I lay on the soft, luxurious sun lounger, the blazing sun warming my pasty skin. In my hand was a glass of fizzing, dry champagne. I decided to walk the twelve steps to where the Indian Ocean met my private, white sand beach. I spotted an eagle ray darting through the shimmering turquoise water. As I working-class woman, the Maldives had always seemed like a dream destination. Somewhere that celebrities or the super rich go on holiday. Inconceivable for a woman like me.

Do you want to know the best thing about my trip to the Maldives? It didn’t cost me a penny. In fact I got paid ££££ to go there!

If you follow me on Instagram you know I absolutely love travel. Nothing beats the thrill of exploring a new destination or trying an exotic local dish. I actually travel to a completely new destination every 3 weeks, without using a single day of my holiday allowance.

Do you want to know my secret?

I work in childcare

Yep, that’s it! When I was in school I never thought that working in childcare would be that lucrative. However, now I realise that it’s a job with extremely high earning potential.

The trick is who you work for. If you work for the world’s rich their children are their number one asset and they will pay good money to provide them with the best. If you are a native speaker of English, French, Italian, German, Mandarin and many more languages, you are extremely sought after by the worlds elite.

There are many people working in a role as a nanny, private teacher, governess or governor for these families. I’ll tell you a bit more about what I do and how I got my position.

What is a Governess/Governor?

I currently work as a governess for 3 children aged 4, 8 and 12. My role is extremely varied and includes looking after the children, playing with the children, eating with the children, teaching engaging ESL lessons, picking the children up from school and my favourite, going on holiday with them.

I’m basically a combination of a nanny, teacher and role model to the children.

Why do Rich Families Want a Governess/Governor?

The main reason is so the children learn English in a natural way from a native speaker. I think it is also a status symbol for the family if they have a native speaking governess/governor.

A governess helps the children learn English in a comfortable environment. Eventually the children should be able to speak English with native-level fluency, including having a clear accent and good grammar.

Some families want the governess to act more as a nanny and be involved with general childcare. Some want a teacher to focus on etiquette and manners. Some want the governess to focus on teaching. It all depends on the family and every situation is different.

My Teaching past

I have taught English for over 4 years now. In Japan, I taught English in Elementary schools. The method used wasn’t the best for language learning, (evident in the minute number of Japanese who actually speak English. Even though its a compulsory school subject).

I then moved to Russia to work in a kindergarten for 2 years. during this time I had full control over how I taught English and many other subjects to the class. I taught phonics and spoke to the children in a natural way. I found this method to work much better than the Japanese method.Each year, many children who could barely say hello in English at the beginning of the year, were able to read and communicate in English with confidence by the end. It was such a rewarding role.

Alongside my Kindergarten job I amassed quite a list of private students. This is where I gained valuable experience in how the rich Russians live and what they expect from a teacher. I taught a student who had a swimming pool in her bedroom, another had an exotic cat as a pet, several who wore head to toe designer clothes and even one who could only leave the house with a minimum of two armed guards. I found this world fascinating and wanted to experience it more.

Over time I realised that I was the only non-governess amongst my friends. I loved teaching in the kindergarten but it wasn’t getting me anywhere financially and I was tired of travelling across Moscow in the cold to get to my private students.

Why I decided to become a Governess

I was envious of my friends lifestyles. Having near unlimited disposible income and travelling to exotic locations with work. I decided to look for a position as a governess.

I had a number of different interviews, both in person and Via Skype. One of my most memorable interviews was for a family involved in the Yachting business. He had buttons in his house he used to summon the housekeepers. When the staff arrived they wore matching uniforms and strode in tandem. We ate black caviar as we discussed the job.

After a number of rejections, both on my behalf and from my employer’s side, I finally decided on my current family. I live alone in a 4 bedroom house with a jacuzzi, get to travel with the family and get time off every 3 weeks to travel!

Now I won’t say that being a governess is an easy job. Every family is different and expects different things from their governess. I liked the fact that my family don’t employ a nanny too, so I’m more in control of my interactions with the children.

What Skills do you Require to become a Governess/Governor?

Working as a governess/governor is a very particular type of career. Because you are employed directly by families, each one differs in what they want from their new staff member.

From Experience I’d say an ideal candidate would have:

• A friendly and calm nature
• Have a genuine love for children
• Hold a Bachelors degree in any subject
• Experience in teaching English
• TEFL certificate/ CELTA or PGCE
• Ability to be flexible and adapt to new situations

Personally I have a BSc (Hons, PgDip, TEFL, numberous CPD courses and certificates and a lot of experience in teaching children worldwide. However I do know a number or people who work as elite nannies without a bachelors degree. It all depends on what skills and experience you can bring to the job role.

How to find a Governess/Governor job

After reading about my experiences I bet that you want to know how to find them? The truth is that there are many nanny/governess/governor agencies worldwide and it takes a lot of inside knowledge in the business to find out the names of them all!

Luckily there is now an online jobs board that displays all of the current childcare vacancies worldwide! I wish I have known this was available when I was searching for a governess position because it makes it a lot easier having access to all of the available jobs in one place.

The website is www.jobsinchildcare.com. They currently have ££££ paying jobs in Russia, England, The USA, Italy, France and even Uzbekistan!

The best thing is that the childcare jobs aren’t limited to English native speakers. So many languages are sought after by rich parents. Check out the website and see if anything catches your eye! They even have extremely well paid positions available for PAs, Chefs, Drivers and many more.

You don’t have to choose between work and travel. Why not have it both working in childcare?