Job Discussion Forums

[Lisa P]

Hi,

I just finished my TEFL course on Friday with EBC and although I'm not complaining, I'm finding all these job offers a bit overwhelming and it's kinda hard to make fast decisions. I've got seemingly good offers, one school (CEE) is offering 1200 a month, working in their school and the other option is working for 3 different schools, paying between 14-15 euros an hour, total of 25 hours a week. The coordinator at EBC explained how cancellations, holidays worked in Spain , but then he also explained how teachers can work long hours if they work only for one school. He said it all depends on what I preferred, more job security, lesser hours , more money , more flexibilty, etc. I can start as early as Tuesday or Wednesday of next week so I appreciate advice from all of you more experienced teachers. I'm really excited about working and I am still getting over how fast the job offers came. Thanks in advance.

[HollyC]

I think it all depends on what you want to do. I don't like working at 3 different schools so I chose a school that didn't send all over the place to teach. It's time consuming and sometimes commute can take forever. It also depends on what kind of lifestyle you want or have. If you spend more money, take the higher paying job..if not..take the lower paying job. It's really how you want to live in Spain. Good Luck.

[Moore]

Sadly there is no such thing as job security when you tefl teach here in Spain, so leave that one out of your equation. Nobody will pay you over summer: some schools proudly tout 9 month contracts which don't do anything to protect you from the summer slump.

Working for one school mainly and then a couple of others is the way forward: that way you can build up some good will with the main one, but spread your bets just in case it all goes t*ts up with the main one: also you will have two more sources of good classes, and also all their resources and social events. It's a bit of a pain in the bum running round three places giving in attendance forms at the end of the month, but it is worth it.

Working by the hour, it is pretty easy to get 1500+ a month, taking cancellations into account, if you have about 28 scheduled hours per week. The trick is to bunch your hours together in certain areas of the city: the metro slog will get you down if your classes are all over the place. This is why having the pick of the available classes from several schools and their contracts with clients and places works in your favour.

Schools which give you a monthly salary really do get their money's worth: you're just as well off on your own. There is no such thing as job security here- teaching TEFL here is very tough if you want to stay more than 9 months. So make hay while the sun shines, and try to line up some summer camp stuff for July and August well before summer.

[Lisa P]

Hi,

Just got together with other ex EBC folks and it seems I wasn't the only one in this dilemma! Some were even talking about turning off their mobiles, too many calls, too many offers, too many hours, etc. ... and I thought I was special !? Also met some more experienced teachers and their advice was for me to work for 2,3 different schools to start with, and yes as you guys adviced try to go for block hours to cut travel time. I don't know what summer will be like but they also mentioned intensive courses and summer camp work. But as you said " make hay while the sun shines" and I think that's exactly what I'll do. I�ll be working for 2 schools, starting off with 25 hours. I am really excited about working and I'll come back on the forum and let you know how things are going. Thanks for the advice.

[b harmon]

Hi Lisa,

I've been living in Madrid coming on for 2 years now, did my TEFL certificate, got so many calls on the last week of the program, didn't know who to work for, etc, etc. To make the story short, I'd go for working for different schools, testing the EFL teaching waters, finding out who are the professional, better paying schools and really pick it from there. I started working for 3 schools, started with 27 hours on the first week after the course and to be honest , I felt a bit burnt out after the first few months, but the paychecks I got weren't too bad so I was fine.

Summer - I was working in the summer of 2005 and 2006, what they call immersion courses and if you decide to work in the summer drop me a PM so you can talk to the school that has been giving me these immersion courses . They ran from Aug - around the first week of Sept. If it's of any worth, I think Madrid is great. I went back to the States just after the first week of Sept, for personal reasons, I'm now back in Madrid, ready to teach and my old TEFL school sent my resume out yesterday and in a span of 2 hours I had to send them a thank you email because I already received around 15 calls from academies saying they needed teachers to start immediately!

The other schools I've worked for in the past also have a lot of work but I'd like to check out other new job offers as well. The problem is not in finding work, deciding on who to work for seems to be the difficult part !

