Education or Experience
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Anonymous
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I recently came across a comment that came from a parent. He/she said that they only hire nannies who have degrees. What are your opinions? I think a degree is good to have but it's not necessary. I have worked in child care for years; centers, nanny, family daycare's- you name it. In child care centers, majority of the staff who have degrees, don't know how to run a classroom, panic in almost every situation, always asking other teachers for help etc. but parents will NEVER know that. I think in this field, EXPERIENCE is everything! Experience teaches you how to deal with different issues and settings, whether it's a child with behavioral issues, time management, creating lesson plans that work for your students, dealing with special needs etc. Just because you don't have a degree, doesn't mean you don't have proper training or knowledge pertaining to early childhood and the developmental process. I just wish parents stop making caregivers feel less than or inexperience because they don't have a degree.
Let me ask you this; would you hire a nanny that has a degree in Early Childhood Education with only 3 months of experience working with children? Or, would you hire a nanny that has over 11 years of experience working with children 6 weeks to age 11, has a substantial amount of trainings related to early childhood development and great references? This thread is not discrediting individuals who hold degrees, it is a great qualification to have  I am working toward completing my degree because at this rate, I think it will matter in the end. But, I can say and show proof, that I have had a long history of employment in a child care before I even obtained my degree. When I get hired, it's always based on how I present myself, my EXPERIENCE and references (parents always say you had glowing reviews from past parents/ employers) because I am a great child care professional even without a degree.
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Anonymous
| Solid experience wins. |
Anonymous
| Absolutely EXPERIENCE! Many people I have worked with who have completed a degree in childcare have had minimal experience often only having obtained it through work experience, which does not give you the full aspect and responsibilities of what is required. And as the OP mentioned because of this they often require help/support/advice from others. |
Anonymous
| Experience beats anything you will gain from reading a childcare book or from a lecturer's powerpoint |
Anonymous
| Experience with at least a childcare qualification and training |
Anonymous
| Experience but education is extremely important to me. I would never hire anyone to be my child's nanny without both a college degree and years of experience. Maturity is also a huge issue with me. |
Anonymous
Are you willing to pay top dollar for the education, experience, and maturity? Probably not. |
Anonymous
As the OP said would you hire someone who has a college degree and only a few months experience? |
Anonymous
Willing and do pay top dollar - $27 an hour plus healthcare insurance. |
Anonymous
No. But I also wouldn't hire someone with 20 years of experience and no college degree. |
Anonymous
| Experience + some kind of education/training. I want to know that the person knows the latest "wisdom" and about child development, but I don't care if she has a degree. I'm not looking for an academic program. |
Anonymous
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It has never been a either-or situation for me. Like others have posted, I want experience and a college degree. I am sure you are great, OP, (and maybe I would lose out by not hiring you) but a college degree is a minimum requirement for me so I would never even meet you.
Finish your degree, OP. |
Anonymous
| Experience + some indication of curiosity or willingness to learn. I ask candidates (regardless of education level) questions about developmental milestones, activities they'd do, challenges they worked on with previous kids and hire based on that. An ECE degree doesn't do me much good if all someone can say about activities with a 2yo is "arts and crafts and going to the park". After a couple of nanny families I would expect them to have handled something unusual and be able to talk about what they tried or learned. |
Anonymous
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Experience over education every time. However, I would not hire someone who does not speak English well - regardless of education level or nationality. I want my kids to hear language used well.
But I would absolutely hire the candidate who has raised or cared for several children over someone w/ a related degree. |
Anonymous
Op here. I agree, some training is required. I too want to ensure that whomever takes care of my children knows the latest techniques for teaching or be able to challenge my children. But like you said, a degree doesn't matter (great to have), especially if they're under age 5. |