Job Discussion Forums

[Lemon_Drizzle]

Hi Guys,

This is my first post but i have been looking around the site for a wee while for research. I am planning on doing a CELTA course in Jan in the UK. The general idea I have is to go abroad shortly after that (depending on circumstances). I am really keen to go to Italy but I have never been there before and I don't speak Italian. I also have no valid teaching experience......ok that doesn't sound too good.

Anyway I understand from looking around the site that most peoples advice would be to go to Italy to find a job. I was just wondering how people have found their jobs?

In terms of my above failings, I don't really have pertinent teaching experience but before Uni I taught English in Thailand to children. This might not count towards me in terms of relevant teaching experience but at least I know I would enjoy the job ( I recognize it would be different but I enjoy the core aspects of teaching).

I am from the UK so visas are not an issue.

Thanks in advice for any help you might be able to offer!

[Teacher in Rome]

I think your experience teaching children would be a great advantage to you. If you have a look at some of the job ads, you'll see a lot of YL work offered, so definitely talk this up in your CV (also esp if it's the only experience you have!)

Some knowledge of Italian would undoubtedly be helpful - but it's rarely a requisite for work.

If you have little experience, then obviously your opps are limited. For your first year you'll be looking at the bottom end of the market - chain schools or teeny tiny schools perhaps.

To get better opps, I think you'll need to widen your experience. This could be through teaching teens, exam classes, general English and business English. It doesn't have to be a huge amount of extra experience - just enough to prove you've been in a classroom before.

But can I ask you, why Italy? There's little economic growth and most people are cutting their spending as far as possible. The future does not look very bright right now. That's not to say you won't find work, or won't enjoy the experience - only something to bear in mind perhaps.

[Lemon_Drizzle]

Hi Teacher in Rome,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

In regards to YL that's definitely an area I would enjoy working in so it would be great to find this sort of role. In terms of not speaking Italian I would of course be learning but I am so rubbish at languages that to be realistic I am not going to be speaking Italian for a while so it's nice to know its not necessary for employment ( I am hoping speaking Spanish will help a little with learning Italian.)

My original thought was to go to Spain. I speak Spanish and know the country well. The initial reason I began to have doubts was because of the Spanish economy which is truly in tatters. If I go it will be with my partner so whilst having a good income is nice hopefully it wont be a case of relying solely on income from teaching. Whilst I understand Italy is not great either I am hoping there will be some opportunities.

The other reason I decided on Italy was that I want somewhere different. I have returned to the UK after several years of working abroad and I don't want to stay here. Whilst I love it here I have always wanted to do TEFL for a few years and I feel like it needs to be now. I know Spain so well and I want to try somewhere else. I would love to learn another language and as I said I am terrible at learning languages so I felt it needed to be a European language.

I have recently started reading lots about Italy and feel like it would be somewhere I would love.

Having said all that I am still wary of blindly going anywhere and been left in an economic pickle! I am also so unsure of the actual process of getting a job!

[Teacher in Rome]

Economically-wise, Italy is next in line after Greece for market speculation. The PM is incapable of ruling, and the opposition are as wary as he of effecting the market reforms that would make Italy less an economic basket-case. In my opinion - of course. Right now we're at historic levels of disparity of spread between German yields and Italian yields on government bonds, and record levels of interest. We've got rumour and counter-rumour as to whether the government will forcibly take a % from people's private bank accounts, "liberalise" the economy, or allow in the IMF to make sure the austerity budget goes through.

My point being?

In an atmosphere where you have rumour and counter-rumour, market speculation, inability to pass even a reading of the public accounts, everyone is left hanging. There's no security, no desire to spend money you don't know you'll have. I'm talking here about a huge rump of people (Italians I know, for example) who are reluctant to spend against what they don't currently have - which might augur badly for you. Of course there will always be those who have some set aside and who want to get advantages for their kids. How else would I get work with state schools, for example. But night after night the TV news is all crisis. Youth unemployment is nudging 30%, and most people are feeling the pinch.

You could find work here. I've seen a decrease in work, but I'm increasingly replacing teaching work with other income, so am less affected. You could put together some hours from a school, set up an after-hours club and make an income that way. You could partner with schools to offer this service, and take a %. There are always plenty of ways that you could do well in Italy. But I just want to warn you that conditions here are precarious. What you have today you might not have tomorrow...

If you speak Spanish you're well away with Italian. I've never learnt Spanish, but can follow much of a conversation because I speak Italian... And as importantly, if you have a cultural understanding of Spanish, you'll be fine in Italy. Same importance for family, children, food, lifestyle. You're probably not the typical Anglo who struggles with Italian concepts (as I do)!

OK, so how to go about getting a job...

