Ask any young adult about their aspirations and you’ll find that “travelling” and “meeting new people” tend to feature prominently. A key complication can be having the money to pursue their adventures overseas.

Becoming an au pair opens the door to a world of new opportunities. Read on to find out why becoming an au pair in New Zealand or Australia ticks all sorts of boxes for the would-be adventurer. Make it your ticket to seeing the world.

The Pros of Becoming an Au Pair

Before digging deeper, here are some of the benefits of being an au pair in New Zealand or Australia::

• Free accommodation and meals
• The opportunity to learn better English if it’s not your first language
• The option of taking language classes
• Immersing yourself in a new culture
• Adding skills and experiences to your CV or resume
• The chance to earn some cash to go travelling with
• Doing work that is rewarding and improves the lives of others
• Sometimes families will even take you on trips away with them
• Making lifelong friends
• Boosting your self-confidence

…And Some of the Cons

• Home and work in the same location so may be hard to relax properly
• The potential for homesickness and times you may feel isolated
• Adjustment to new family dynamics and expectations
• Working with kids if it’s not your burning ambition

Gain Transferable Skills

When you’re embarking on a career, many employers will want to see evidence that you are emotionally mature and have experience in resolving problems. It’s an age-old conundrum- you need the experience to get a job but you need the job to get the experience.

Working as an au pair gives you a grounding in the sorts of skillset useful in almost any job. We refer to these as transferable skills. Moving away from home to be an au pair is in itself a display of courage and sensible risk-taking.

Making your stint as an au pair a success demonstrates your capacity to adapt to new environments. Here are some competencies you’ll pick up and can offer to future potential employers:

• Flexibility to work at times and complete tasks when required
• Great communication and language skills
• The ability to work with people from different cultures
• Problem-solving skills and being able to think on your feet
• Time-management skills

It’s a really good idea to keep a diary while you’re working as an au pair. Single out specific situations when you have had to sort out a particular problem. These can be really useful to use in interviews for other jobs further down the line.

Many au pairs have found that the whole experience of working away from home gives them a fresh outlook on what they would like to do with the rest of their lives. They find new passions and opportunities simply by engaging with the families they are working with and by making new friends.

A Chance to Find Yourself

Spending time away from home offers you the opportunity to discover who you are and what you enjoy. You’ll get a fresh perspective on life by interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds.  

Not everyone becomes an au pair because they have a burning desire to work with kids. Although the children and family who host you will be your top priority while you’re living with them, it’s quite normal to want to travel a bit afterwards and work out what you might like to do in the future.

It’s a useful balancing act to keep in mind for later life. Jobs are opportunities to make money that lets you make the most of your leisure time. Being an au pair is no different. It gives you the chance to live in a foreign country and travel while earning some well-deserved cash.

Being an au pair offers a little extra too as it provides you with stability and a sense of purpose while you’re away from home. It mitigates the potential for stress if you are simply travelling or back-backing. You won; need to find places to stay as you’ll have your own room and a source of income.

Immerse Yourself in a New Culture

Although travelling overseas will always give you a taste of different lifestyles, being an au pair gets you right into the nitty-gritty of real life. You’ll be getting stuck into the ways and norms of families that may be culturally unlike your own. It’s a mind-broadening experience.

Everything from the TV your host family watches to the food they eat and the way they interact with each other may be far away from what you’re used to. The rewards of all this are immeasurable.

Make New Friends and Explore

Host families will want you to be happy. They may well have contacts with people of a similar age and background to yourself who you can hang out with and get to know. You’ll be able to share your goals with them and perhaps plan a trip for when your stint as an au pair comes to an end.

Networking is another incredibly useful skill you will pick up along the way. It means building up a set of contacts you can use for support in all sorts of ways. That may be as a friend you can turn to if you feeling a little homesick or as someone with tips and other contacts in places you’d like to visit in the future.

Become an Au Pair in New Zealand or Australia

Being an au pair gives you the experience of living in a new country with plenty of support. That can be a real bonus if you have parents who worry about you moving far away from home.

Pay the Nanny offers services related to payroll for au pairs. If you find a family you’d like to connect with, put them in touch with us. Our team of payroll experts will ensure everything is above board and legally compliant.