Nanny
🧸Looks after a child in the family's home: feeding, walks, play, naps, early speech and skills. Often works one-on-one with a little one.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $32.8k a year on average · -2% jobs by 2035 · 150,300 openings a year
Childcare workers — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £38.6k median a year
Nannies and au pairs — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
AI brings learning apps and baby monitors, but a family's trust, real attention and care for a child can't be handed to a machine.
Who it suits
Interests: 🤝 Helping and caring, 📖 Teaching and mentoring, 🧠 Psychology.
Key strengths: understanding people, organisation.
Where to study
- Course Paediatric first aid, safeguarding and a background check (DBS in the UK)
- Vocational Level 3 Diploma in Childcare / Early Years (UK), CDA credential (US)
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): English Literature, Psychology.
🧗 You can start with paediatric first aid and a background check (DBS in the UK). A Level 3 childcare diploma (UK) or a CDA (US), family references and languages raise your rate.
Things to know
🧸 Being around kids all the time🌙 Night shifts and on-call
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