Why do people become nannies? There are many reasons. Many people become nannies because they love working with children and they don’t have the credentials or the education to become schoolteachers.

Some people love working with children, but don’t want to be in an institutionalized setting, like a school. They prefer the intimacy and freedom of working with one family rather than many families and an educational administration.

Some people become nannies because they have other “gigs” on the side that they need jobs to support. In other words, some writers (and even published novelists) become nannies because they love having the freedom of the nanny schedule in order to write – or paint or go to school on their own time.

Other people become nannies because they think it is an easy way to make a lot of money. Many jobs pay nannies $500/week and more, in cash, so that there are no taxes involved. For people who are not in America legally, this is a good way to make money in a “safe” environment.

The nanny hierarchy is usually all female, and for any women concerned with safety, being around other mothers and other female nannies may make them feel safer than alternative environments.

Some nannies don’t have the education, credentials or confidence to pursue jobs that require college degrees, and prefer working with kids, who may be less threatening and more familiar. Some nannies gain confidence while working your job, and you can watch them blossom. Some of them do go on to work in pre-schools, where educational degrees are not always necessary.

Other nannies are mothers returning to the workforce as nannies to make money to help out in their own homes, and having raised their own children, feel that they are qualified to help you raise yours.