Job Discussion Forums

[TheRick79]

Hey Ya'll,
I�m a 24 year old soon-to-be (December) University of Mississippi grad with degrees in Spanish (4 years of Spanish in high school) and Political Science and an English Minor. I took a 2 year break from college to work for my father�s publishing company (3.6 GPA in English Minor) in Nashville, TN and Los Angeles. I�d like to teach English in Spain, Mexico, or another Spanish speaking country. I come from a long line of teachers on my Mom�s side and lawyers on my father�s side, and teaching English in Spain sounds like a dream come true. Recently, I returned from a 2 week trip to an orphanage in Mexico where I was offered a non-paying position as an English teacher.

Right now I�m planning on applying to law school in 12 months, possibly attending 24 months from now (giving me at least 2 years to teach English). If I do decide to attend law school I�d like to practice Immigration Law, give legal help to Spanish speakers in the US, or work for a firm with an office in a Spanish speaking country. I have no resources to turn to other than a few books I�ve found on Amazon.com and a few message boards. I would really appreciate any answers, tips, or bits of advice you can give.

1) If I take a TESOL certification course (either in Spain or the US) with my Spanish Degree and an English Minor, do you think I�ll be qualified enough to find a teaching position in Spain? Is there anything I can do to raise my marketability as a teacher?
2) What is the hourly pay range for most English speaking English teachers who start working in Spain? Does it differ by region of the country? Is there any region of Spain where it is easier to find a position?
3) Do you think my resume will look better with at least 6 months teaching English teaching in Mexico?
4) Is it very hard to find cheap housing? I'm not picky. Maybe I could find a place where I'd only be splitting the rent?

Again, any other advice you can give me would be very helpful.

Thankyou,
Robert McFarland
[email protected]

[lozwich]

Hiya Robert,

Don't have all the answers you asked for, but thought I'd offer my perspective. I have recently finished one year teaching in Mexico, and am soon going to Spain for a new job there.

The first thing that struck me about your posting is that you said you would like to work in the US legal system helping Spanish speakers. Since the large majority of Spanish speakers in the US are Latin Americans, maybe it would be better to go there (Mexico, or somewhere else that interests you) to learn about the culture of the people that you will be helping in the future.

However, if you're hooked on the Spain idea, your qualifications sound fine. From what I hear, your biggest problem will be competing with all of the EU citizens for a job, as you won't have a working visa.

Re: question 2, try having a look at tefl.com. There are about 28 jobs in Spain advertised on there right now, which should give you a fair idea of wages and conditions in different areas.

And for Question 3, I think any experience will help you. However, Mexico-specific experience didn't seem to count for much when I was getting my job. I got the impression it could have been experience anywhere that helped. Another thing to think about is more for the Mexico forum, but going to Mexico with nothing but a TESOL qualification does not necessarily mean you will get a good and/or rewarding and/or decently paid job.

Please don't think I'm raining on your parade, just trying to state the situation as I see it.

Good luck!

Lozwich.