- tefl dot com have a load of vacancies. Give them a try. You'll be coming in at entry-level, but that might be a good start. Enough to get you an in, make some contacts, learn some Italian, decide whether it's for you, etc. Plus a contract means you don't have the bureaucratic hassle of going freelance. Trust me on this - it's a major pain in the hole.

- the yellow pages (le pagine gialle) is also a good bet. But you might not get an English speaker on the line, and they might not be hiring. Better than nothing. I know of a school looking for teachers, but they're small and in the Italian countryside. Great school owner (truly a person I'd trust my life with) so let me know if you're interested via a PM. School needs teachers now - might not fit with your timing...

- come on over and start pounding the pavements. Problem is when - peak hiring is September.

Here's what you'll probably need:

- in-country presence.
Can't stress this enough. Nobody will hire you if you're a kind-of, maybe will come over sort of person. You need to be here, in the flesh, to interview. Ready to work. Massima disponibilit�.

- CV
If you're here, with a pulse, you're already half-way to a job. Make sure your CV doesn't let you down.
experience / degree / qualifications all count.

- disponibilit�
Classes from 8-9pm? Sure.
Saturday mornings? No problem.
Cover a class of 10 ADD kids at short notice? Can do.

I'm not joking. The more you solve other people's problems, the more they'll give you work. It works for me even now, after 10 years. Do what it takes to make yourself indispensable, sweet and accommodating, and you'll go far, LemonDrizzle! Italian employers love people who bend over backwards for them and make their lives easier. This is especially important in a culture where everything is last-minute, put-out-the-fire. (Similar to Spain?? See what I'm driving at?)

One last thing. If you are the person above, you'll do fine in Italy. Employers might give you a list as long as your arm of requirements and essentials, but when it comes down to it, will hire you on the basis of what you're like as a person. This is a great thing about Italy. Available, flexible, and easy to work with = almost a 100% guarantee you'll get work time after time.

FWIW, I love Italy. I've dedicated 10 of the best years of my life trying to make a difference here! I'm gutted about what's happening to the economy, to my friends, and to normal, not rich Italians, screwed over by their government and by rapacious speculators. If I could, I'd stay here forever. Facciamo uno scambio. Tu vieni qui, e io vado in Thailandia. Vabbene? (And if you understand that, you'll have no problems with Italian language - I promise you!)

PM me if you need any other info.

TIR

[Lemon_Drizzle]

Thanks for that. To a certain extent the economic uncertainty is why I want to do it now. Its terrible that all of this has happened but with people predicting double dip recessions etc it seems like it might get worse before it gets better. With that in mind it would be nice to try before I get a bit older and more dependent on things working out. If it doesn't work I will go somewhere else, this is not a mind set I will probably have in a few years!

For you it must be awful to see somewhere that is now home falling to pieces. Hopefully it will get better. I am actually surprised at how bad the UK is or at least how badly the recession has affected day to day life for the average person. I have been living in Australia and it's just not an issue there in terms of normal day to day life.

Thailand is a wonderful country. I am a big fan of the whole of SE Asia. It's just so beautiful.

[Teacher in Rome]

I'm with you on SE Asia - spent a lot of time there...

I know the situ in the UK is pretty dire, so I can see where you're coming from. You may as well give it a go here - as long as you don't hold out for the pot of gold... It is possible to make a living here, though life in Italy isn't what you'd call simple. If you can cope with uncertainty, last-minuteness and a bit of chaos, then you'll probably be fine!

Do you know where you want to be in Italy?

[Lemon_Drizzle]

Sorry was being a bit lax in replying! I am not sure at all. i was thinking about Rome because I imagine that would be where the most jobs are. However, I would love to be somewhere more rural. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks for all the great info

[Teacher in Rome]

Most of rural Italy is beautiful - but a lot of it is quite remote. I live in rural Marche and can recommend it, but a couple of things to bear in mind:
- you'll need Italian to really make the most of it
- there might not be so many teaching opportunities, which means you'll be travelling around a bit more

On the other hand:
- people are v friendly and open (probably more so in rural areas, where there's less formality)
- you'll experience a slower pace of life..

If you want a balance, you could try any one of the smaller cities. They often have universities as well, making them a bit more vibrant. For example, I'd personally avoid the typical "medieval hill-top towns" where not a lot happens, and the town's sole bar closes at 8pm. Choose a larger town or small city, and you've got a lot more going on.

One thing to bear in mind, out in the smaller places and in the countryside you'll hear much more dialect than Italian. My Italian is pretty fluent after 10 years, but I only understand half of what my neighbour says to me. There's a lovely blog written by an English teacher in Italy (Driving like a maniac) and her experiences in Calabria (not your most typical destination) - might give you a bit of inspiration.

There are a lot of teaching opps in Rome, but also a lot more competition.

Anyway, I know of a couple of possible teaching opportunities going here. If you'd like details, PM me and I can tell you what I know.