How to find au pair work – one of the best ways for women to travel
The Au Pair experience could prove to be one of the most rewarding experiences you’ve ever had. You can now discover more about Au Pairing in Europe and America by reading more about it below.
What Actually is an Au Pair?
More and more people are trying to capitalize on this new trend of going au pair in a foreign country. The term ‘Au Pair’ means equal or by mutual agreement. As you’ve probably realized by now, this term comes from French, because this program was first used in the French community.
An au pair is a young person (generally a woman but not limited to) with an average age of 25, unmarried and with no moral obligations towards children, who wish to travel to another country and live with a host family.
As an au pair, you move into a real family from Europe, USA, or a non-English speaking country to assist them with light housework and childcare. In return, you get to live free of charge, you enjoy great meals and you can receive pocket money, which can vary from $10 a day to up to $40.
As an au pair, your responsibility is to be the bigger sister or bigger brother. Your main responsibilities will be to look after the younger children, go shopping, wash dishes, and help with house maintenance.
Benefits of Enrolling into the au Pair Program
Going in another country as an au pair is all the rave. Living in the US or Europe offers unique benefits that are not found in most other areas of the world. Here are just 5 of the most important benefits of becoming an au pair.
-
Improve your Level of English
In most families, you choose to go to, except some from Italy, Spain, Germany and France, the common language is English. Even in Europe, many families talk in English, because they are either international or they want to help their children to become more proficient in this language. If you’re looking into how to become an Au Pair, you better have good English skills.
You normally attend a free language course during the period of your stay and you also get to perfect your English skills like never before.
-
Make New Friends
Many families live in friendly neighborhoods and have plenty of connections. When living with a new family, you get to connect with many people and you even get to make some very good friends. Some people even meet their soul mate. The possibilities are endless when going as an au pair.
-
Free Travel Time
At the end of each au-pair program, you get to enjoy a free 30-days travel period to travel across the country through the Bed and Breakfast program. This is a major benefit for au pairs in the US. In Europe, you might need to get informed, because each country offers unique benefits.
-
Make Good Money
Overall, you get an average of $140 a week, sometimes, even more, depending on your program of choice. Knowing that you pay nothing for accommodation and you get to eat for free, that means over $6000 a year, sometimes even more. Some people who have spent one year as au pairs for families in London got home with more than 8000, which is huge money in every country in the world.
-
Education
As part of an au pair program, you are required to take classes by an accredited University. The great thing here is that you can choose any subject that’s of interest to you.
How to Become an au pair
There are a lot of au pair opportunities, both in the US and in Europe. Here’s what you need to do in order to become an au pair.
-
Create your own resume: make sure you list your experience with children.
-
Write a compelling autobiographical essay: this is optional, but it can greatly improve your chance of success.
-
Create your own free WordPress photoblog and upload photos of you and other children. Upload some great photos with you and your family.
-
Find an au pair agency in the country you want to travel to and join an au pair community.
-
Start to apply for those families you are interested in. The process is easy. Send them your resume, essay, and site address via email, and tell them more about you. You need to ensure that you make a great first impression.
-
After you receive replies from several families, try to find out the best one for you by asking intimidating questions and by ensuring they will provide as much as possible for you.
-
After finding the right family for you, pack your stuff and hop in the plane for the greatest journey of your life.
Thanks for checking out this article on “How to Become an au pair”, if you’d like more content like “How to Become an au pair” and other topics, start here.
