Any nannies considering becoming a career nanny ?

[Anonymous]

This is more so geared towards to the nannies who started out nannying/babysitting in high school/college. I've had so much trouble finding a career for what I studied in college so I've been nannying since I graduated from college. Has anyone considered that if they can't get a job in their field to stick with nannying as a career? All the entry level jobs I've found, the pay is so low I couldn't live off of it at all. Just curious to hear from other nannies.

[Anonymous]

I'm not exactly what you were asking for, but it's kind of close. I don't nanny full-time, I don't think I could handle that, but I have seem to have made it my part-time career. I work days in another job I love and then nanny for older kids after school. It's very fun and calming, adds an extra $1800 a month to my income, and just works really well in my schedule/life. So, I will probably keep doing it as long as it is feasible, but if you have never nannied full-time then you might want to try that before jumping in with both feet because it's really draining, especially for really little ones.

[Anonymous]

@ 13:06 I am doing it now and for the past 7 years ! I nanny for a family with an infant and toddler..i agree, it is draining to do full-time especially with these busy bees, I'm just with them on M/W/F and on T/Th I typically get called from other families.

[Anonymous]

Oh goodness no. I'm waiting for an internship to open up in my chosen field and walking away from nannying when that happens. Some days my charge is so challenging, he makes me consider getting sterilized (kidding, mostly).

[Anonymous]

I'm in your boat OP. Started nannying part time my last year of high school (mostly just because people kept asking me, not because I was particularly interested in it). In college I did my first year full time school part time nannying but by my second year was doing the opposite (full time nannying, part time school). During my last few years before graduation (bachelors in biology) I had internships at the DC zoo and (now defunct) aquarium.

I realized in those last few years of college that:
A) the careers I wanted in biology would require at least a masters degree if not a doctorate, which I could not afford because I had so much debt just from undergrad
B) the entry level careers I could've gotten in biology were either going to involve testing pharmaceuticals on animals or would involve extremely low wages and be salaried (no overtime) even though I'd likely be working 50-60 hours per week
C) nannying not only paid better than said entry level jobs but was honestly also a lot more fun than working with a bunch of underpaid whiny jerks (like those I worked with at the zoo and aquarium);

So, now I've been a full time nanny for 12 years. Sometimes I wish I could've gotten my dream job, but honestly the sort of work I wanted to do (working in the field with endangered animals) was just not something I could achieve without more money for schooling or better connections (GMU did not offer many opportunities at all for biology students in terms of career assistance or even research opportunities with professors). I did job search for opportunities in the field within my grasp (such as working as a lab tech or for the local fishery and wildlife organizations), but every time the pay was lower than I made as a nanny (and the fishery and wildlife and forest jobs are always only seasonal, so I'm not sure how they expect their employees to survive in the winter??).

Overall I really enjoy the time spent with my charges as a nanny. I love playing board games, doing arts and crafts, playing at the park, and of course smiles and hugs, which I know I get a lot more of here than I ever would've stuck in a biology lab or at a desk.

[Anonymous]

I am. I love being a nanny and I love the freedom it gives me. I'm just not the type of person to sit in an office all day. I started working on my masters in Early Childhood Education and am going to see where that takes me. Maybe I'd try teaching in a preschool for a few years - but I was SHOCKED when I realized how much I love being a nanny!