Meet Margaux, who went as an au pair to the USA and gives us her advice on how to make the most of her experience!
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
Yes, of course! My name’s Margaux, I’m from Toulouse in south-west France and I’m 19. I’m currently doing my first year at university and I’m also a part-time nanny for two little ones aged 3 and 5.
Where would you like to go for your 1st au pair experience and why?
For several years now, I’ve wanted to go and live or study in the United States, it was one of my dreams. But I quickly realised that it would be too expensive and I came across the idea of being an au pair, which was perfect for me. I didn’t think for a second about doing an au pair job anywhere other than the United States.
Why do you want to go au pair?
I think it’s because I’ve always had a rather ‘maternal’ side with my little cousins and I didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so I’d make up for it as soon as I saw a baby! I’ve always been attracted to children, that would be my first reason. Now that I’ve been working on this idea for several years, I’m fascinated by the idea of living an ‘out of the ordinary’ experience and I’m passionate about travelling. I also want to find a sort of ‘second’ family in the United States, because I think it’s a human adventure above all.
How did you find out about the au pair programme? What was the most important information you wanted to know before taking the plunge?
I did some simple research on the Internet, and very quickly I had a lot of answers and I knew all the little criteria I had to tick: for example, in the United States you have to go through an agency for visa reasons, you have to commit yourself for 1 year and you have to have a driving licence, among other things.
Several years later, I attended a meeting of Au Pair in America (an au pair agency) in Toulouse and that gave me a lot of answers too. The most important thing for me and my parents was to know how I was going to be insured in the United States, then of course the living and working conditions and the visa.
What attracts you most to the au pair programme? What scares you most?
What attracts me most to the au pair programme is the ‘ordinariness’ of everyday American family life, the cultural exchange and above all the travelling. What scares me the most is not finding my place in the family or realising that I’m not cut out to be an au pair.
How is your family search going?
My search for a family was long, very long compared to most other girls for that matter. I went online on 5 January 2018 on my au pair agency’s website and found my family at the end of May! I spoke to around twenty families, did almost as many skype; it was a lot more nerve-wracking than I thought it would be but I don’t regret it, I had my criteria and I stuck to it. At the moment, I’ve matched up with a family that really seems to suit me. I’m leaving for the United States at the end of August.
If you had to give some advice to young people who want to embark on their first au pair adventure, what would you say?
Know what you want, don’t be afraid to be demanding (to a certain degree) and above all don’t focus on the city!!!!
I think you need to do some self-reflection before taking the plunge and ask yourself ‘What am I capable of? What age group(s) do I feel comfortable with? What is my lifestyle? How do I see my adventure?
1 year ago I would have told you that I didn’t care about the age of the children, but then I realised that 2/5 year olds require a lot of work and patience, and that babies are cute but require a lot of attention. You also have to realise that working in a school or leisure centre has nothing to do with after-school care, for example; children don’t behave in the same way at school in a group as they do on their own at home! That’s how I see my adventure and it’s not possible to do that when you’re working 9 hours a day, so I knew I needed children who were old enough to go to school all day and so I chose children over 6.
