I'm a nanny for high-profile, high-net-worth families. Here's my advice for those who want to pursue a career like mine.

• Tré Moment works as a nanny for high-profile and high-net-worth families.
• Moment says it's essential to set boundaries when working with affluent families.
• She says her career is very rewarding, but you shouldn't do it to get rich quickly.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tré Moment, a childcare professional and business owner who has worked with high-profile and high-net-worth families since 2015. It's been edited for length and clarity.

My career as a nanny for high-net-worth families is just as fun as it is unpredictable.

I started nannying in 2015 for elite clients and have since started my own childcare and home care business. While I'm based in Atlanta, Georgia, I've worked in several major metropolitan areas, and I manage employees in Mexico, Jamaica, and Western Europe.

Here are some tips I wish I had known before taking on this rewarding role.

Be prepared for last-minute travel with high-security

For high-profile clients, security measures are usually very strict. You deal with checking in with security, making sure no one knows who you are working with. That often means you can't tell anyone where you are when you're with the family.

You also have to be prepared for anything with high-profile or high-net-worth clients — but that experience is invaluable for your career.

For instance, they often travel on very short notice. Sometimes, you may not know until 10 minutes before that you're heading out of the country. You just have to have your passport ready to go.

It's also possible to work for elite clients who fly under the radar because they're not public-facing. Working for those families tends to be more relaxed, and travel plans tend to be made further ahead of time.

Make sure to set your own boundaries

One of the best ways to not get overwhelmed in this work environment — and one of the best ways to protect yourself as an employee — is always to set clear boundaries and advocate for yourself.

These high-profile and high-net-worth individuals have people advocating for them, their family, and their household. So, if you are not able to advocate for yourself, then you will end up getting the short end of the stick.

For me, some of my boundaries have a lot to do with payment and timeliness.

I have in my contracts a clause for immediate termination, and some of that has to do with being late on payments. A lot of families are not always actively looking at their checklist, and the payroll messes up sometimes, or they just don't pay you on time. Then you leave the house and you still haven't been paid, which to me is inappropriate.

Lateness is also a key issue to keep in mind. For the employer, they're just coming home from work, so being late might not be on their mind or seem like a problem. They don't think about the fact that as a caregiver, as a care provider, I want to go home. And so sometimes they're late 5, 10, 15 minutes here and there. But over time, those 15 minutes add up and it's taking me longer and longer to get home, and now my family is without me even longer, or I'm not getting paid for that time.

Your boundary might be: "You cannot be late." Or, it could be: "If you're late, there's going to be a late fee."

You are the only person that can advocate for you, and your contract is the one place where you get to take care of all of your needs so that you don't end up burned out, upset, pissed off, or working for a family that does not actually give you what you need.

Don't get into it for the money

This is not a get-rich-quick career. Employers need to respect the role and pay fairly, but you also shouldn't get into this unless you're passionate about caregiving.

But that doesn't mean the field should be looked down upon. Some families think people just want to make a whole bunch of money doing this career, and they say to themselves, "Oh, but they're just a nanny."

Meanwhile, some new nannies think to themselves: "I'm good with my little brother and sister, so I can do this to make money or get myself through school."

But that's not true. Every single family and every single child is different.

If you are only in it to make money and not because you actually enjoy helping people because this is a care field, then your best bet is to do something that does not require you to actively be present in other people's lives where they have to depend on you.