Nannying can be a rewarding career, but separating work from your personal life isn’t always easy. Long hours, changing schedules and the nature of working closely with a family can make it difficult to maintain the lifestyle you want outside of work.
The good news is that your experience as a nanny can be useful in a range of remote roles.
So, what could you do next if you want to work remotely?
☆ Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistance can be a natural transition for a nanny with strong organisational skills. If you’re used to managing a family’s calendar, booking appointments, arranging activities, researching information and keeping track of countless details, you already have many of the skills needed for this type of work.
Virtual assistants support businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals remotely with tasks such as email management, scheduling, research, travel arrangements and general administration.
☆ Remote Personal Assistant
A remote personal assistant does much of the organisational work a traditional PA does, but without being physically present in an office or private home.
If you’ve spent years anticipating a family’s needs, managing schedules, making arrangements and keeping a busy household running smoothly, those skills can translate well into remote PA work.
This can be an especially interesting option for nannies who enjoy being the person behind the scenes who makes sure everything gets done.
☆ Recruitment Consultant
Your experience as a nanny can give you a unique perspective if you move into recruitment, particularly childcare or domestic staffing recruitment.
You understand what it is like to work for a family, what candidates look for in a position and some of the challenges that can arise between employers and employees. Recruitment consultants may interview candidates, communicate with clients, arrange interviews and help find the right person for each role.
Some recruitment positions can be performed remotely, allowing you to use your knowledge of the childcare industry without continuing to work as a nanny.
☆ Social Media Manager
If you’re creative and enjoy social media, becoming a social media manager could be another route to explore.
Businesses often need help creating and scheduling posts, writing captions, responding to messages and keeping their social media accounts active. You may already have useful experience if you’ve managed social media accounts, created content or developed your own online presence.
This career can also offer opportunities to work freelance and manage your own clients and schedule.
☆ Content Writer
Do you enjoy writing? Your experience as a nanny can give you valuable knowledge to draw on, particularly when writing about childcare, parenting, education, travel or family life.
Content writers create articles, blog posts, website content, newsletters and other written material for businesses and publications. You could work remotely for one company or build a freelance writing career with several clients.
Your experience in childcare isn’t something you have to leave behind. It could actually become your area of expertise.
☆ Family or Parenting Coach
If you love working with families but are ready to step away from day-to-day childcare, family or parenting coaching could be worth exploring.
Your years of practical experience with children and families can provide a valuable foundation, although professional training and appropriate qualifications may be needed depending on the type of coaching you want to offer.
As a coach, you could work with parents online, helping them with areas such as routines, organisation, childcare challenges or family life.
For an experienced nanny, this can be a way to use your knowledge and experience while having more control over where and when you work.
☆ Start a Freelance Business
You don’t necessarily have to find another employer. If you have a skill that can be offered online, you could build your own freelance business.
Virtual assistance, social media management, writing, recruitment, coaching and consulting are just some possibilities. You could also combine several skills and create a service based around your particular experience.
Being self-employed can require more work and responsibility at the beginning, but it can also give you greater control over your clients, workload and schedule, something that can be particularly appealing after years of working around someone else’s timetable.
Nannying gives you experience in organisation, communication, time management, problem-solving and managing multiple priorities, skills that can be useful in many different types of work.
For some nannies, the biggest challenge isn’t finding a completely different career. It’s finding a way to use the skills they already have without having their working life take over their personal life.
Are you thinking about leaving nannying for a remote career? What kind of work would you like to do?
And if you’ve already made the move from nannying to remote work? What do you do now?
