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Stuck in a Vicious Cycle? Career Aspirations and Entrapment Among Turkish Au Pairs in the United States

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  • Burcu Akan Ellis

    (San Francisco State University)

Abstract

While the service demands of au pair programs have come under much scrutiny, less visible are the ways in which au pair positions are utilized as a career transformation strategy for skilled young women. Building on in-depth and semi-structured interviews with a dozen college-educated Turkish au pairs who left their jobs in Turkey to take care of children abroad, this study shows how young women hope to utilize the educational component of the au pair year to realize their aspirations for career change. However, attempting to stretch the au pair system beyond its original purpose runs the risk of trapping mobile young women in a continuing cycle of service jobs that hinder their academic and career goals. The study shows that transient positions provide only a limited venue to create sufficient human capital and capability to realize such aspirations, instead leading to the effective entrapment of young women abroad in potentially precarious legal and financial positions.

Suggested Citation

  • Burcu Akan Ellis, 2017. "Stuck in a Vicious Cycle? Career Aspirations and Entrapment Among Turkish Au Pairs in the United States," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 847-862, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:18:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s12134-016-0505-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s12134-016-0505-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Phyllis Tharenou, 2010. "Women’s Self-Initiated Expatriation as a Career Option and Its Ethical Issues," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 73-88, August.
    2. Mathias Czaika & Marc Vothknecht, 2014. "Migration and aspirations – are migrants trapped on a hedonic treadmill?," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-21, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mirza Aguilar–Pérez, 2020. "Child Care and Labor Deregulation Through the J1 Visa in the USA: Cultural Experiences and Temporary Work of Qualified Young Mexican People," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 453-468, June.

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