentifying Objects, Actions, and EventsCommunicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesScheduling Work and ActivitiesUpdating and Using Relevant KnowledgeMaking Decisions and Solving Problems

Important abilities

Problem SensitivityOral ExpressionOral ComprehensionWritten ExpressionWritten ComprehensionReaction Time

Licenses and certifications (Japan)

Related qualifications listed on job tag (names in Japanese). Some are mandatory, others recommended.

Education of workers

Training before entry

Related work experience

Difficulty of entry: ★★★☆☆ Moderate (from education, training, experience, licenses)

How to become 児童指導員

The typical path in Japan is shown by the education, training and experience of current workers above and in the Japanese guidance below. A detailed English guide for this occupation is being prepared.

Guidance from job tag (Japanese)
児童指導員となるには指導員任用資格が必要となる。
 任用資格は、以下の条件のうちいずれかを満たすことで取得できる。(ⅰ)4年制大学や通信制大学で社会福祉学、心理学、教育学、社会学を専修する学部、学科を卒業すること、(ⅱ)社会福祉士、精神保健福祉士のいずれかの資格を取得していること、(ⅲ)高校若しくは中等教育学校を卒業し、2年以上児童福祉事業に従事すること、(ⅳ)3年以上児童福祉事業に従事し、厚生労働大臣又は都道府県知事から認定されること、(ⅴ)幼稚園教諭、小中学校、高等学校の教員免許を所有しており、厚生労働大臣又は都道府県知事から認定されることである。任用資格を満たした上で、自治体等の施設で勤務する場合は公務員試験、社会福祉法人等の民間施設で勤務する場合は施設の採用試験に合格する必要がある。採用後、児童指導員として勤務することとなる。
 子どもの生活と安全を預かる仕事であるため、優しさや包容力、公平さなどが求められる。

Career path and how to earn more as 児童指導員

Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by experience is shown in the Pay section.

Pay and employment figures are national statistics. Projected pay, outlook scores and AI replacement risk are estimates from the Shigoto Zukan model, not guarantees. To request a correction, use the contact form. How to read the data
Sources: Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2025), Population Census and Hello Work employment statistics as published on the MHLW job tag site (retrieved Nov 1, 2026); Occupational Information Database (JILPT). Pay ranges, projections and scores are Shigoto Zukan estimates.