Good luck and if you need any advice just send me a PM.

Brian

[Maria Kirby]

Hi Lisa,

I won't call myself an experienced teacher simply because there's still a lot to see, learn, experience and to date I've only taught in Madrid, a bit of BCN and I'm finishing my teaching assignments until Dec here in BsAs then it's Japan early next year!

I started in Madrid so I don't mind sharing some of my experiences in that awesome city. I was also an EBC grad and like you there were so many academies offering hours and it seemed so exciting and like many of us who've been there, you want to get start workng asap. If your dollars, euros can wait a week, I'd give 1 whole week to do the rounds. Interviews, asking around, ask your TEFL school what ex grads have to say about academies. You can always change academies but I wouldn't do this too often because word spreads fast in the academy circles and if you plan to stay in Spain, a year, a year and a half, it's good to choose well because as I found out, the academies I worked for almost exclusively were fair with me and I was happy working for them.

After doing Madrid, without a doubt I'd rather have lower hourly rates, block hours and preferably all in the Zone A - Madrid Metro/Bus area than have 18/20 euros an hour, for 1 hour of class and 2 hours of travel time.

My classes were paid between 14, 15 euros an hour, they were block hours and I was always between 2-3 academies, hardly changed academies and it was not bad at all. If I can be of help, just let me know.


Buena suerte,

Maria

[mary cooper]

I lined up job interviews for the week after the course, but I already saw 2 schools on the last Friday of the course and I was pretty sure I wanted to work for 1 of them. But I still interviewed with other schools and although I ended up working for the first school I saw, I was gald I did see others, if only to re-assure me that I was choosing well. There are academies that are quite good but there are also some to be avoided like the plague!!! Good luck and before you know it, you won't be so new in the TEFL field anymore ... then it will be your turn to share your experiences with the next newbies!

[Whitney Davies]

Hi!

I was working in Madrid as an English teacher and every now and then I get the "I miss Madrid blues" so I go on the forum! I'm now back in the US and yes, there was a lot of work in my time and I guess there still is, maybe even more.

Madrid has progressed a lot in the corporate arena, has now more of an international edge, hosting major conferences, more businesses setting up Head offices in Madrid and all these would mean many employers will insist on advanced language skills which usually translates to an even bigger demand for native English teachers.

It is advisable to go with some form of TEFL training, a TEFL certificate, teaching degree, because although the demand is there, academies prefer teachers with TEFL certs, experience or even better both.

I was very happy with the TEFL school I studied with because I didn't have to do much when I was looking for work. I was always working, lots of hours, at times it was too much which newbies should watch out for. Don't overload your teaching schedule .

Work was the least of my concern all the way through the time I had to say "Adios a mi querida Madrid!" or maybe I should just say "Hasta luego". I'm quite happy with my job here in the US but believe you me, my TEFL experience in Madrid plus, my travels in Europe plus my advanced level of Spanish which I somehow managed to acquire, has really increased my marketability when I re-entered the US job market.

So to those just considering entering the TEFL scene in Spain, based on experience, Madrid is where the jobs are, rates are higher but it will be more expensive living in Madrid as well. Smaller towns will be cheaper but there won�t be too many teaching hours on offer.

So before you decide on who will train you, make sure you ask about jobs, how good is their job search network, and after your course, don't rush into accepting offers. If your school is good at getting you those interviews, then you're bound to work immediately after the course. But you gotta go on those interviews or else they won't know how great a teacher you are! .

Choose well and hopefully you don't have to change academies too often which can require a lot of energy. Working with the same academies for longer periods could lead to good relations with the DOS, the directors, other teachers and this makes your stay in Madrid even nicer. If they like you in the academies, you become a highly valued teacher and they will be more supportive should you find yourself wanting to change classes for whatever reason. Save your energy to enjoy the Madrid lifestyle, the never ending fun, the people.

There are so many things about Madrid I miss: churros, Kapital (great disco!), the botellon ( ), Huertas, Malasa�a etc. If you have any questions send me a PM!

