How much do aupairs in Europe typically get paid?

Question

There is a family in Bilbau, Spain, that is interested in taking me on as an aupair. I am from the U.S., but I have visited Bilbau and San Sebastian. I have never worked as an au pair, but in the U.S. I have cared for many children. I also have an 11 month old baby brother who I sometimes care for, when my mother needs it. I have just finished my first year of college, but I would love to take this opportunity to practice my spanish, and maybe take the international Spanish exam while in Spain. However, I don't want to be ripped off either. So if anyone could tell me what a fair payment would be for 9 months that would be wonderful!

Answer 1

I managed to find an unofficial Au Pair job when visiting Barcelona, Spain this past Spring lasting about 3 months.  You definitely can't expect to get rich from being an Au Pair in Europe, unless you happen upon a particularly rich family.

  I had not been an Au Pair before, but found a family through a classifieds ad when searching for an apartment.  I agreed to help care for a young toddler and did light housework part-time (30-40 hrs/wk), in exchange for free room & board which generally would cost 350 Euro/mo.  Unsurprisingly, I ended up working more hours than expected, but they would occasionally offer some petty cash for extra house cleaning.  I didn't end up making much money, but I was happy enough to have a place to stay.  It was an opportunity to meet a loving family and to experience life in Spain.

  Realistically, a part-time Au Pair in Spain should be paid monthly 500-600 Euro (or lodging +200 Euro).

  www.greataupair.com also might give you some insight about what you and the families should expect.  You don't have to be a paid member, and it's worldwide.  Good luck-

Answer 2

yes this is a good opportunity for you but watch you are not getting ripped off and working like a slave make sure you have a contract and time off you are young and need to get off to hang out and speak with the natives to learn the language and stick to Spanish and the tapas bars great country and Bilbao the people are so friendly and gentle and this is a part of your life that is for you have a look here and I do wish you well take care and keep your head screwed on keep away from riff Raff you are wanting to have a happy life with nice folk ?http://www.jobbank.ro/jobseekers/job_vie... just to give you an idea of wages?

Answer 3

Okay, i have just accepted an Au-Pair job which is situated in the CENTRE of Paris, where i get my own appartement. The paying rate for this family is 450€ a month, minus any over-time. This is for about 25-30 hours a week. However i also get payed extra to go on holiday with the family and look after the kids. It really does depend on where you are, Switzerland you should expect to get about 1,000 CHF a month, which is about $1,000. It really does depend on the cost of living and what the family are offering you, for example if they give you you're own appartement, you will be payed less (which i think is fair enough if they have brought an appartement which could of cost them thousands!!), whether they are playing your medical insurance (again Swiss families 'contribute' towards this but don't pay it in full) and whether they are offering little extras such as the use of a car, langauge lessons, cell phones for your own personal contact with friends and family. I have even come accross on family in France who offered you your own laptop! However they were offering half of the family i am going too...

For Spain, i have found a family on www.greataupair.com who live in madrid, you get your own appartement, working 25-30 hours a week, for between £102-£153 ($200-$250) with one child (the amount of children you have to look after depends too).

So the best way i would think is to go on this website..and get an average of what other families are expecting to pay their AuPairs and see what the circumstances are..then apply them to your family!

Good Luck!

Answer 4

When my sister in law was au pair a few year back she would get pocket money, not wages, but she was still expected to work about 35 hours in the week officially and about 60 hours in real life.

Compared to my wages in that time and now it would be about $500 per month, but that is rough calculating.

(That is on top of bed and board, if you live outside or have to buy your own foodstuffs they need to pay a lot more.)

Make sure you have a contract mentioning the amount of money and whether they own you medical care and things like dentist care, and how many hours you need to work.

Added:

Idealy you would be a live-in babysitter, (for nanny you should have diplomas to proof your training as such) but in most cases I have heard the au pair is a cheap help in the house, cleaning more than just the kids rooms and things, helping out from before breakfast till after dinner, and with very little privacy in between.