A very quick look at current housing prices here in Geneva shows that a room; not a flat-share, just a room, would cost between 600 and 800 hundred francs a month in a basic student hostel.... even if you could a space, which is very unlikely. A small studio flat in Geneva can easily cost 2,000 or more.
There are almost no avaliable places to rent in Geneva at the moment and I really don't think you should move here unless you are certain that your employers will find housing for you, preferably at their expense.
Health insurance is also expensive.... Geneva is one of the costliest places for this as well; if you have the minimum cover it will cost 250-350 a month (and that with an annual franchise of 2,000; which you have to cover before the insurance pays for anything).
Transport; a monthly adult bus/tram ticket is 70 francs a month, which you will need if you're not living within walking distance of your work-place.
Food isn't cheap here; even if you're eating with the family twice a day during the week (and presumably not at weekends if you're only working 40-hours), you'll struggle.
There really is no way the proposed salary is adequate for full-time, live-out help in this city.
it's not a great wage, but then again, what is your next best option? if nothing, then i guess you'll have to just deal with it.
perhaps if you are living in, and they are providing food, then it is OK, since the major costs are covered. if you are just working for a few years for a bit of money before moving on, then you can just buckle down, work a year or two and save up the money and then move on.
to put it into perspective, a foreign domestic worker in hong kong would earn around 450 chfs per month. in other words, if you manage to save the bulk of your wage, then working 2 years here would be the equivalent of working 8.5 years in HK!
in your position, another concern of mine would be whether your employers can legally get you a work permit here or if they are aware of how difficult it is to get these for non-EU un-skilled workers.
General question out of curiosity: I recently heard of a Swiss person earning 2000chf pm as an "intern" working with children. She seemed to think this pay was okay and I am presuming that her family would know enough of local conditions to approve it.
But, in relation to other figures being quoted here for cleaners etc, kit seems very low to me.
Can anyone explain the intern system to me ( if there is one. )
I think you should very carefully read the following document, and I suggest your employer does the same.
There are very strict conditions under which UN employees can hire domestic employees, and they are obliged to provide all entitlements to them. In fact, they are responsible to provide you a permit to work in Switzerland by way of their affiliation with them.
The document also sets the minimum wage, as well as all other payments that must be paid. Failure to do so will result in a serious trouble for your employer. And you also don't want to be in the gray area.
Even in Boston that wage would be considered poverty-level. I can't even imagine surviving on that in Geneva.... I remember looking at hiring a nanny, not even a full-time one, just someone to pick my daughter up from school at 3.15 and mind her for a few hours until 6pm...possibly feed her and didn't find much in the under 4k CHF per month range (this was Zurich though).
Likely he/she is still apprenticing. Meaning they are in training and school and not yet fully qualified as a childcare person. There are many conditions for an apprentice, including number of working hours, conditions of work, and pay. For example, such person would not normally be allowed to work alone and have sole care of children, rather you seem them often at creche/grippe where they have to be supervised and under the training of a qualified childcare person. And yes they get paid but less as they are still technically in school and do not have full qualifications.