Job Discussion Forums

[Mideatoo]

Average salary here in China is 8000RMB, approximately 986U$ or 800Euros. (Apartment included)

You can only survive in Spain with 800Euro, unless you live in a pueblo lost en la Mancha.... So how you guys do it?

[Moore]

A lot of people come here, max out their credit cards, use up all thier savings, with the "wages" here merely offsetting the cash hemorrhage, then leave to somewhere that pays ok, writing it off as some kind of valuable life experience. This happens constantly, and the many McSchools you get here take full advantage of them. These people are often illegal non-EU teachers who have little chance/desire to stay any longer than a year or so, thus perpetuating the problem for legal workers.

If you�re smarter you fill up your days with extra private lessons, and also try to make money on the side somehow.

Spain is a tough place to teach English: I�ve been doing it for a decade now all over the world and Spain has been the hardest country to make it in (I mean any longer than one year until money issues force most people to leave). I was lucky enough to come here with some extra cash, but got through it all (many many thousands) getting on my feet to the point where after two years here I�m financially stable and teaching is now my second source of income.

[Mideatoo]

Thank you Moore and yes that is correct, Spain attracts lots of backpackers.
I know parts of Spain like my own pocket, as my grandmother is from Andalusia. Yet, I never taught there.

[ContemporaryDog]

[michelle ashley]

To start please dont get me wrong, you guys in China. Your point about money in China is well pointed out.

I am without a doubt a Spain fanatic, meaning I know there are no megbucks to be made but with my wages as an English teacher I enjoy the Latin/Spanish lifestyle, weather, friendly people, travel around Europe, fun. Many young people after college want to enjoy and see the world before joining the humdrum of the 9-5 work week, stable but kinda inflexible type of lifestyle. In many cases Spain is top of the list for countries to go to. why not? its a nice country. If you're 21, 22, fresh out of college, most probably you want to see the world first. After all in the US most start with 2 weeks holidays and in the UK with 4 weeks, not much time to travel. After college, I couldn't see myself heading straight to a desk job so I came to Madrid, did my TEFL course, taught and still teaching.

In my experience (I'm still young, between 23-25??? ) coming to Spain was worth it. Very soon I need to earn money from a 9-6 job but living in Madrid, meeting great friends , traveling is something I will always remember. So again, there's absolutely nothing wrong in earning the good money in China, but again it depends on priorities.


Regards,

Michelle

[Victoria Morley]

I like that Michelle. I was working in the City (financial district in London) and yes money is there but I'm here to stay at least for a while. I like my life here, I'm working, my flat isn't the greatest but liveable and you're right, the 4 weeks holidays back in London wouldn't have been enough with all the traveling I've been doing. All the best.


Victoria

[j bradley]

Spain is much nicer, but again, big bucks, check out Asia, Japan, China, Korea.

[b harmon]

Spain will not be the place to go to if you want high salaries, but culture, fun, friendly people, and of course if you want to learn the Spanish language, I'd pick Spain, and specifically Madrid.

You'll be amazed how many Spanish people don't have a good level of English and this is the capital city, even in tourist areas like Sol, Gran Via, some shops will not speak or maybe cannot speak to you in English! Yes we are in Spain and we have to speak Spanish, but lots come here to learn so I think the first week, its kinda hard to demand fluency.

Asia, don't know, especially China, they say teachers earn good salaries but the work conditions are not so good. Oh well, my bit on this.

[shannon w]

Hi All

I work for 3 companies and I earn between 15-18 euros an hour. I also have my private classes so I can make between 1000 to 1200 euros a month. Slower in the summer but even hard working teachers take a break. I�ve been working in Madrid for almost 18 months and when I did my EBC TEFL certificate, they told us to expect between 14-18 euros an hour. It turned out to be accurate, the difference came in when I started my private students.

Be careful with private clients, I remember during the job workshops we had , we were told that privates are great for the higher pay but watch out because if they decide not to pay, you will find it hard to get your money. Well, unfortunately, they were right, I was a bit too nice with one private doing her First Certificate preparation classes and she was great for the first three months, then she just disappeared ! Ended up with 8 unpaid hours. Not a lot but I worked for those hours!

