8 Reasons Why Being An Au Pair Is The Best Summer Job!
While everyone is figuring out their summer plans; booking holidays, planning exciting but expensive trips, travelling or deciding to stay at home and work over summer, one option never seems to crop up for most people and that’s au pairing. I’ve been an au pair three times and have just finished my second summer working in Madrid and I can honestly say it has been one of the best experiences of my life being able to meet new people, travel, save up a little money, becoming part of a family and experiencing a different culture. It is definitely one of the best ways to spend your summer. Here are 8 reasons why:
- It’s a cheap way to live abroad all summer.
Your accommodation is paid for in a sunny place of your choice, which is a pretty good deal in itself. You can also eat with the family or cook for yourself, so food is provided too, which means you can then spend what you do make (on average €70 per week) on going out with friends or travelling on the weekends. Although €70 doesn’t sound like a lot, when you don’t have anything to pay for it’s pretty good, and definitely enough to be able to enjoy yourself and hang out with other au pairs who will be making the same anyway.
2. You become part of the family.
I was lucky with my host family; since I’ve been working for them over the summer of 2015, they’ve become like a second family to me and I pretty much consider Madrid my home away from home. They’ve involved me in family meals, day trips, holidays and I’ve met all of their extended family, which can be intimidating at first but you can’t not feel like part of the family after a week long trip with them! Although some au pairs don’t have the same experience, many become life long friends with their host families, which is something you don’t take away from every summer job.
3. You fully experience another culture and way of life.
This is a hard one to explain unless you’ve lived abroad with a family. Basically, when you go on holiday you see a tiny fraction of the country and culture, as you’re probably with people you know, speaking your own language and eating whatever you want. When you’re working as an au pair you are completely thrown into the deep end. Suddenly, most of the people around you are speaking another language (which you are having to piece together to communicate with grandparents, aunts, uncles and other children who have no idea what you’re talking about when you speak English), eating differently and just generally living their day-to-day life in a completely different way. First it’s overwhelming but once you’ve adjusted, you begin to adapt to everyday life within a different culture, which is something definitely worth experiencing.
4. The working hours are great ! (approx. 5 hours a day)
Compared to a lot of summer jobs, the working hours are nothing. I worked from 10:00am to 4:30pm, and taking into account the siesta after lunch (literally saved my life everyday). I only really worked about 5 hours a day, which is the same for most au pairs. Having this kind of schedule gives you time to then relax by the pool or just chill after work before meeting friends or doing your own thing in the evening. Also, only working around 5 hours a day, you get the weekends free and may even have whole weeks to yourself while your host family goes on holiday. All this free time lets you actually enjoy your summer. Yes, you’re working, but you’re also able to be completely independent and spend the weekend exploring your new home.
5. You get to travel around without breaking the bank.
While living in another country, you’re pretty much guaranteed to travel around a little. Planning trips with other au pairs is a great way to spend your weekend exploring another part of the country you’re living in, while experiencing the delights of hostel life and budgeting on your au pair spending money. It’s definitely something everyone in their 20s should experience at least once! But, as well as travelling with friends, most au pairs go on holiday with their host family too. While with my family this summer, I travelled to the North of Spain and spent time on Islas Cies; a national park famous for its blue water and hiking trails. I also when to Malaga’s beach for a week with all their family, as well as did weekends trips to the suburbs of Madrid to visit friends. Although you may have to still look after the children or babysit some evenings, you experience a country in much more depth than you would in a week on holiday, and on top of that, it’s entirely free!
6. You make friends from all over the world.
Some of my best friends are people I’ve met while au pairing. You meet girls from all over the world who have had totally different life experiences from you, but who you also automatically have one thing in common with and that’s that you are in exactly the same position as an au pair. You’re all looking after kid, who are probably going to drive you crazy from time to time, so you definitely need friends you can complain to! Usually, you’ll meet 5 or 6 other au pairs and hang out with them all summer, going out at night or on trips over the weekend. I was also lucky to live near one of my friends this year, so we were able to meet up during work and look after our kids together in the park. We had play-dates and picnics which kept the kids happy, which lets you hang out with friends at the same time.
7. You get to watch the kids learn your language whilst learning a new one yourself.
I can honestly say there is no better feeling than seeing a three year old (who at first refused to speak a word of English to you) pick up your expressions and start to learn your language; chatting away to you about their favourite animals and genuinely making you laugh while making jokes in the language you’ve taught them. You grow so close with the children and watching them learn is so rewarding and definitely one of the best things about being an au pair. As well as teaching a language, you’re able to learn a new one yourself. Whether you’re looking to learn or just improve, you’re sure to get a better grasp of it while living in the country and being fully immersed in the culture. Some host families will also pay for you to go to language classes or speak to you solely in their language if you ask. But either way, even if you’re not specifically trying to learn, you’d be surprised how much you can pick up from hanging out with a toddler for 5 hours a day!
8.You get to pick a family perfect for you!
Unlike most employers, you are able to choose who you work for. Although this year I returned to my host family, usually you make a profile (I use aupairworld.com), decide on the countries you’d like to go to and the age range of the children you want to look after; before writing a little about yourself and your experience. You then communicate with the families all over the world until you find one that you think suits you. Once you have chosen a family, in a country you want to explore, you literally have to book your flight (some families even pay for this), arrange a date to arrive and just go for it. So overall, the whole process of organisation is pretty simple. Yes, you need to love kids and have a lot of patience at times but other than that there’s nothing stopping you from becoming a summer au pair.