Au pair (Au pair)
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An au pair is a babysitter who mainly works abroad and lives with the family. Most au pairs not only take care of the children within the family but are also responsible for the household. The profession of au pair usually relates to young people who want to work abroad for a certain period of time. As an au pair, you are therefore a babysitter and domestic help for the family in question. Because an au pair is present all day long within the family, the work of an au pair cannot simply be compared with the work of an ordinary babysitter. For example, an au pair can also take the children to school and pick them up and take care of the groceries, depending on the arrangements with the family. An au pair is not a professional housekeeper or babysitter but rather a domestic helper. In most cases, au pairs receive a fixed fee for their services and live with the family in question. Furthermore, there are no fixed forms of work of an au pair, which means that the substantive activities can differ per family. In all cases, the work has to do with taking care of children and the household. The profession of au pair is fairly popular, because it gives many advantages for the au pair and the family. The au pair can live with the family, which keeps the costs relatively low and saves the family on costs, because hiring professional help is more expensive. Most au pairs choose to work as an au pair because they want to get to know the language of the country or the culture, for example. It goes without saying that the profession of au pair can be regarded as a special profession in which you will gain a lot of new knowledge and experiences. Most au pairs work as au pairs for a maximum of a few years. This mainly concerns young people, who want to see more of the world.
An au pair is therefore a babysitter who does not work in their own motherland. In general, an au pair will not be employed because of the money. Most au pairs are resident and only receive expenses or a relatively low salary for their services. Gaining life experience is in most cases more important than the money. Think, for example, of students who have finished their studies and first want to see more of the world before they start working. A big advantage for au pairs is being able to stay in another country at low monthly costs. As described earlier, there is no fixed description with regard to the profession of au pair. As an au pair, it is therefore important to make good agreements so that both parties know exactly what the intention is. Although an au pair cannot be regarded as a cleaner, it is possible that au pairs are also responsible for household tasks. Think, for example, of cleaning, washing dishes, ironing and doing groceries.
JOB AS AN AU PAIR
To be able to work as an au pair, you must be suitable for this. Not everyone can or wants to stay abroad for a longer period of time. It is also very important that the au pair can deal well with children. As an au pair abroad, it can sometimes be lonely because you will generally be on your own. Most au pairs work for a certain period of time with a host family and then go home or work with another host family. As an au pair, you can choose whether you want to work in Europe or beyond. A major advantage of working as an au pair is the experience that can be gained abroad. Most au pairs are fluent in the language of the country in question when they return. Gaining experience is also useful for a future appropriate education. Think, for example, of au pairs who ultimately want to follow a training to become a pedagogical employee or pedagogue.
AN AU PAIR LIVES WHERE?
In most cases, an au pair simply lives with the family. In some cases, you do have access to your own living area and / or entrance. In all cases, an au pair lives in or near the family. For example, an au pair does not live on the other side of a city. In that case, the term 'minder' applies.
WORKING AS AN AU PAIR
Working as an au pair should suit you because it can be hard work. Cooking your own food is also part of the work. Most people who want to become an au pair do so, because of the experience. An au pair usually continues to work for a family for about six months, but this can vary per au pair. An au pair is therefore someone who helps a family and, for example, develops social activities with the children. Putting the children to bed is also typically part of the work.
WHAT DOES AN AU PAIR DO:
AU PAIR TRAINING
To be able to work as an au pair, no real training is usually required. There are therefore no national training courses for working as an au pair. However, organizations that send out au pairs offer short courses to prepare someone for work as an au pair. Because the work will be carried out abroad, it is important that the local rules and habits are made known to the au pair. But of course, a basic training in, for example, care will help a lot. In addition, there are also plenty of external training institutes where you can follow a course. Accounting is also important as an entrepreneur.
COMPANIES WHERE AN AU PAIR CAN BE EMPLOYED
As an au pair, you do not work for companies, but for individuals who wish to use an au pair. It is true that you usually work through a mediation agency and thus get your assignments. As an au pair, you generally have to deal with fixed laws and regulations because au pairs are not allowed to work in just any country. Informing the relevant embassy and possible permit providers can therefore be important.
AU PAIR COMPETENCES
The most important competence of an au pair is a sense of responsibility because you work with children. In addition, you must be a real children's friend because otherwise working as an au pair is not suitable for you. Another important competence is communication because you also have to deal with the parents. Also, education and education should not be underestimated as an au pair. Generally important words are passion, motivation, hostessing, flexibility, planning, self-development, inspiration, enjoyment and stress resistance.
LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS AN AU PAIR
Labour market perspective does not apply to an au pair because the profession cannot be seen as an ordinary profession. Obtaining work as an au pair is usually reserved for young people. In order to find a suitable host family, it is usually necessary to join an au pair agency, who also have the right knowledge with regard to regulations. Growing as an au pair is actually not possible. Most young people who do this work continue to do so for a maximum of a few years. The growth should rather be seen in following appropriate training. Consider, for example, a future profession as a kindergarten teacher.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY AU PAIR
The terms of employment are difficult to indicate as an au pair because this will usually differ per family. It is true that the room and board will be paid by the client and of course you will carry out your work abroad. As an au pair in paid employment, your income is usually not very high and your salary will be somewhere between 1200 and 2000 euros gross per month, depending on your further employment conditions such as room and board and working hours. There are also families conceivable who may want to pay more, but these are rather exceptions and are not very common.
The content on this page has been automatically translated from the Dutch language. For this reason, texts and videos on this page may contain small errors.
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