Pay and Benefits for Nannies and Au Pairs

1) Do I need to have experience to get the job?

Like any job, more experience usually means a greater likelihood of being hired. This is certainly true for nannies and au pairs, and many agencies and families will not consider nannies with less than 2 years of experience.

If you are just starting out as a nanny, don’t despair. There are many ways that you can gain valuable experience that will help you land a nanny or au pair job. If you’ve worked as a camp counselor, babysitter or at a daycare center, this can often count as relevant experience, depending on the amount of time you spend with the children and your specific responsibilities. If you have absolutely no childcare experience, you should offer your babysitting services to friends or family members in order to get some experience and establish references. This kind of work will typically lead to more if you are a conscientious and supportive nanny.

2) How much does a nanny get paid?

The pay rate for nannies fluctuates depending on the location of the job, responsibilities of the nanny, and whether the nanny is full- or part-time. A more experienced nanny can also charge more than one just starting out. Typically, and nanny salary will start out at $10/hour and reach up to more than $20/hour with experience. Live-in nannies might receive a lower hourly wage in exchange for room, board and health benefits. The International Nanny Association has great resources for determining appropriate pay.

Because of the variation from location to location in the average wages of nannies and au pairs, one of the best ways to determine either how much to charge, or whether you are have received a fair wage offer from a family or agency is to check local jobs boards like Craigslist.org and the classifieds.

3) Do I have to move in? What are the different kinds of nanny jobs?

While many people think of Mary Poppins or the Nanny Diaries instantly when they imagine nanny jobs, there are many differen kinds of nanny and au pair positions, and not all require you to move-in with the family.

Live-in nannies are, as the title suggests, full time employees that live with the children and are typically on call most of the time. They receive days off just like any other job, and will be given at the very least their own bedroom and meals.

Full-time nannies are nannies that are with the children during most of their waking hours, but go home at the end of the day. As a full-time nanny, living closer to the family might be preferable to cut down on your commute, but isn’t mandatory.

On-call nannies work with many different families who might need help for one night, a few days or just for an emergency.

While this is not an exhaustive list of all of the kinds of nannies out there, it should help to give a sense of what kind of living arrangements exist for nannies.

4) Do nannies get benefits?

Most nannies are paid an hourly wage, but in some cases they will also get benefits. This typically happens when a nanny becomes a full time employee of the family, and receives a yearly salary. These benefits typically include basic health insurance. In most cases, a nanny will either have a lot of previous experience, or will have worked with the family for a long time to earn health and other benefits.