With a monthly salary of 40,000 yuan, you only need to work about 4 hours a day, including food and accommodation, accompanied by luxury cars, and occasionally travel abroad - if there is such a job in front of you, are you excited?
Recently, a profession called "Child Growth Companion" has been hotly debated on social media. It has been widely discussed on topics such as novelty, niche, and high salary, and focuses on a "companionship" - accompanying children to learn, exercise, and play, observing children's habits and guiding adjustments in companionship.
On major recruitment platforms, there are not a few posts recruiting child growth companions, and there are many housekeeping companies on the demand side, including Beijing Zhongqing Housekeeping Co., Ltd., Auntie Daojia, etc.
▲ Screenshot source: recruitment platform
A number of child growth companions said that the current market demand for this industry is very strong, which can be said to be "in short supply", especially in Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, the Pearl River Delta and other regions. Employers are generally middle-class people, and some of them are looking for companions because they are too busy to spend much time with their children.
However, at present, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has not yet had a clear definition and classification of this profession. Due to the lack of official norms, there may be a mixed situation in the market, and the quality of service is uneven. Some experts reminded that if subject education is done under the guise of "child growth companion", it is a sideline game and will never be allowed.
The monthly salary is often tens of thousands of yuan
Some people can earn 100,000 yuan a month
According to Zhongxin Jingwei, recently, the reporter has paid attention to the fact that the profession of "child growth companion" has become popular on social media. According to industry insiders, according to different regions and families, the monthly salary of child growth companions ranges from 5,000 yuan to 40,000 yuan, and some can even reach 100,000 yuan a month.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Wang Dandan and the driver drove to an international school in Shanghai to pick up the employer's twin children home, and Wang Dandan began to "expand knowledge" for the children in the car.
Wang Dandan's job is known as "child growth companion", working hours are from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. every day from Monday to Saturday, this job allows her to earn 40,000 yuan a month in Shanghai, which is even more considerable if you calculate the hourly wage.
▲Photo provided by interviewee Wang Dandan Image source: Zhongxin Jingwei
"Expanding knowledge" is one of her tasks. "For example, in terms of traditional culture, I will expand the knowledge of the four major inventions for my children, and I will also try to do small handicrafts together to let them experience traditional culture." Wang Dandan said.
"It's too exaggerated to say on the Internet that there is no cap on the income of work." Xin Xin (pseudonym) from Shanghai is a "child growth companion" with a monthly salary of 40,000 yuan. Prior to that, she was a "teacher and trainer" with more than 10 years of work experience. So far, she has only served one family.
Song Siyu, who lives in Chongqing, told Zhongxin Jingwei that her working hours are from 17:30 to 20:30 from Monday to Friday, mainly accompanying children to do homework for young children, tutoring them in pinyin and arithmetic, and taking them to do outdoor activities such as kicking football, and sometimes taking children to fencing, swimming, and badminton training classes according to their parents' needs. Song Siyu's monthly income is 5,000-6,000 yuan.
"There is still a difference between the new first-tier cities and the first-tier cities, in fact, many parents in Chongqing still have misunderstandings about child growth companions, equating us with parenting sisters-in-law and tutors, or thinking that we need to be picked up and dropped off to the home of the companion, in fact, we are door-to-door services." Song Siyu said that their salary is also related to the service model and the personal ability of the chaperone. The salary of live-in companions in Chongqing ranges from 8,000 to 18,000 yuan, and live-in companions are generally single-leave. Parents of high-paid companions often require skills such as being able to drive and speak English, but cooking, tidying and storage are not within the scope of work.
However, there are also people who say that they have to do the work of "servants". Miao Miao, a post-00s returnee, chose to join the industry not long ago. In her opinion, this job is more like going to work as a maid. She said that in addition to tutoring homework, she is also responsible for the children's daily life.
"No social security payment, no tax payment"
Many people have an IELTS score of 7 or above
Is it hard to become a "child growth companion"? According to the Morning News, the reporter first experienced the job search process as a candidate.
The reporter randomly searched for relevant content on social platforms, and got in touch with an agency called "Sequoia Reciprocal Housekeeping" in the background, and then asked the reporter to add WeChat to say that they could communicate their job intentions in detail.
In the process of chatting with the staff of the agency, he took the initiative to reveal that "he does not pay social security, his place of work is family, it is normal for the family to have no business license, and he does not have to pay taxes, and his salary is pure salary".
Image source: Morning News
When the reporter asked about the specific amount of salary, the staff initially said that the starting salary was only 8,000 yuan, and when the reporter questioned whether the words "high education can earn tens of thousands of yuan a month" and "no cap" displayed on the Internet were gimmicks, the staff immediately changed their words, saying that the starting salary could be given to about 16,000 yuan, which was directly doubled.
In addition, "intermediary commissions" are also common in this industry. Another "Feifan International Housekeeping" interviewed by the reporter introduced the commission rules to the reporter in detail: "The service fee is 20% of the first month's salary, and if the contract is signed, if it is not done for a full month, the service fee will be refunded according to the proportion of the actual working time for one month." ”
In addition, the reporter found that many agencies require job seekers to provide English self-introduction videos during the interview, and one agency even bluntly said that this line of education is only one aspect, and the important thing is to look at spoken English and experience.
As a company specializing in providing "child growth companions" business, Laura revealed to reporters their recruitment criteria: the first is academic qualifications, and those who can accept it are bachelor's degree or above, in addition, English speaking ability is also a must, and many job seekers have IELTS scores above 7.
Laura told reporters that the "child growth companion" earns 20% of the people's money, because these people hold 80% of the wealth, so they can give the "child growth companion" a high salary. In addition, there is actually an age limit for children in this profession, "generally between 2 and 10 years old." ”
Expert: Unofficially recognized occupation
or suspected of playing side balls
Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences, said that child companions are not currently listed in the relevant occupational catalogue of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, so they are not an officially recognized profession. The name may be used by some businesses or individuals to meet parents' needs for children's growth and companionship. Due to the lack of official norms, there may be a mixed situation in the market, and the quality of service is uneven. Parents should be cautious when choosing such services to avoid being deceived.
Xiong Bingqi, president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, pointed out that some institutions package subject training teachers as "child growth companions", which is actually playing a side game, and subject training for preschool children and primary school students is now clearly opposed by the education department. There should be no confusion between the duties of a domestic service, the duties of a school teacher and the duties of parents. ”
He also pointed out that it is necessary to be vigilant against the alienation of the responsibility of family education, and the best way to family education is to accompany them personally, and parents cannot only spend money to hire a "companion" and neglect to fulfill their family education responsibilities. "Housekeeping cannot be regarded as subject tutoring, let alone as a substitute for parent-child companionship. There should be no confusion between the duties of a domestic service, the duties of a school teacher and the duties of parents. ”
Huang Zhuoming, a well-known Chinese expert in overseas examination training and teaching management, told reporters that although the "child growth companion" is a new thing, it cannot be done subject education under the guise of "child growth companion", which is the bottom line that cannot be crossed, but the family that can bear this cost is limited, and the scope of influence is still controllable at present. "The name is not important, the important thing is the parent's companionship of the child."
Source: National Business Daily synthesized from China-Singapore Jingwei, Morning News, public information, etc