成功的管家不僅收入可觀，還能享受一個月的帶薪假期，參加401(k)養老金計劃。據費貢說，頂級家政管家年薪可達30萬美元。最近有好幾個招工崗位都給出了20萬到25萬美元不等的年薪，工作地點要么在波士頓，要么在洛杉磯一帶。按照這樣的年薪水平，管家想必需要掌管數量可觀的仆役和幾十個承包商。

????管家還需要及時了解最新的軟件和安全系統?！凹揖庸芾硖珡碗s了，房子太大了，不僅如此，屋里還配備了酒窖、智能家居技術、安全監控屏，”更別提廚房和洗衣房里那些五花八門的設備了，米勒表示。管家需要處理的是主人不可預知的需求，而家政員處理的是可預知的需求，比如打掃房間。

現代管家的新面貌

????盡管古裝劇里的管家都是男性，而且年齡偏大，但在現實生活中，越來越多的女性和年輕男性也開始加入到管家的行列。身為管家，最重要的是“要融入主人的家庭，”費貢的合伙人蓋爾?漢密爾頓表示。她說，除了找獵頭公司，有些富豪家庭還會要求管家及其他核心仆役參加人格測驗。

????很多管家為了找到新的工作，紛紛與獵頭公司合作。費貢表示，有很多人是在別的崗位上脫穎而出以后，才轉行做的管家。比如他們先前做的可能是私人廚師或者保姆。有些人在為數不多的“專門學校”或者培訓機構報過班，還有些人是在實戰中學習。

????費貢表示，上世紀90年代末，科技蓬勃發展，人們對管家的需求也隨之上升。預計這一趨勢還將隨著人們的財富增加而保持下去。此外，近年來，很多豪華酒店也開始紛紛招募管家。

????但是其他人認為管家的機會沒有以前多了。家居管理協會的創始人及會長馬特?哈克表示，在美國，管家及家政、地產管理者的人數與以前相比下降了。之所以得出這個結論，是與獵頭公司、執業管家及業內協會成員交流的結果。哈克表示，在經濟不景氣的情況下，連富豪家庭都在集中家政人員的職能。他還補充道，隨著《唐頓莊園》的熱播，“垂詢管家這一職業的人大大增加?！?/p>

????米勒認為，有些新晉富豪還沒有意識到請專人打理財產、打點生活的重要性。以前，優秀的管家聯系好中介后，不出幾天就能找到工作，而且還有挑選的余地。“現在就不是這樣了。我見過好幾個很有資質的管家，他們等了好幾個月，連面試的機會都沒有，更別提找到工作了?！泵桌毡硎尽Ｕ驗槿绱?，米勒正打算謀求第二職業。

????顯然，管家這一行業正在不斷地發展演化，日后將有越來越多的管家在酒店和公司就職，擔當禮賓員的角色。利桑德羅?洛扎諾?阿吉亞爾以前是一名酒店保安，現在在墨西哥巴亞爾塔港的海濱度假酒店Villa Premiere Hotel & Spa擔任管家。為了當好管家，他不得不學好英語，還在墨西哥城的一家酒店培訓學校培訓了兩周。一開始，為客人熨衣服這種事情對他來說“有點小難”。當了七年管家之后，他不僅掌握了這項技能，還能為客人提供稱心如意的預訂服務，挑選生日和周年紀念日的插花，為度蜜月的新婚夫婦布置鋪滿玫瑰花瓣的婚床?！拔覀兡芟肟腿怂?，提前為他們考慮好所有的事情。客人還沒開口，我們就已經準備好為他們服務了。”（財富中文網）

????譯者：Nasca

Successful butlers can earn handsome salaries, plus as much as a month's paid vacation and a 401(k) plan. Top household managers can earn up to $300,000 a year, says Feigon. Several jobs posted recently paid $200,000 to $250,000 in Boston and near San Francisco. At those pay grades the job likely includes managing a sizable staff and dozens of contractors.

????The butler is also expected to stay abreast of the latest software and security systems. "Homes are so complex, estates are so large, with wine cellars, smart home technologies, and security screens," not to mention all kinds of commercial equipment in kitchens and laundries, says Miller. Butlers handle all the unpredictable needs of the household, while housekeepers manage the predictable ones such as cleaning rooms.

The new face of today's butler

????Though butlers in period dramas are all male and somewhat older, today women are working in the field, as are younger men. What's most important is that the butler "needs to mesh with the family," explains Gail Hamilton, Feigon's business partner. Besides using placement agencies, some wealthy families require butlers and other key household staff to take personality tests, she says.

????To land a new assignment, many butlers work with placement firms. Many become butlers after they outgrow another job as a personal chef or a nanny, Feigon says. Some attend one of a handful of "schools" or institutes that offer training, or they may learn on the job.

????Demand for butlers increased during the tech boom of the late 1990s, she says. Feigon sees continued growth in the field, driven by gains in wealth. And many luxury hotels have added butlers to their ranks in recent years.

????But others claim that opportunities for butlers are scarcer than they have been in the past. The number of butlers and estate or household managers working in the U.S. has declined, says Matt Haack, founder and president of the Domestic Estate Managers Association, who bases his estimates on conversations he's had with placement agencies, working butlers, and his members, individuals who work in the field. Even wealthy families have consolidated and combined some jobs in a tighter economy, he says, adding that Downton Abbey has spurred "an influx of information requests about butlers."

????Miller thinks some newly wealthy individuals do not understand the need for professional help managing their property and their lives. A talented butler used to be able to contact his agent and within days, decide on a position to pursue. "Today, it's not so. I've seen some very qualified people wait for months and months for even an interview, let alone an offer," says Miller, who's starting to plan a second career.

????It's clear that the butler's world is evolving, so that more and more, they will work in hotels and for companies as a sort of concierge. Lisandro Lozano Aguiar worked in hotel security before becoming a butler at Villa Premiere Hotel & Spa in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He had to learn English and spent two weeks at a hotel training school in Mexico City. At first, ironing garments for guests "was a little bit kind of hard for me," he says. After seven years as a butler, he has mastered that skill, as well as locating the right book for a guest, choosing a flower arrangement for birthdays and anniversaries, and creating a rose petal-covered bed for honeymooners. "We are ahead of our guests' needs. We like to be there before they ask."