I have looked into possibilities in other Spanish speaking countries and Spain, specifically Madrid seems to be where the pay is the highest. Of course we are anot talking high salaries but better than the others.

So salaries, academias have raised their rates slightly but not a lot. I don�t know how many language schools do this but they seem to pay a bit more for the short intensive courses that start in January. The academias I work for have already offered me these short courses for Janauary (after the Reyes, normally) and they pay good rates, so I don't know maybe getting ready to work in January won't be a bad idea for those higher salaries we all want to earn.

Good luck.


shannon

[foss]

Thanks for the concern, you're right, the standard income barely covers standard costs. However, if you stick around you can get lucky. By chance, only by chance, you might find a comfortable flat with nice people for a modest price. Maybe you can get a lucrative bunch of classes, a second non-teaching job, or a timetable which is logistically undemanding. Unfortunately you can't bank on that happening.

[QatarChic]

Yes Spain is certainly lively and I loved the year that I spent TEFLing there 98/99 I was in Barcelona and earning 90,000 pesetas per month-which equaled 400 quid....I was sharing an apartment in port olimpico and still had plenty of money for eating out, socalising etc....I have heard that it's a lot more expensive now....here in the Gulf its different- you earn and save a lot more, and there are los of opportunities to travel around the region as well as the Far East...would I go back to Spain again? Well they say never say never, but for now I am happy where I am

[BusterNutt]

im in china now, but madrd rocks!

there r so many brits in the sout of spain...........


buena suerte amoigoos

[Spainish]

I don't think the problem is so much the pay as it is the cost of living in Spain now. Over the past couple years (especially with the change over to the Euro) costs have gone up tremendously! I used to have my own flat on calle hortaleza for approximately 350 euros a month, now I'm paying 400 for just a room!!!

The problem was (and anyone who has been around here over the past few years knows all too well) that while the general cost of living has increased exponentially, salaries in general have not. It's not just a problem for we English teachers, most Spaniards in the 25 to 30 age group are paying upwards of 50 percent of their income just on housing alone. Not to mention that the peseta to euro changeover allowed a lot of businesses to round up their prices to the nearest euro and feed off of the general confusion of conversion rates!

What I really don't understand is how other countries in the EU, many who are much more prosperous than Spain, did not experience the same situation. A German friend of mine, who lived in Munich (probably the most expensive city in Germany) can't believe it either. He had a 40 sq. meter flat in the center of Munich for 450 euros a month just last spring and is now paying 525 euros for a 15 sq. meter room in the center of Madrid (granted he's on Gran Via... but still!).


Spainish

p.s. I miss my 100 peseta bocadillos de calamares in the Plaza Mayor!!

[canucktechie]

If I may put on my economist's hat here.

The price of housing, like anything else, is determined by supply and demand. These functions have nothing to due with which currency the price is quoted in. For example, New York City could change over to Japanese Yen, and the actual price of housing would remain unchanged.

Likewise, the price of housing in Madrid has nothing to do with the changeover from pesetas to Euros. It's just a scapegoat to blame the increase on. Either there was an increase in demand, or perhaps there were rent controls that were eliminated, coincidentally with the changeover to Euros.

[Moore]

I agree: basically housing has become the target for massive financial speculation all over Europe (and the rest of the world), and Spanish house price increases started to really kick in in 2000, well before the Euro.

That said, with the introduction of the euro, all over the Mediterranean region, when people with dubious sources of income/cash hidden from the taxman had to change their cash stocks of Francs/Pesetas/Lira into euros, which involved going to the bank and any quantity over 20,000 euros being declared to the authorities, so there was a huge upsurge in the sales and thus prices of antiques and property (the owner would sell at a minimimal price, the rest of the true price being paid in cash- everybody happy), and this did have an effect on property prices, though mainly on the coastal regions.

The bizarre thing is, prices for flats in central Madrid (buying, not renting) are higher now than those in central Paris, yet Spanish salaries are lagging some way behind French ones. I think rents here are still very reasonable: if you look around you can find a decent sized room in a pretty central shared flat for 350 euros, which really isn't too bad for a European capital. Shocking to hear about the difference in rental prices with Berlin though.