When American University graduate Elyse Barletta, 27, was looking for a full-time nannying position recently in Charlotte, N.C., three families wanted to hire her—all were impressed by her college education.
"They wanted someone who could help with their children's homework," said Barletta, a history major who made the dean's list and is proficient in French.
Experts say young women like Barletta make up a fast-growing segment of the nanny industry: College graduates who could go into law, medicine or other fields but are choosing to become career nannies, sometimes because they struggled to find jobs in their desired professions. These highly credentialed child-minders are being greeted with open arms into middle-class and upper-class families who want to give their kids an edge in an increasingly competitive world.
Barletta, who worked as a nanny in college to make extra money, tried but failed to find a job in her chosen field, nonprofit work, after graduation. But she has no regrets: Nannying, she says, brings her a good salary and rich personal rewards. Ultimately, she chose to work for the Norman family, who has a 9-month-old girl named Reynolds.
"I have patience for kids. I love it," said Barletta, who refers to herself as a "modern-day Mary Poppins."
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Cliff Greenhouse, president of the Pavillion Agency, which helps New Yorkers find household staff, has noticed a shift toward nannies like Barletta since the mid-1990s, when he saw very few Americans in the industry and fewer college-educated applicants. He attributes the change to the growth of working mothers, with many women becoming the breadwinners of their families.
Barletta, a former history major, says her job nannying for Reynolds is personally rewarding.
"Moms [who use our agency] aren't going to work full-time unless they can leave their children in the care of someone they consider a peer," he said.