Job Discussion Forums

[acmurray]

I'm an American planning to move to Italy next year to teach English. (Yes, yes, I know.) I've already lived in Italy for half a year studying at the l'Universit� di Ferrara, I speak proficient Italian, and I am familiar with living in Italy. I'm not just trying to chase down some idyllic "land of the cappuccino"--for all their craziness and idiosyncracies I love Italy and the Italians, and I know that I feel happier and more at home there than here in the States. So I figure it's worth at least the three months when I'm still legal to give it a shot.

So in August I'll be moving to Bologna--my reasoning is that it's big enough to have opportunities on its own, but also has lots of medium-sized "satellite" cities that I can search in as well (and being near Ferrara and my friends is a bonus). Has anyone here lived or taught in Bologna? I've noticed the Anglo-American school there and am planning on emailing them, but does anyone here know about that? Are there any other organizations worth contacting? And when is the best time to arrive to find jobs? I want to arrive early enough to be on top of the jobs that come up for September, but not so early that I'm sitting around waiting for the whole province to come back from vacation. Also, are there any opportunities or venues I should investigate in which speaking Italian will give me an edge (i.e. in teaching beginners or at secondary schools)?

Also, I'd love to hear any word from non-EU citizens about their own experiences and those of their non-EU friends working in Italy. I know exactly what will happen in theory (won't find any legal work, working illegally will get me automatically fired/deported/crucified), but in my experience things rarely work the way they would In Theory in Italy, and hearing from those who have done it would be fantastic.

[spiral78]

Working illegally won't automatically have any catastrophic effects. My friend worked illegally in Rome for four years, all the while trying very hard to find some legal route.

Her Italian's near-native (she now works as an Italian-English translator), she had multitudes of contacts, including with international contacts, all the right qualifications.

But after four years of struggling, with no security or long-term future, and aware that the details of time spent working in a country where you can't get a work permit don't do anything positive for your C.V. later on, she finally gave up.

It's not 100% impossible to land something legal - but it IS 99% impossible, short of marraige. You might more usefully try researching U.S. based companies that have offices in Italy or some military/NATO connection. Those vacancies are very rare, but it's about the only real alternative to marraige.

[ilaria]

acmurray, I'm Sicilian/British and don't live in Bologna, so I can't give the specific advice you are looking for. In fact, there really aren't many teachers posting on this Italy forum, and I don't think any of us are in Bologna.

You could try the forum at www.expatsinitaly.com (if you haven't found it already). I should mention a couple of things about that site: firstly, it has a lot of non-EU participants, but the site owner has a policy of not discussing illegal activities such as working without a residence permit. Secondly, it is free to register to post and reply to messages, but if you want to send or receive private messages, you have to pay for premium membership. Still, have a look around on there - lots of people, lots of information, much more active than this place!

[latte_girl85]

I spent some time a couple of years ago in Ravenna working as an au-pair. I had some opportunities teaching English on the side but never actually worked in a school. I had a few friends who were working at British Institutes in Bologna and little nearby towns (Casalecio deReno and another place I can't remember). Their life experience was really good as Bologna is a fun town to live in. Working at the Bologna school however didn't go well (my friend left pretty quick). The school in Casalecio was good though and my friend was sad to go back home to Australia. I'm planning on moving back to Italy soon, maybe begining next year, and will probably be in your same boat! Good luck, hope this helps!

[maria09]

this is my first post, so i apologize if it doesn't end up where i intend it to be. i wanted to mention that i live in bologna and teach english and it's been a great experience. the cost of living is rather high in bologna, because of all the students, but there is a vivacious atmosphere, lots of activity, lots of language schools. anyway, if you want to get in touch with me that would be fine. i'm happy to help in anyway possible.

[Jetgirly]

My illegal American co-workers were fired with like, ten minutes' notice when whoever investigates illegal workers paid a visit to the school. If you want to work illegally, you just have to be prepared for what will happen if you get either a) fired with ZERO notice or b) caught by whichever government body actually cares about that stuff.

I can also tell you that being illegal can be inconvenient in other ways. I lived above a pharmacy with a defective alarm system that rang EVERY SINGLE DAY for at least thirty minutes, before 6:00 am. We called the police several times regarding this alarm, and while they never did anything about it they sure did a good job of checking all my immigration documents. If you get in trouble and it's revealed that you've been working illegally, I don't think the cops take too kindly to you.

[spiral78]

Another risk is what happens in the case of some accident. You WILL receive all the care that you might need, but NO insurance company (even if you are paying for travel insurance from your home country) is going to pay in the end if it's discovered that you were illegally in a country at the time of the accident.