“The biographies of the great rarely report much about the nanny, but for many, she will have played a crucial role in their formative years.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Politician

Pros and Cons of Working as a Nanny

You think about becoming a nanny but are not entirely sure whether this job will be right for you or not?

Great! Then this blog post will be exactly for you.

In fact, I show you all pros and cons of being a nanny in the following.

Nanny Job Profile

Advantages of Being a Nanny

1. You can work with children
2. Nannies have a rather relaxed job
3. You don’t have time pressure
4. Nannies can work in a rather independent manner
5. You can avoid physical work
6. You can avoid working in an office job
7. Working as a nanny can give you meaning in life
8. Nannies can make a positive impact on the lives of children
9. You will not work that many extra hours
10. Free weekends most of the time
11. Good work-life balance for nannies
12. Being a nanny allows you to learn quite a lot about kids
13. Working as a nanny can be fun
14. You will become an important person for the kids you look after
15. Good nannies will always be needed
16. You can work indoors

You can work with children

One advantage of being a nanny is that you can work with children.

Similar to childcare workers, this gives you the opportunity to really develop and improve your people skills.

You will have to learn how the mind of kids and people in general work.

While this can be demanding, it is also quite important to master this skill, not only for your nanny career but also for various other parts of life since only if you understand what drives people, you will be able to push them in the direction you want them to go.

Apart from that, it can also be quite nice to work with children since they are often kind and eager to play with you.

You may also get back some nice childhood memories and working with children can therefore also be mentally healthy since you will be able to unplug from your own problems for a while.

Nannies have a rather relaxed job

Most nannies also don’t suffer from excessive stress.

Sure, kids are sometimes in a bad mood and it can be annoying to look after them once in a while, yet you will just not experience the same stress level compared to a demanding job where you have strict schedules and have to finish quite a lot of work in a rather short period of time.

Instead, you will just have to look after children and make sure that they don’t do something stupid or dangerous.

For instance, you can just play some nice parlor games with them and this will keep them motivated, happy and you will not have any stress at all (at least if the kid you are looking after is a good loser 😉).

You don’t have time pressure

Working as a nanny can also be quite nice since you just don’t have any time pressure.

You will basically just have to wait until your workday will be over.

Sure, you will have to do some things along the way. Yet, you can do those things in a rather relaxed manner and don’t have to worry about time management that much.

For instance, it doesn’t matter whether you cook for kids a few minutes sooner or later while it does matter if you are late for an appointment in your office job.

As you can see, a career as a nanny also enables you to work with less time pressure compared to many other jobs out there.

Nannies can work in a rather independent manner

Another upside to becoming a nanny is that you can also work in a rather independent manner.

Quite often, parents will not be at home and it will be up to you to structure your workday in a way that fits into the schedule of the kids you are responsible for.

Thus, as long as you pick them up from school, cook for them in a decent manner and accomplish all the other tasks you will be responsible for, you will be free to organize your day however you want and this also gives you a great level of freedom regarding how your day should look like.

You can avoid physical work

The job as a nanny will also not be physically demanding.

You will just sit on the couch, watch some TV series with the kids or play some other games.

While this might be mentally demanding to a certain extent, you will not have to work in a physical manner like in many other jobs.

For instance, a construction worker has to work with his hands for many hours a day and chances are that people who work in this field will also experience serious physical health problems in the long run.

In contrast, you will not suffer from these issues as a nanny since the tasks you will have to carry out will just not be physically demanding most of the time.

You can avoid working in an office job

As a nanny, you also don’t have to sit in an office and stare at a computer screen all day long.

In fact, this is how many people in our current state of the world spend their time and most of them are quite sad and unhappy, yet they continue to work in these jobs to make enough money to be able to afford a fancy lifestyle.

As a nanny, you can stay away from these artificial office environments and can do something you really like to do instead of just being in the game for the money like many people are.

Working as a nanny can give you meaning in life

Many nannies also report that they really love their jobs and that their jobs give them true meaning in life.

In fact, working with children can be extremely valuable on an emotional level since they will often greatly appreciate what you do for them.

