I have a question for the Nashville area nannies (if you are out there....). I recently relocated from the East Coast (NY/NJ area) and am having trouble with what to say when potential employers ask for a salary requirement. I applied with a nanny agency, in a very affluent area, that informed me that the "going rate" is $11-13/hr. I'm having trouble swallowing this because, while I realize that the cost of living is less here, it's not THAT MUCH LESS that I could survive on this rate. I was making $18-20 to watch 2 children at one previous employer. And the position that I left to come here was paying me $2000/wk (I was the household manager).
I specifically have trouble when positions come up like the following: 3 kids who need care from 6:30-8am, and then again from 2:45-5/6pm but there are times that it could be 8pm. I can't have another job during the "off time" because I would need to be "on-call" in case a child is home sick or gets sick and needs to come home. I am college educated, trilingual, a Ringling Bros. Clown College graduate (no, I'm not kidding) who swims/drives/travels/ and basically does it all. I would love to hear from other nannies.... What would you ask for as a salary when you are possibly only working 20 hours a week, but need to be available from 6:30am-8pm, 4 days a week? What are you asking for hourly in this area?? Thank you in advance.
I'm not from that area , but I would want atleast $400 take home if I had to be availabe aboout 10 hrs a day and couldn't take another job.
ReplyDeleteI would double check that rate too, because I've come across agencies who take advantage of nannies not from the area.
Bottom line charge what you need to live and is fair for what is being required.
Why did you leave that job making $2000 a week. I live in Bergen County, NJ. Still hard to make that amount of money
ReplyDeleteWhy did you leave your household manager job?! That is an insane amount of money for this type of work, you do realize that don't you? Know that you probably won't even come close to making 100K in Nashville. $11-$13/hour sounds about average to me for strictly a nanny job.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I relocated to TN for his job. He came to NJ and wasn't thriving (on any level) so in an effort to save my marriage, I moved. Nashville is an up and coming town, and I'm shocked that the pay here isn't comparable to the NJ/NY metro area..... maybe that's just me....
ReplyDeleteI live right outside Nashville and we definitely make no where near what big cities make. That is the average but you can also find parents who are more than happy to pay $15-$20. When I had an after school nanny job I would grocery shop/household items during the day while the kids were at school and then I was able to watch the kids if they were sick etc. I was paid same amount as if I had the kids. The jobs are out there, you just need to find them. Although, it will be nowhere near $2,000 a week! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI think you have every right to ask for what you feel is fair for yoru time and services. That being said, you're completely unreasonable if you think that the pay is going to be comparable to what you were making in most of the wealthiest areas of the United States. Nashville, while lovely and super cool, just does not have the concentration of wealth that cities like Chicago, NYC, LA, etc. have. I strongly feel that you need to adjust your salary expectations.
ReplyDeleteHighland Ave... there are a lot of wealthy people in Nashville that would beg to differ with you. I don't by my means expect to make $2000 a week down here, but I also don't think that $11-13 is realistic on any level. But I absolutely appreciate your input, this is a new area for me, and I don't want to insult anyone nor do I want to shortsell myself.
ReplyDeleteI think you need to get paid the same amount per hour as you do when you are there working. I make $17 an hour and the kids are in school on Tuesdays and Thursdays for most of the day. I just go back to their house and do laundry, go to the grocery store, empty trash, dishwasher, etc. No it doesn't take me all of those hours, but I'm expected to be there at the house (in case someone gets sick at school or if any repairmen/cleaning people are coming) so I'm still paid $17 an hour. I don't understand how people can advertise a job that needs you in the morning before school and then after school, but requires you to be available in case and doesn't want to pay you for those hours. Are there any full-time jobs in your area?
ReplyDeleteOP/Jersey Nanny Goes Country -- there are certainly wealthy parts of Nashville, but it is no Beverly Hills. And you will be hard-pressed to find a nanny job that pays close to $2000/week. If you are trying to find work strictly as a nanny (as opposed to your previous job of house manager) then $11-$13/hour is absolutely NOT unrealistic for one child (maybe two at $13/hour, maybe) with no extra household duties other than tidying up after the kids. I worked for a very wealthy family in NC who own a well-known worldwide company and made close to $20/hour for 2 kids. That's still just $800/week.
ReplyDeleteYou either need to accept (and by accept I don't mean sell yourself short) that you will likely earn anywhere from $11-$18/hour to start depending on the job or you should look into another field if that doesn't fly with you. Nashville really can't be compared to NYC or LA.
Jersey, you're nuts. And I mean that in the nicest way possible. Why on earth would you think Tennessee would pay the same as the NY metro area? Good lord, you need to move to Tulsa if you want to see low-paying jobs! I just looked up the job calculator for nannies in Nashville and it said the average salary is $21000. That's just over $10 per hour, assuming we're talking about a 40-hour workweek. Keep it in perspective: think about what you're paying in rent there in Nashville. I'm guessing it is a lot lower than what you were paying in NJ. Lower cost of living=lower pay.
ReplyDeleteMissssssMannahhhhh(I love you... I know you rub people wrong on here somtimes.. this is my 1st post... and I was anxiously awaiting your arrival hahaha) My rent is no cheaper here than it was in Joisey. Maybe that's because my hubby and I are used to living a particular lifestyle, and moving to Nashville we immediately jumped into something a bit higher end as far as rents go.
