Job Discussion Forums

[scienceordivine]

As the title says I have a BA in English and History, an MA in International Relations and a 100hour online tefl ( i know these are hardly worth the paper they are written on) I have no teaching experience except tutoring.
I'm 24 and Irish.

My question is this, with the saturated market, economic downturn and lack of experience what are my chances of going over to Spain and landing a Job within a month if I arrive in mid September?

I would have approx �3000 behind me but once that runs out i'd be flat broke unemployed and back home to join the dole queue.

I know this can be done easily in Thailand which is my second option but i'd prefer Spain. What do you experienced people think?

Also what cities would you advise has the best chance of getting a tefl job, Madrid?

[Moore]

You'll be fine: your MA will be very interesting for company classes, and may also lead into a "real" job once you've got a bit of Spanish going. An online TEFL is better than none at all: many holders of more recognised qualifications say it didn't really prepare them for the reality of the job anyway.

3000 is plenty of walking-around-money, and you're coming at exactly the right time of year (and if it did go horribly wrong, I'd rather be skint in Spain than in Bangkok!).

Start yourself off in Madrid, there's a lot more work here: then you can look into smaller cities later from a stronger position.



_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires...

[scienceordivine]

Thanks for the reply!
I'm leaning more towards Spain now really. I want to learn Spanish, a little closer to home and instead of spending a thousand on flights to Thailand i can hop across the pond for 100 and have another month worth of money to live off.

What would you recommend accommodation wise? Should i try and get a place before a job so it looks, to employers, like i'm more committed and stable or is it best to use Hostels till i get a position?

[Moore]

The first thing you have to do is get a local mobile phone (Pay-as-you-go thing) and get it onto your cv: the numbers start with a "6" and once you have one of those schools know you're here and can get hold of you whenever they need you. All you need is a passport for ID (works for non-EU people too) and then go down to the centre and get one from "Phone House" who carry phones from all the operators or there are other shops dedicated to their own brands too - Vodafone, Movistar (Telefonica) and Orange. If you want to switch to a contract later the operator will let you migrate your number, but it does involve an 18 month contract.

Hostels are a great way of meeting similar people (there are a lot of people arriving in the same position early September) and then you have a social life when you move into your own place (or more likley shared flat to start with) - I'm still in touch with several people I met when I arrived here 7 years ago and one of them is my best mate here. That said, you'll only be able to bear stinky hippies for a couple of weeks before a nice flat starts looking like heaven on earth.

It's fairly easy to find a room in a shared flat: try LoQuo (huge) or my site LingoBongo. Go for central, and not too far from the main arterial metro line 1.




_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires...

[zrazzle2]

I notice that annoyingly Loquo has barred users not in Spain from accessing their website now!

Our apologies, LoQUo is not available in your country.

Lo sentimos pero LoQUo no est� disponible para tu pa�s.

Ho sentim per� LoQUo no est� disponible per al teu pa�s.

[Moore]

It has to be said, LoQuo was getting too full up of scammers: the only way sites can really filter them out is manually and regularly. It's a shame becuase LoQuo is an excellent site.

Still, the only way to be sure of getting a decent flat (and a decent job) is to be on the ground here, so make sure you bring a cheapy netbook pc with you so you can make a start as soon as you arrive.



_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires...

[ElliotW]

yea i just noticed that about loquo.com too! really frustrating as although there was quite a bit of spam, it was really useful for finding accomodation! any other similar sites people can recommend?
Moore you always seem to have useful information, thanks!
Im in kind of a similar situation - graduate with good degree from the UK, speak spanish and looking to do tefl for a year or so.. "many holders of more recognised qualifications say it didn't really prepare them for the reality of the job anyway. " this part is a bit worrying! can you expand on that a bit?
i thought that celta would be the way to go really? Also it might be a bit of a disservice to the students if i had not done a good tefl course to learn teaching skills, but any thoughts appreciated!

