My American job

When I meet new people here, most of our initial conversations go like the one written below. Starring me and potential new friends/my employers’ acquaintances/mostly everybody else.

Random person: ‘Hi, so what do you do for a living here? ’

Me: ‘I am a nanny. ’

Random person: ‘Oh cool, but what is your main job? / I used to babysit my little brother when I was a kid. ’

Me: ‘Being a nanny is not the same as being a babysitter. Nannies have a lot of childcare experience, ideally also a degree from an educational field and a variety of different trainings, such as the most important one, the CPR training. ’

Random person: ‘But don’t they pay you like five dollars an hour? ’

Me: ‘Yeah, that is probably how I afford to travel to a different state about twice a month, and I think those five dollars an hour paid for my brand new Audi A4. ’

Random person: ‘Cool, let’s be friends! ’

Me: ‘Yay! ’

Finding a job in the United States

The first, and the most important step if you would like to work in the United States of America for a while is definitely getting a proper working visa. There are several different kinds of visas, so it depends also on the field you would like to work at, but you are not allowed to work in the United States of America on a tourist visa!

My best friend on all my travels - and a very important part of the visa application!

This is how the visa in the passport looks like - it is basically just a sticker with your information that covers the whole passport page.

And this is one of the many visa papers that you have to have to be granted entry into the United States of America.

Once I decided I would like to work as a nanny in the United States, I applied for a visa and once the visa was approved, I registered with a nanny agency which will help me match with potential employers. You have to pay a fee to the agency (I paid around 500 dollars), which may seem like an unnecessary expense, but it is a good investment, and I am going to tell you the reason why right away.

You do not have to register with an agency, but if something goes wrong, for example you feel like you are not a good match with the family or the family does not follow rules or they do not pay you on time or whatever other inconvenience you can think of, the agency will support you and, if necessary, they will help you find a new family.

So, how does the process of finding a family look like, since you cannot have a job interview in person? It is actually quite simple, thanks to all the modern technology we have access to nowadays. When you register with an agency, you have to set up an online profile, where you, other that bragging about your childcare experience a little, also describe your personality and hobbies. This way, the nanny agency is able to match you with a family that shares similar values and interests.

Once your profile is set up, you will start receiving messages and offers from potential families that are, according to the nanny agency, a good match for you. You can reply to their messages and then set up a skype call - job interview.

Before you ‘officially’ match with a family, you are required to do the minimum of three skype calls. The good thing about talking on skype is that you can almost feel like you are talking to your potential future employers face to face (even though, in reality, you are thousands of miles away from each other), and you also have a chance to talk to their kids. After all, the kids are the most important part of the call.

Once you and the family decide you are a good fit, you have to notify the agency, which makes the match official. They will send you some documents that you need to sign, and after that, you can start arranging everything for your departure to the United States.

I almost forgot to mention a very important thing - if you register with an agency, the price of a flight to the United States is included in the agency fee. How awesome is that? They, of course, cannot promise a direct flight and first class, but I was lucky enough to fly directly.

What does my job here look like?

I must mention the fact that I am a live-in nanny. The difference between a live-in and a live-out nanny is that the live-in nanny lives with the family she works for, and the live-out nanny lives at her own place. The reason I chose a position where I am a live-in nanny is because it is much more convenient to be there all the time, meaning I can sleep longer in the morning, I do not have to pay the rent, and I am free to eat dinner with the family whenever I want to.

That way, I can save quite a lot of money. Which means more travel. Of course, living with the family you work for, also has its downsides. It is basically living with your boss. Well, bosses. Meaning, you can never call in fake-sick. And the kids are always around. But I love it that way.

During school periods, I have to wake the kids up, pack their lunches and drive them to school. Then I have around six hours of free time, meaning I can do whatever I want. I usually go to the gym and hang out with my friends. And, to be completely honest with you, sometimes I just go back to sleep for a few more hours after I drop the kids off at school.

In the afternoon, I pick them up from school, make sure they eat a healthy snack and assist them with their homework and/or studying. Then we either play, watch a movie or go to the park. The activities depend on the weather and the kids’ (and my) mood. Occasionally, I also have to drive them to and from their after school activities. Once the parents come home from work, I am free to do whatever I want.

In summer, my schedule is a little different. I work more, it is more exhausting, but I also get paid more. I have to be very creative with picking different activities, because the kids get bored incredibly quickly. Also, I am taking care of three kids, and they are all in different age groups. How do I do it? To be honest, sometimes I am asking myself the same question. In summer, we go to the swimming pool a lot. Sometimes, I take them to a local children museum, a zoo, a few parks, or an animal shelter.

Salary and vacation time and other perks

I get paid 20 USD an hour. And I do not need to pay for either food or rent. And I get three weeks of paid vacation per year. On the top of that, the family sometimes invites me on vacation with them. They pay for everything and since this is a vacation, I do not have to watch the kids at all. At this point I would like to mention that not all families are this nice, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to be able to work for such an amazing family.

Other than being able to travel with the family I work for, my job has several other perks. My favorite ones are definitely paid annual memberships to amusement parks, water parks, zoos, museums and more. Since my employers want me to keep their kids entertained, they often buy family memberships to the places I listed above. The best part so far?

I got a membership to a local amusement park and I can go there in my free time and I do not have to pay for it! I love roller coasters and all other adrenaline inducing things, so I consider this one of the best 'gifts' I got with this job. Also, when a new movie comes out and the kids really want to see it right away and not wait until it comes on Netflix or is released on DVD, I can take them to the cinema and my employers pay for my ticket as well. Do you want my job already?

But can I travel out of the country during my time here? The answer is: it depends! The visa that I have, allows me to stay in the United States of America for one year, with an option to extend it for one more year. During the first year, you are free to travel out of the country, such as go to Canada or Mexico, but you have to fill in some papers.

If you want to travel outside the United States of America during your first year, a responsible officer must sign this part of the visa paper, and needless to say that you have to bring it with you wherever you travel!

During your second year, things get a little more complicated. If you travel out of the country during your second year, it is not guaranteed that they will grant you a re - entry into the States.

So, if you leave the country during your second year, you have to apply for a new visa at the American embassy, and, first of all, it is not guaranteed they will approve a new visa (I heard they sometimes say that you had your chance and they do not like to give you a second chance - approve visa again), and even if you get a visa, the US customs can still decide not to let you back into the country.

So, if you know at the very beginning that you would like to stay in the United States for two years and you would like to visit your family during that time, do so during your first year. Or tell them to visit you and you can explore the wonders of America together.

Changing your employers before the contract is over

If you feel like you and your family are not a very good match, you can of course change your employer with the help of an agency. I am incredibly lucky and happy that I found such a wonderful family, so I will not need to use the process of changing families, but it is good to know that the option is there if you ever need it.

A travel month after the end of your first or second year

After your contract expires, which is either after one year or after two years, you can travel and explore the United States for a whole month (30 days) before you have to return back to your home country. You are not allowed to work during that month, and tell me honestly, why would you even want to? You just worked really hard for a long period of time, the travel month is time to treat yourself and explore the places you did not get to see during your vacation.

Conclusion

Getting a job in the United States of America is definitely not easy because it requires a lot of preparation, research and paperwork. American culture is very different than European, and you also have to take into account possible problems with adjusting to the time difference or homesickness. But for me, the positive aspects of living and working in the United States easily outweigh the negative aspects. I admit it, it is hard sometimes, but it is definitely worth it. So if you are playing with a thought of living and working in a different country for a while, go for it! You have nothing to lose.

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