Anonymous wrote:There might come a time when you need to really consider if nannying is what you want to do with your life, or if it is a stepping stone to a more stable, lucrative career.

I think this is valuable advice. Right now I make way more than my partner (he works part-time and is a student) but within the next 5 years, he will be making 2-3x what I make once he begins his career. As much as I love nannying, at the end of the day I find myself looking at it as a dead-end career - you can't really get promoted as a nanny, it's very very rare to find nannies who make 6 figures, etc.

I'm only nannying as a break from school, and fully intend to go back to finish my degree once I've paid down a bit of my student debt. Sadly, even once I've got my degree I'll still make less than my partner, but at least I'll be able to financially hold my own, contribute to our future, and be in a career with a future for me.

I am in a similar situation, too. Both my fiance and I have college degrees, and when we met, I was working a 9-5. About a year into our relationship, I decided to leave my office job (didn't like the office politics, etc.) and become a nanny while I decided what to get my graduate degree in. He has been nothing but supportive, and says that ultimately, he just wants me to be happy with my job. We live in DC, so while the "going rate" for nannies is high, he still makes way more than I do. While I pay my share of the bills, he is the one saving for the down payment on our first house. I definitely wish I could help more financially, but he never makes me feel like I should be or that I could be if I had a "regular" job.

I am in a similar situation, but I have the small consolation that it will be reversed soon as I finish my masters and my partner begins her postdoc. There might come a time when you need to really consider if nannying is what you want to do with your life, or if it is a stepping stone to a more stable, lucrative career. Good luck. And for what it's worth, if your fiance (congrats!) assures you that he is ok with your financial situation, try to believe him, he most likely really is.

My fiance and I met in college and so we both have our B.A. He has been working his way up in the business world and now, 3 short years later, is making more than twice what I do as a nanny. I love my job and couldn't see myself being happy in an office setting and since I had nannied throughout college I continued to do so. We don't live in D.C., nor do we live in a big city so high paying nanny jobs aren't really around. I make decent money though, enough to pay my 1/2 of the bills and still have some leftover. However, I know that if I keep nannying that I will probably continue to make close to the same amount from here on out. My fiance NEVER complains about my choice to be a nanny, he DOES consider it a real job (and he's happy knowing I'll know what to do when we have kids of our own!), however I do feel guilty that he's the one saving the majority of the money for a house and future. Anyone else deal with this?