I grew up in the college town of Fort Collins, Colorado, home to one of the best science and veterinary schools in the nation. Of my five closest girl friends, four have Master’s degrees and one has an undergrad in education.
Of the five of them, its possible that Stella (who has a Master’s degree) has the most enviable job. She is a nanny and makes about the same as Eryn the epidemiologist (the study of infectious disease), and Kelly the physical therapist, plus she gets benefits like paid time off and full health care coverage. She also gets to build her skill set every singly day in may ways she’d never imagine. For example, the time she was trained to drive race cars, because her nanny family’s minivan has a race car engine (true story!)
The one bummer to Stella’s job though, is that she’s always being asked why someone so educated would take a career hit by becoming a nanny. That’s when Stella smiles, and explains the following:
- She has has more job satisfaction as a nanny than she ever had in corporate. She cares deeply about the people she works for, and they care about her. The days go by fast and are filled with tiny challenges and victories. She gets to watch children develop into thoughtful, curious, emotional people. She loves coming to work every day not knowing what will come up, and taking things as they come. Plus, her office is often a science museum or playground. It doesn’t get much better than that.
- Becoming a nanny has opened many doors for her. The old adage goes, “it’s not what you know, but who you know.” Through her nanny job, she has become close with the families she works for, and some have offered to hire her in their companies or write her a letter of recommendation when the time comes to move on.
- She is happy with the money she makes, and has been able to pay off her student loans. Many families place high value on someone who will greatly influence their children, and they want that person to be a long-term mentor for their children. They know that nannies need to make a livable wage, and in order to compete with the other positions these nannies could take, they offer very competitive hiring packages. Most Adventure Nannies make between $40,000 and $120,000 per year plus benefits.
College grads should embrace nanny careers. People may not understand them at first, but they have no idea how many resume-boosting, life-affirming, door-opening, pinch-yourself-amazing, moments you have as a nanny. Apply now to get started!