[b harmon]

Come now, "botellon"? Shame on you for telling newbies about "botellon"! Just kidding here ... LOL Whitney!

Brian

[Lisa P]

Hi,

Still a newbie in TEFL, I was wondering if anyone can give me their thoughts on telephone classes? one of the academies I work for briefly mentioned phone classes but I wasn't sure how it works. they told me they were half an hour classes, half the hourly rate I make when I teach in-company classes. does that sound right? any advice is appreciated.

Lisa

[Moore]

Phone classes are actually surprisingly hard work. It's all talk, therefore content: you need to be really on the ball and have some sort of lesson plan that will work on the phone: when you think about it, most classes involve the student rolling up five or ten minutes late, you go for a coffee, everyone gets settled down, and that's fifteen minutes of your class already in the bag. You don't get any of that by phone. What makes it so intense, useful and good value for the student also makes it hard work for you.

Schools will try to make out it's like an easy version of teaching, where you roll out of bed and give a class in your pyjamas, but that's really not the case. You should be paid at least as much as normal classes, if not more for the amount of grief they can represent to you. Also, as they tend only to be for half an hour at a time, you're really messing up your schedule for not that much money at all.

Also, you do need to have a fixed phone line installed, as companies baulk at talking for half an hour to a mobile phone number, and getting that put in costs about 120 euros.

Bottom line, if you're desperate for hours, then take them, but there is so much work available here in Madrid, both through private academies and private students, it's probably not really worth your effort, unless you want to add the experience to your cv, or you really really hate taking the metro...

[Lisa P]

wow, i don't think i'm going to do phone classes. i had no idea what they were so first i spoke to the job placement guys at ebc, they didn't seem so thrilled, spoke to other teachers, they didn't rate them at all and you don't seem too keen on them as well. it was the work at home kind of idea that interested me, but after how you described them ... wasn't what i imagined! i'm still getting calls for interviews anyway so i'll just take on more morning hours. thanks.

Lisa

[jovencito]

Pretty accurate advice on the Madrid front, but in my experience, working as an English teacher in Madrid is definitely a great way to start your EFL career, good experience to tuck under your cv sleeve but when you move on to other cities , you'll still feel like a newbie - at least to start off with, first 2-3 days maybe?? It's more to do with the culture and the attitude to learning I guess. Madrid is pretty relaxed about learning English, there were times I felt they were in class more for the social aspect than the learning side. But again it's a good city to have fun!

[Whitney Davies]

Hey Bri,

Ok, no more mention of "botellon"!

Maybe my advice at this stage is still kinda far fetched for the newbies BUT if you guys ever get yourselves to leave Madrid and decide to check out the job market in the US - make sure you let them know about your teaching experince in Madrid, if you worked for big companies, which chances you will be doing anyway as most academies will give you in house company classes. I know it's not easy to work on your Spanish especially if you teach a lot, but do make an effort because with the work experience in Madrid, good level of Spanish and European travel you bring back with you, you'll have an edge over applicatns who've not worked abroad.

I speak from experience . I�m very happy with my job here in the US but in all honesty I don't think I would have bagged this job easily had it not been for what my current company called my international work and travel experience that they felt gave me an edge on the intl side of many aspects of the job.

BUT as I said this advice might be a bit too soon for you newbies - so enjoy Madrid, enjoy the tapas, the vino, the many fiestas, and above all the people. Most of the Madrile�os I met were so nice and we still keep in contact and I know I'll always have lots of friends in Madrid.

Of course you gotta teach and earn those euros .... but do find time to enjoy yourself, because Madrid is one place you just gotta find time to enjoy. Disfrutala!

Whitney

[e green]

I went to EBC as well and you get a lot of calls through their job work program but don't take on too many hours too soon because you can get overworked, remember there is travel involved so you gotta take this into account. Overall, I've always had work but I've also learned to be more choosy and I now work for only 2 schools. Felices Fiestas.

Elizabeth