My wife’s friend makes $100,000 as a nanny

[Anonymous]

I was absolutely floored to hear this. She recently went through a divorce and had been out of the workforce for 15 to 20 years. She does not have a college degree as far as I know.

She now works about 45 hours a week earning $47.50 per hour taking care of one kid. Apparently, the kid is difficult, which is why the family feels the need to pay such a high rate. I don’t know if there are benefits, but 45 x $47.50 per hour alone works out to north of $100K per year.

The most surprising thing is that she refuses to do any light cleaning or even throw a load of laundry in the washer when the kid is resting or there’s downtime. She apparently quit working for another family who asked her to do that.

So $100K+ with no degree, minimal or no experience, and you can be very picky about what tasks you will and will not do? Is this for real? If I had a daughter, I would 100% suggest she consider this as a career unless she had outstanding academic credentials or a strong interest in a potentially high-paying field. WTF?

[Anonymous]

Several years ago--maybe a decade back--the NY Times Magazine did a feature articles on nannies in NYC area earning $150,000 per year. Many had Ivy League degrees and tutored the child or children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was absolutely floored to hear this. She recently went through a divorce and had been out of the workforce for 15 to 20 years. She does not have a college degree as far as I know.

She now works about 45 hours a week earning $47.50 per hour taking care of one kid. Apparently, the kid is difficult, which is why the family feels the need to pay such a high rate. I don’t know if there are benefits, but 45 x $47.50 per hour alone works out to north of $100K per year.

The most surprising thing is that she refuses to do any light cleaning or even throw a load of laundry in the washer when the kid is resting or there’s downtime. She apparently quit working for another family who asked her to do that.

So $100K+ with no degree, minimal or no experience, and you can be very picky about what tasks you will and will not do? Is this for real? If I had a daughter, I would 100% suggest she consider this as a career unless she had outstanding academic credentials or a strong interest in a potentially high-paying field. WTF?

Families can get pretty desperate in the case of a challenging child. If you have a history of not being able to keep a nanny, you'll pay very well for one who can keep your kid on track. And offer other perks such as no other duties. That's not standard pay in the DMV, and I would never encourage a child to go into such miserable work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was absolutely floored to hear this. She recently went through a divorce and had been out of the workforce for 15 to 20 years. She does not have a college degree as far as I know.

She now works about 45 hours a week earning $47.50 per hour taking care of one kid. Apparently, the kid is difficult, which is why the family feels the need to pay such a high rate. I don’t know if there are benefits, but 45 x $47.50 per hour alone works out to north of $100K per year.

The most surprising thing is that she refuses to do any light cleaning or even throw a load of laundry in the washer when the kid is resting or there’s downtime. She apparently quit working for another family who asked her to do that.

So $100K+ with no degree, minimal or no experience, and you can be very picky about what tasks you will and will not do? Is this for real? If I had a daughter, I would 100% suggest she consider this as a career unless she had outstanding academic credentials or a strong interest in a potentially high-paying field. WTF?

We paid $25/hrs for our non challenging baby a while back. It's a very hard job.

[Anonymous]

You seem like you've had your head buried in the sand. Taking care of small children is hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You seem like you've had your head buried in the sand. Taking care of small children is hard.

Plus 100.
OP, Child care providers deserve to make a good living just like other fields.

[Anonymous]

I believe it. More power to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You seem like you've had your head buried in the sand. Taking care of small children is hard.

+1

And with a challenging kid there might not be much if any downtime at all. She works 45 hours a week, she deserves an uninterrupted half hour lunch break and she probably rarely gets that. This is not the easy money you think it is.

[Anonymous]

I recently met a woman who was “retired” at 25. She was a nanny and the dads friend noticed and married her. Dads friend owns a petroleum drilling company. Not bad for a sweet college grad. Now she is “retired” and serves on not for profit boards.

[Anonymous]

Does your wife's friend have children of her own? In some cases, the experience of raising a couple of kids is what counts as job experience. I had co-workers who had an autistic child. Their nanny was a middle-aged woman with 5 kids. They were willing to pay a lot because he was a difficult kid and she had enough life experience to cope with him.

They would not have been willing to pay that amount to a young woman who had no previous childcare experience. Heck, they weren't even willing to consider a young woman with no childcare experience for the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You seem like you've had your head buried in the sand. Taking care of small children is hard.

OP here. No one's saying taking care of kids is easy. But if I recall correctly, the median income for PhD holders nationwide is also around $100K, so it's crazy to me that someone with no training or experience can just wake up one day and start earning that. DCUM seems to live in a bubble where everyone is a $300K/year lawyer and doesn't realize that $100K is actually a hell of a lot of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You seem like you've had your head buried in the sand. Taking care of small children is hard.

OP here. No one's saying taking care of kids is easy. But if I recall correctly, the median income for PhD holders nationwide is also around $100K, so it's crazy to me that someone with no training or experience can just wake up one day and start earning that. DCUM seems to live in a bubble where everyone is a $300K/year lawyer and doesn't realize that $100K is actually a hell of a lot of money.

More education does not guarantee a higher salary. Many CPAs with just a BS or a 1-year master’s degree make far more than English PhDs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your wife's friend have children of her own? In some cases, the experience of raising a couple of kids is what counts as job experience. I had co-workers who had an autistic child. Their nanny was a middle-aged woman with 5 kids. They were willing to pay a lot because he was a difficult kid and she had enough life experience to cope with him.

They would not have been willing to pay that amount to a young woman who had no previous childcare experience. Heck, they weren't even willing to consider a young woman with no childcare experience for the job.

Yes, she has kids of her own but not with special needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You seem like you've had your head buried in the sand. Taking care of small children is hard.

OP here. No one's saying taking care of kids is easy. But if I recall correctly, the median income for PhD holders nationwide is also around $100K, so it's crazy to me that someone with no training or experience can just wake up one day and start earning that. DCUM seems to live in a bubble where everyone is a $300K/year lawyer and doesn't realize that $100K is actually a hell of a lot of money.

Is your wife’s friend a mother? If so, she had a ton of experience. Good grief.

[Anonymous]

I really want to see OP take this job and see how he’s feeling after a month.