Top 5 Motivations Why You Want To Become an Au Pair

A recent study conducted by several Universities in Australia back in November showed the motivations of young people on why they want to become an au pair.

In this article, we will discuss what these motivations are. Find out whether they also align with your own motivations. If you’re currently thinking about being a great au pair, this will help you understand the situation of other au pairs and will motivate you to have the same amazing experience they had as well.

1. To Experience Australian Culture

The study showed that 73% of au pairs are motivated with the desire to experience Australian culture. Most of them are from non-English speaking countries so they took the opportunity to become an au pair to develop their English skills. If you want to learn and improve a new language, being an au pair could be great for you.

 

2. Establish Warm and Strong Relationships

One of the biggest motivations why a young person wants to become an au pair is because they want to establish good relationships with families. It also gives them a safe place to stay as a student or a backpacker who wants to travel to a new country.  Part of the au pair definition is to not only experience the Australian culture but to create wonderful memories with the host-family as well.

3. To Fund Their Travel

There are about 38% of backpackers who chose to become an au pair to fund their travel. It allows them to stay with a family for a few months, to have a safe place to live, have their living expenses taken care of, and earn money to use for their next travel destination. However, I have a few backpacker au pair girl friends who shared that traveling and being an au pair could sometimes be difficult because even though they have earned money, they still end up spending it on their travels and will have to find another way to make money again. Their advice is to never become an au pair for the money because the pay isn’t really that much. 

4. Gain Childcare Experience

According to the study, there are about 16% of young persons who want to gain experience with children because they want to work in the field of Childcare later on. The percentage is noticeably low because not very many people can afford the cost of being an au pair or have AUD5,000 minimum deposit to their bank accounts to qualify for the Working Holiday Visa, pay for their flights, and their pocket money. Although, you don’t necessarily have to be a future teacher or a childcare educator in order to become an au pair.

 

5. Learning To Cope Up With New Responsibility

We recently had a short focus group with former and current au pairs and one thing that came out of that is that most of them were motivated to become an au pair because they want to find out what they’re made of. Being an au pair helped them become more responsible in life since they no longer have to manage their own time and emotions, but someone else’s day as well. Taking care of the kids became a challenge especially when they’re not feeling well, tired, or hungry. Being an au pair definitely made them stronger, disciplined, and more independent in life.

We would like to help make sure that your motivations of becoming a great au pair are on the right track and how to make those motivations happen whether it is to experience Australia culture, establish warm relationships, fund your travel, gain childcare experience, or learn to cope with a new responsibility.

Let us know what your motivations are. Why do you want to become an au pair?

If you’re currently looking for a host family, join us on Facebook, Instagram, or register through our website at 99aupairs.com.