Job Discussion Forums

[rodgerfromaustralia]

Hello all,

This is my first official post and hopefully not my last.

The topic for this post is to ask for directions, answer and possibly helpful advice from a group of stranger on this forum. I will give a brief background and answer the obvious questions and then begin with the questions.

I am an Australian citizen and have lived in Australia my whole life. I completed high school and then went on to complete a Bachelor of Journalism at an Australian University. I then went on to post-grad and am in the final semester of completing an MBA or Masters of Business at an Australian University.

I have recently started working as a an English teacher, teaching Conversational English to higher level students from various countries around the globe. I will have a year of teaching English as a second language when ready to depart Australia to expand my horizons.

Questions:
- Should I complete a CELTA if I want to teach in Europe or will a Masters degree suffice?
- Is it possible to find any other work besides teaching in Spain and where would I look?
- I am prepared to take on a 12 month contract but am concerned about getting ripped off or turning up and there being no job available.
- Is the salary reasonable to live to support two people?
- Would the school organise a package?
- What other advice could I seek?
- Can anyone point me in the right direction with an anecdote or experience paralleling the situation I want to find myself early next year.

Thanks for the read of this long post.
Rodger

[jonniboy]

[Marcoregano]

I have to agree with Jonniboy - even if you had/have EU citizenship this isn't a good time to hit Spain or indeed most of Europe as a newbie, and certainly not if you have someone else in tow.

On a more positive slant, how about your BA in Journalism and your MBA? These are good quals - wouldn't it make sense to try and use them rather than scratch a living from TEFL?

[spiral78]

Should I complete a CELTA if I want to teach in Europe or will a Masters degree suffice?

Qualifications won't get you around the EU hiring laws. You can expand the list of countries where you can't get legal working papers to include Italy, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium...effectively most of Western Europe.

- Is it possible to find any other work besides teaching in Spain and where would I look?

Other work in Spain and other Euro countries generally requires strong local language skills at a minimum.

- I am prepared to take on a 12 month contract but am concerned about getting ripped off or turning up and there being no job available.

Reading between the lines, I suspect that you expect to land a contract from abroad - if so, be advised that this won't happen in Europe. You've got to come here, CV in hand, looking professional and responsible, to even get a hearing. Frankly, these days, it is an investment to come here and the return is low.

- Is the salary reasonable to live to support two people?

No. Short of an MA TESL/TEFL or Applied Linguistics + local language skills + local contacts, you are highly unlikely to land any job that would support two people. Please note that this is not limited to Spain - it's Europe wide, including Central/Eastern regions. The pay is just not that good for the vast majority of jobs.

- Would the school organise a package?
It's not done here, outside of Russia and the 'stans. As already noted by another poster, it's a buyer's market here, with plenty of teachers already around.

- What other advice could I seek?

You expectations seem unrealistic in terms of Europe in general, not just Spain. There are a few countries where you can get legal working papers - this includes the Czech Rep and Poland. However, in no case will you find a job that pays enough to support two people.

If you're willing to tough it out for the experience, and your partner can also teach, it could work in the countries I mention above.

[rodgerfromaustralia]

Thank-you everyone for your replies, I was a little worried I wouldn't get any.

I guess my pipe dream was to live and work in Spain, game over.

I basically want to pack up and travel around the world for a couple of years. I have searched google for "international jobs" and keep coming up with results I don't really know I can trust.

I don't even know where to start when trying to land a job with an MBA and BA of Journalism, I think I may have to start looking elsewhere. I assume there is forums for ex-pats seeking work around the globe.

I really liked the idea of simply packing up with my partner and moving to another country, I imagine a lot of young people do, but instead of holidaying and coming back, I just want to work.

Any other advice from the older, more experience souls in here, I might go and post in other country forums and seek advice also.

Thanks for reading
Rodger

[spiral78]

You might consider South America - at least you can work there legally.

However, the problem with any destination will be supporting a partner - there are very few jobs in the field that allow one to do that.

I'm a good case in point myself - I have a very decent job at a university in the Netherlands, with a full time, permanent contract and standard benefits. I do ok, but no way could I support a second person.

[wildchild]

Rodger,

why not find a job in Sydney that has international offices and clients? and apply to the appropriate department.

you know, rather than traveling the world looking for a job, find one at home, and have them send you abroad.

btw, i'll be taking my own advice on this one... (just wish i had that MBA)

[Marcoregano]

Rodger, your plans seem a bit mixed up. On the one hand you want to work in Spain, and on the other you want to 'pack up and travel around the world for a couple of years'.

As regards Spain, as people have pointed out, you couldn't have picked a worse time - especially as a non-EU citizen - to look for work. But that shouldn't stop you travelling there for a look (which is maybe the first thing you should do in any case before trying to line up jobs!). And who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and find a bit of (illegal!) work.

As for wandering the world and working in TEFL here and there - you can still do that, just that it's easier in some places than others. Generally speaking Asia is probably still the easiest to find TEFL, but South America also sounds feasible and there are still some great European countries where it's still 'legally' possible for non-EU people, like the Czech Republic and Turkey. Probably best if your partner chips in too. Obviously things will go better if you have a decent sum of money stashed to finance most of your trip.

[rodgerfromaustralia]

Thanks again for all the replies.

I want to clear a few issues up, since my first and second post.

My initial thoughts on travelling to Spain and work having now been cancelled.

My plan is to now look for a job in Europe in any industry besides teaching, albeit I would like to tutor on the side, as I do in Australia.

My partner will also be finding a job, but as her qualifications arn't as extensive as mine, I believe It could be harder for her to find a job.

Wildchild, I am interested in leaving Australia and rather than moving around inside Australia I would rather go out on a limb and move around outside of Australia to build a reputation to then bring back to Australia.

Spiral - Any advice on seeking positions at a University? I have been asked to tutor shortly in economics, marketing and human resources.

Furthermore, does anyone have an advice on where to seek jobs in the UK or for that reason Europe as a whole. I have friends in Germany, Slovakia and Norway so I am trying to use those as a base.

Thanks again for your help.

[spiral78]

Have sent a pm.