In turn, you will get a certain feeling of importance and purpose that you don’t get from most other jobs which you just do for the money.

Hence, becoming a nanny may also be the right way to go for you in case you currently don’t see any higher purpose in what you are doing and urgently want to make a change in a more social direction.

Nannies can make a positive impact on the lives of children

Another benefit of being a nanny is that you can also have a positive impact on the lives of children you have to take care of.

In fact, you will spend lots of time together and these children will therefore also assimilate your behavior to a certain extent.

This means that if you are nice to them and treat them with respect, they will often do so as well and you can make a big contribution to raise them in a way so that they can become decent human beings once they get older.

You will not work that many extra hours

Nannies usually also don’t work many extra hours.

Most of the time, you will have a rather relaxed workweek and you will just not work more than 40 hours.

Some nannies also just work part-time and have plenty of leisure to spend on their hobbies or with their loved ones.

Free weekends most of the time

Most often, you will also not have to work on weekends as a nanny.

Parents will often take care of their children on weekends themselves and will make nice trips with them.

Therefore, you will be the one who can enjoy your leisure on weekends or make nice weekend trips with your loved ones as well.

Hence, while some other people like bus drivers have to work on weekends, you will be able to enjoy your time with the things you like even more than work.

Good work-life balance for nannies

In general, most nannies also report pretty good work-life balance.

Due to the free weekends and the confined number of hours they have to work, nannies are usually pretty happy with how their weeks look like.

There will usually be more than enough time left that they can spend on hobbies and with their families.

Consequently, working as a nanny can also make quite a lot of sense to you in case your leisure is pretty important to you.

Being a nanny allows you to learn quite a lot about kids

You will also be able to learn quite a lot about kids as a nanny that can be helpful for your private life, especially if you want to have your own children sooner or later.

You will just make some mistakes in the beginning and will be able to learn from them.

In turn, you can use those insights for raising your own children and can avoid the mistakes you have made during your nanny career.

This will make your life much easier since you will simply be able to handle your own kids in a more relaxed manner.

Working as a nanny can be fun

Many nannies also really enjoy their jobs.

In fact, it can be much fun to take care of kids and to see the joy in their eyes.

Doing good for others is a main driver for us humans and if you can do good for the children you look after, chances are that you will stay motivated and that you will not get annoyed with your job like many other people out there who don’t like what they do for a living at all.

You will become an important person for the kids you look after

As a nanny, you will also become an important person for the kids you supervise.

They will build a deep emotional connection with you in the long run and will trust you quite a lot.

This can be a pretty nice feeling since you see that these kids rely on you and your decision-making and this can also make you more confident.

Good nannies will always be needed

People will also not stop to make children and good nannies will always be needed.

Hence, if you really enjoy working with children and are able to teach them quite a lot of positive things, chances are that you will not have to worry about unemployment that much.

Even if you get fired, you will often be able to find a new job pretty soon.

You can work indoors

As a nanny, you can also avoid working outdoors.

While you might take this for granted, there are still many people out there who have to work under extreme conditions like rain, snow or heat.

In contrast, you will be able to work indoors in a rather cozy environment as a nanny and your overall working conditions will therefore be much more comfortable.

As you can see, there are indeed many upsides to a career as a nanny.

Yet, there are also some problems related to it that I will discuss for you in the following chapters.

Disadvantages of Working as a Nanny

1. You have to commute to the family you work for
2. Teleworking is not possible
3. Children may not want to let you go
4. You will change your employer quite frequently
5. Kids will not always be in a good mood
6. Personal fit may not be there in some cases
7. Parents can be difficult
8. Short-term contracts are rather common
9. Nannies don’t make much money
10. You may have to work in the evening
11. You may need a second job
12. Hard to switch fields as a nanny
13. You may get bored in the long run

You have to commute to the family you work for

One disadvantage of working as a nanny is that you will have to commute to the home of the family you work for.

Since you will look after the kids of your clients in their own home most of the time, you will have to spend plenty of time driving, especially in the morning when you might get stuck in traffic jams.

This can be quite annoying since it will cost you time and money and you will often not get paid for commuting.

Teleworking is not possible

You will also not be able to work remotely as a nanny.

