The children of high officials like the nomarchs were usually raised by a mn't (menat), variously translated as a wetnurse, governess, nanny, etc. These women were highly regarded and often considered part of the family. In the 18th Dynasty, for example, Ay's wife Tiy boasted about being the menat of Queen Nefertiti. Some men, like Senenmut in the reign of Hatshepsut, also held the position of menat, which in their case is perhaps best translated as "tutor."

We know very little about schooling in ancient Egypt, but there are a few references to education. For instance, the Satire of the Trades begins as follows:

Beginning of the Instruction made by the man of Sile (a site in the eastern Delta), called Dua-khety, for his son called Pepi,

as he sailed south to the Residence,

to place him in the school for scribes,

among the children of officials, the elite of the Residence.

These fledgling officials were placed under the care of a senior official in the palace. The overseer of the king's chambers (imy-r ipt nswt) Iha boasted in his tomb that "I have become one truly favored, a teacher of the king's children." The follower of the king (smsw nswt) Nebipusenusret was raised "as a child at the feet of the king (and) a pupil of Horus, lord of the palace." This was a common practice in Mesopotamia as well. For example, the Assyrian king Sennacherib appointed as king of Babylonia a "son of a rab banî (noble) and a scion of Babylon who had grown up like a young puppy in my palace."

The young noblemen were raised in the kap, the private section of the palace, as were the sons and daughters of the king. Access to the kap was monitored carefully, and activities and conversations within the kap were considered secret and not to be discussed with the officials of the outer court. Amenhotep son of Hapu, one of the premiere officials of the 18th Dynasty, referred to himself as the "one who hears the words of the secret kap...an official to whom something is confided." Being a "child of the kap" was a privilege that an Egyptian boasted about for the rest of his or her life. It was particularly important for the children of the kap to form unbreakable bonds with the princes. The princes benefited from the loyalty of their officials, and in return the officials benefited greatly from royal favor. The 18th Dynasty official Maiherpri, for instance, was particularly highly regarded even among his fellow children of the kap and received the extraordinary honor of a burial in the Valley of the Kings.

Once the young noblemen had reached maturity, typically in their late teens, they were appointed to their first posts. Typically these were low ranking positions, and the officials worked their way up the administrative ladder to high ranking positions such as high steward, overseer of the sealers, overseer of fields, and so on. The ultimate prize was becoming vizier, the most powerful official in Egypt and second in authority only to king.

Occasionally, however, career plans changed. In the 6th Dynasty, a young man named Tjeti-Kaihep hailed from the most powerful family in Akhmim. His family had held the position of nomarch for eight generations, and his older brother was expected to inherit the position. Tjeti-Kaihep was therefore sent to the capital of Memphis, where he was raised and educated in the palace. Unexpectedly, however, Tjeti-Kaihep returned home and became nomarch and the local overseer of priests. His older brother had died prematurely, it seems, and it was necessary for Tjeti-Kaihep to give up his aspirations in the capital and return home in order to prevent a rival family from rising to power.