Vinnie Pillarella thought he would be in a classroom teaching kids by now. But after earning his degree from DePaul, he found a different way to make money.
While searching for a job, he came across an ad from a Ravensood family looking for help. They needed a nanny.
"Working in a nice home with unlimited resources or parents who adore and support you is a pretty good thing," says Pillarella.
Pillarella's not the only recent grad working as a nanny -- or a personal caregiver, as they're called these days. The market is growing enough that some companies say they're experiencing a spike in babysitting grads.
"The nanny applicant pool is built from individuals who are looking for part-time work," says Mary Dombrowski of College Nannies and Tutors. "Sometimes [it's] college students, sometimes recent college graduates that are not able to find work in the field that they’re looking for."
Temps-for-hire firm Adecco Staffing says they're also seeing a spike in work applications from recent grads. The company tracks the unemployment rate for young people, and says 11% of high school graduates are out of work, compared with 4.4% of college grads.
Many of the unemployed are now searching for work outside their chosen field, says Paul Shanahan, Adecco's regional vice-president.
Temporary babysitting "gives them an opportunity to develop their skills," he says. "So we’re seeing more and more of those recent college graduates accept those temporary positions and as we see that continue to grow, that’s usually a sign or indication that the economy is continuing to recover as well."
Looking for more information? Check out collegenannies.com and sittercity.com.
