Job Discussion Forums

[jools230575]

Hi there

I am new to the board and was wondering if some kind people out there could offer up some advice on working in France.

This past Thursday I passed the Trinity College TESOL certificate.

I would dearly love to live and work in France but I am not sure as to what job opportunities are out there for a newly qualified teacher.

My reasons for wanting to live and work in France are

1) My girlfriend is French

and

2) I love being in France

I do have one unfortunate problem in the form of a loan that I have to pay each month. I calculated that I would have to send back 550� (obviously depending on currency fluctuations) just to cover my loan payments

My questions really are as follows:

1) What sort of money could a newly qualified teacher get in France?

2) Would I earn enough to rent someplace, eat, pay the appropriate bills and be able to send back enough to pay my loan?

3) Where is the best place to look for jobs in the TEFL industry in France?

Am I setting my sights too high or is there a possibility that I could make my dream a reality?

Thanks for any and all help!

Jools

[Kingbee]

Jools,

You had me until you mentioned the substantial loan payment you need to pay every month. I know some experienced teachers in Paris who scrape by each and every month so I imagine it would be even harder for someone in your situation. Other area of France may be an option as Paris is so expensive.

[jools230575]

It's a pain in the backside for me.

I would dearly love to go over to France and teach English but that damn loan payment is getting me down!

I have a month's worth of work at my local language school for August and I have also been traipsing the pavements of two others in my hometown.

One of those two is looking like it might be quite good. They have been going since last year and will hopefully get their British Council acredition in September. I am thinking and hoping that by being known to them now then it might put me in a good position to get work from them.

Next week I am going to do a single 3 hour lesson with a student to see how it goes. The school seems very free and easy which is cool for me:)

Not sure of the pay. At the moment I am just worrying about keeping myself afloat and earning some cash!

[SueH]

If that's a UK student loan I doubt you'll earn enough to go over the threshold for payment. If it's a bank loan I have to say even if you were lucky you'd be paying 50%+ of your salary on the loan.

I'm actually in Italy but the largely dismal pay is similar.