ReplyDeleteI feel like no matter where you live, you're going to really run the gammut on salary. There are jobs down here for $11-13, but I've seen $18+ jobs too. I guess I need to put it into perspective, that I'm a nanny now, not a house manager. My responsibilities will most likely be less (I still expect that most families will want light housekeeping) and I know I won't make $2000 a week... it took 6 years working for them to get that rate. I don't know... I'm just putting my feelers out there.. I was hoping there were Nashville nannies that could chime in and let me know where they are at salary wise.... I went on INA and read their "survey results" and I was shocked at the range that pay scales from top to bottom. I figured most nannies were making what I made (when I started) minimally... which was $1000 a week. 2 kids. WHY OH WHY DID I LEAVE NJ!?!?! Oh that's right.... My husband is hot. LOL
Darling, you are instantly redeemed. :)
ReplyDeleteBTW, how are you liking TN? I've driven through there many times going back and forth between OK and VA and I found it to be one long state of nothing. One time I got lost in Nashville in the middle of the night (alone and before I had gotten myself a TomTom) and it scared me to death! And it was not in the sort of neighborhood you're living in, if you get my drift.
Well, unless you absolutely need to work right now.
ReplyDeleteJust apply to those $18 + an hour jobs. You're not going to talk an 11-13 family into paying you 5 to 7 dollars more an hour even with chores.
I wish $1000/wk was the normal nanny starting salary. gads!
Good grief! Was that after tax? I need to move to the NJ/NY area or find a family from there who doesn't know the average pay around here lol!
ReplyDeleteMiss M, there are some cool things in the Nashville area. I've only been here a very short time, and I'm still getting my bearings.. but the people are a helluva lot nicer than NJ. Or at least on the surface they are. ;) Swing on over next time you are driving through!
ReplyDeleteBre, $1000 before taxes. Plus full health coverage paid for me. Plus holidays, sick days, vacation time. It was awesome! Where are you from? What's the "going rate" there?
I am from Nashville, but I am not a nanny. I will say though, of u are in the Metro Nashville area, you are setting your goals a little too high. Most average jobs aren't even paying that here. I would suggest trying the outskirts of Nashville like Bellevue, Brentwood, and some of the affluent areas of Franklin. Also check the Tennessean on Sundays as well. It has more of the classified listings than on any other day. I wish you the best of luck.
ReplyDeleteJersey, I live on the east coast too, but in a small town far from the big cities.
ReplyDeleteHere it's good pay if you get half thar much even when you have several years experience under your belt.
TN =/= living wage. You are looking for the exception, rather than the rule, when it comes to compensation for your area of expertise. The upper echelon of TN society is use to exploiting the service classes. Historical processes at work, welcome to the Mid-south!
ReplyDeleteAT MINIMUM, they need to pay you half your hourly rate to be "on call" during school hours. OR they need to understand that you will NOT be available for early release days, vacation, sick kids, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs a nanny in Nashville, industry standard is indeed $12-$15 an hour. It has taken me 5 years and being willing to live my life for someone else's tour schedule to break the $20/hour mark.
ReplyDeleteI know this is several years old, but I am a Nashville Nanny and I make $25/hr($1,000/wk) for 2 children. 1 child goes to school during the week and I still make the same rate while I only have the 1 child. I only pick up after the children. I do not do any other household chores.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to post this because if other nannies in the area refuse to work for the lower wages, then the average wage will be raised.
I did not "luck" into this job, rather I stuck to my desired rate and the family respected me for that.
Just stumbled upon this even though it's an old post. I moved to Nashville from Los Angeles. In Los Angeles I was making $25/hour for one kid…no chores/housework. I did not have any expectations of making that salary here in Nashville, but I also didn't expect Nashville to be so expensive. My rent is only $100 cheaper here in Nashville than it was in LA…and I found the cheapest 1 bedroom I could in a safe area. My first nanny job here was for 3 kids ages 4 and under and I was paid $15/hour before taxes for 50 hours/week. However, they didn't pay overtime (yep, most families here disregard their legal obligations and do whatever they can to save a buck), so actually I was making $13.98/hour. Plus I was responsible for the entire family's laundry (I've only ever been responsible for the kid's laundry), cooking family meals, grocery shopping, etc. I even brought it up to them and showed them that they were legally required to pay overtime and they dismissed me -- so I quit. I now take care of 2 kids for $15/hour. I have 10+ years of professional nanny experience and a Master's Degree. Again, I understand that the wages are going to be lower here than in Los Angeles, but they are so much lower it is insulting and unrealistic. I can barely support myself because the cost of living in Nashville is so incredibly high. I'm just hoping that soon the wages begin to catch up with the booming economy here in Nashville. Rent is outrageous, food is expensive, everything is on the rise…except nanny wages. It sucks.
ReplyDeleteLooking at a job ..$200 a week to include
ReplyDelete: drop-off 7am and pickup@5:30 and multiple overnights a week while parent travels for work. Why does this look awful? Because it is. Not even close to minimum wage. Argh.