[Moore]

Basically it's a case of CELTA vs. TEFL (online or otherwise) vs. Nothing

Of course a CELTA is ideal: it will set you in good stead and put you at the top of the resum� pile, but there are a lot of people who don't have the time/inclination/cash to be able to do one.

There is a definite hierarchy debate of what qualification is better than the other which you can find in the General and Newbie sections, but CELTA seems to be up there at the top.

If you do have one then brilliant - go for it and it will give you an "in" at any academy, in most cities in the world, which is essentially the best thing about ESL teaching: the whole stick-a-pin-in-a-map-and-go thing.

If you don't have a CELTA or other qualification, then you have to highlight other qualities: good presentation, great attitude, uni degree, business/work experience, teaching experience, languages spoken, working papers etc. etc.





_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires...

[ElliotW]

Thanks again for a useful insight moore!
Yes i see what you mean about CELTA, and i think if im going to do it, i should try and do the best one! The phrase 'buy cheap buy twice' comes to mind..i don't want to arrive in Spain and find i can't get a good job as my qualification isnt accepted in many places! What are you thoughts on the weekend courses such as from i-to-i?

I lived in Sevilla for a year last year on Erasmus and loved it,but now thinking of Madrid or Barcelona. So do you think someone like my self, English guy with a good degree, speaks spanish and if i had a CELTA would be able to find good work without much trouble? Thanks!
(scienceordivine - sorry if seems im hijacking the thread..hopefully others will find these answers useful too!)

[Moore]

Spain is a funny one in terms of qualifications: although there are good schools out there (British Council, International House, etc.), the general standard here for schools, teachers, facilities, support etc. is fairly poor. Added to that, it is extremely rare to find a year-round contract.

This means that someone like yourself could probably get away with a lesser course, if all you want to do is stay here for the nine month teaching season: all you need is some sort of idea of what to do and you'll be ok.

If you plan to teach for longer, and in other countries, then do a CELTA: it makes the investment worthwhile.

People who stay here long term tend to end up working for themselves giving high quality private classes, so qualifications beyond degree level mean less, and experience and language skills count for much more.

This is by no means to denegrate CELTA courses: they are a solid and worthwhile investment, but one that might not pay off if all you want to do is 9 months of living, working, language learning and light partying in Spain, which quite frankly is what at least half the teachers do here.

They are expensive things though: the course cost itself (2000 euros-ish) plus the time living in whatever city while you do them, basically you're looking at 3000 euros, on top of which you then need about 3000 euros of "walking-around-money" for when you arrive.

I'm afraid it's one of those impossible to answer "how long is a piece of string" questions: you should maybe try the Newbie and General forums, but those threads do tend to end up a bit argumentative and circular.

Essentially you have to ask yourself how long you realistically intend to teach for, and how many countries you'd ultimately like to live in: it does get quite addictive, so if you think there is more than a 50% chance of you wanting to teach beyond this coming year, and have the cash and time, then do one, if not, perhaps you should keep the 3000 euros in a bank account to use in emergencies, or to spend on a CELTA after you've tried it out for a year with a basic one (I have no idea at all about those i-to-i ones)

In terms of work prospects, Madrid is the best, followed by Barcelona. All other cities are a lot harder to get established in (though cheaper and quite possibly just as much fun)


_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires...

[JudiSpecht]

Hi Moore, once again you are a wealth of information. And you are beginning to sway me from my decision to move to Italy and instead hit Spain!!

Scienceordivine - I am in a similar situation to you! Im heading over after the start of October (have to spend some time with family first) and am armed with a TEFL cert (4 week course, teaching practice included on mine), 6 months experience teaching 900+ students in Thailand (oh the joy of Thai government schools), two uni degrees and a little savings to back me up!

I'm confused about which Spanish city to try first but Madrid seems to be coming up tops for slightly lower living costs than Barcelona and possibly better opportunities to find work than in smaller towns as I dont speak (but really want to learn!) Spanish....

We should join forces - could support each other through the initial lonely times in a new city!! What do you say? Haha! I'm trying to PM you but I have to make 5 posts in the forum first hehe and as a newby I dont have 5 yet!

Judi
*_*