While many other people who work in classical office jobs enjoy the privilege of teleworking, you will have to be at your workplace in person.

This means that while other people can work from home and can manage their private and professional life at the same time, you will be away from home and have to do your laundry and other things after finishing your workday.

In turn, you will be less flexible compared to digital marketers and other people who enjoy the benefits of teleworking.

Children may not want to let you go

You should also be aware of the fact that the children you look after will often develop a deep emotional connection with you and that you will become a really important person to them.

While this can give you a feeling of importance, it can also be problematic since it will be time to say goodbye sooner or later once those kids get older and don’t need a nanny anymore.

Leaving in those situations may not only be hard for children, but also you may be quite sad to leave.

You will change your employer quite frequently

Another problem with working as a nanny is that you will also have to change your employer quite often.

Once children get to a certain age, they will just no longer need your support and will be able to take care of themselves.

This means that you will have to search for a new job quite frequently and this can be really annoying since you can never be sure when exactly you have to leave and will often have some months where you will not make any money.

Kids will not always be in a good mood

While working with kids will be fun most of the time, there are also some days where kids are just not in a good mood at all.

During those times, it can be really annoying to take care of them since they will just not be motivated to do anything fun.

Hence, don’t think that your work will always be fun as a nanny.

Some days will just be difficult and you should make sure that you have a stable mindset that allows you to deal with these situations in an emotionally healthy manner.

Personal fit may not be there in some cases

In some cases, you may also not be able to develop an emotional connection with the kids you should look after.

The chemistry between nannies and kids is quite important and if there is no connection, you will just have a pretty hard time since the kid you should take care of will often just not trust you or not listen to your commands.

Parents can be difficult

Not only kids can be difficult, but also parents can be quite demanding and annoying.

While some parents are nice and empathetic, others are just difficult.

They will often ask you to do exactly what they want instead of giving you some freedom to do what you think will be right for the kid.

In turn, work will often not be that much fun in those setups.

Short-term contracts are rather common

Many nannies also only have short-term contracts or even no contracts at all.

This means that you will just have not much job security and may get fired from one day to the other.

Consequently, working as a nanny also implies significant insecurity regarding long-term job prospects and if you are the type of person who wants to have good job security, chances are that you should rather go for a different career path where you can get a long-term contract.

Nannies don’t make much money

Another downside of being a nanny is that you will just not make that much money.

Sure, it will be enough to cover your bills and to afford the most basic things.

Yet, most nannies are not able to afford any luxury and may even struggle to pay rent, especially if they live in rather expensive areas where living costs are quite high.

You may have to work in the evening

You will also have to work in the evening sooner or later.

Parents often want to have some time for themselves after work and you will be the one who has to look after their kids during these times.

Of course, this will not be the case every day.

Yet, you should make sure that you are willing to work during these times before you decide to become a nanny.

You may need a second job

Some nannies are also not able to make a living from what they are doing.

Especially if you only work part-time as a nanny, it will often not be enough to pay your bills and you will therefore have to work in a second job.

Hard to switch fields as a nanny

You will also not learn that many hard skills as a nanny.

While this might not be problematic if you want to stay in this field, it can become a real problem in case you want to start a new career in the future since many employers will just not be willing to offer you a job.

You may get bored in the long run

Some nannies also get bored with what they are doing sooner or later.

Hence, before becoming a nanny, make sure that working with kids is really what you love to do so that you can avoid unpleasant surprises later on in your life.

Top 10 Being a Nanny Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should You Become A Nanny?

As you can see from the previous analysis, there are many advantages and disadvantages of being a nanny that you should take into account.

In the end, it is up to you to make your final decision of whether you still want to work as a nanny or if you rather want to go for a different occupation instead.

If you are still interested in becoming a nanny, you should also get detailed information on the salary, future outlook, work-life balance, duties, educational requirements and job satisfaction of nannies.

Also make sure to check out the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a tutor

Advantages and disadvantages of working as an animal trainer

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a musician

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanny

https://neuvoo.com/salary/?job=Nanny

https://www.ft.com/content/89eef0bd-278a-4460-af61-60ab69ad31bb

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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