If childcare centers can't find workers, parents can't go back to work and the labor shortage gets even worse. It's all a vicious cycle. DGLimages/Getty Images Childcare centers are having a hard time staffing up as workers leave for other industries with higher pay and better benefits. Insider spoke to five current and former workers about what it's like to work in early childhood education. One former childcare worker said even though he enjoyed his job, he felt "mentally exhausted." A single mom in Missouri has worked as a childcare worker for nearly six years.