Interested in as an au pair, but not sure where to start? You have come to the right place!
What is an Au Pair?
An au pair is a young adult – usually in their late teens or twenties – who lives with a family in another country and works as a caregiver of the family’s children in exchange for room and board, a monthly salary, and foreign language classes.
The purpose of the au pair program – which is available all over the world – is cultural exchange. People work as au pairs to experience another country and culture and perhaps even to learn a foreign language. Working as an au pair offers young adults the chance to live overseas inexpensively, learning about their new country and its people first-hand.
For host families, hiring au pairs to take care of their children is not only an affordable means of childcare, but it is also a great way to expose children to other cultures and languages. Children with au pairs learn about the au pairs’ host culture/s and often learn to speak the language of the au pair as well. Host families are usually people who are interested in the cross-cultural aspect of having an au pair and are interested in sharing their own culture with their au pairs.
Benefits of working as an Au Pair
The main benefit of working as an au pair is the opportunity to live in another country very cheaply. Living expenses – including a room, utilities, food, health insurance, and vacation pay are all covered by the host family. Au pairs also have the opportunity to take language courses to learn the language of the host country, and this cost should also be covered by the host family.
Basic requirements
In most countries, you need a high school diploma, or the equivalent, to be considered to work as an au pair. There are also age limits, and most au pairs need to be between the ages of 18 and 27 (this is country specific, so be sure to check on the requirements of the country you are interested in) and must be single with no children.
Professional childcare experience and training is not required, but will help your chances of getting a job. Childcare experience, even if limited to having babysat your siblings growing up or taking care of the neighbors kids, is needed. Families want the people taking care of their children to know how to take care of children, and your chances of finding an au pair job are going to be much slimmer if you have no experience with little ones.
How to get started
The first step in finding work as an au pair is to start talking to au pair agencies or look at sites such as Great Au Pair, which are databases of host families and au pairs looking for each other. This will tell you more about what host families are looking for.
If you would like au pair agencies to contact you, the International Au Pair Association has an online form where you can submit your information. Your details will be forwared on to au pair agencies who are members of the IAPA, and they will send you more specific information on how to find an au pair job.
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