Job Discussion Forums

[nnmartin]

I may come over to Madrid in March to do 6 months Tefl.

Is it possible given that Spain has now one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe?

I'm currently living in Cambodia - life is fine here but I just need to brush up on my Spanish for an on-line course I am taking.

My basic details: I have Celta , but no degree (am currently doing Spanish BA on-line)

I am an EU citizen.

realistic monthly salary? I guess one would need at least 1500 Euros/month?

what is the latest lowdown ? thanks

[Moore]

Unemployment in Madrid is not really a problem in TEFL: there is plenty of work here, even without a degree: your Celta and experience will do just fine.

What is a problem is coming over in March. Basically you would have March/April/May/June to work in, and then not a lot of work for July/August/September, due to summer being a time where work basically shuts down over here.

Also the main recruiting times in Madrid are September/October and January. There will still be work, as there's a lot of it here, but it's not ideal.

That said, you have EU papers, so you could go to the UK over summer, but the lack of degree might become a problem there. There are also summer camps on the Spanish coasts, and you'd be arriving in time to have a look for something there, but it's not massively well paid, and definitely something for the younger, single, party-oriented person.

Hope this doesn't discourage you: there will be work for you here, especially if you're motivated to find it due to wanting to live here in order to study it.


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[jonniboy]

I was worried about the same thing before coming but there's tonnes of work around. In Valencia I get a salary of 1520 net for 24 hours (could have had another six for an extra 360 but that was too many hours and also involved Saturdays) so I'd say that if you've experience you should be able to negotiate more in Madrid where costs are higher. (You can get a room here in Valencia for 150 a month and a studio for 350.)

Your arrival time is, as Moore says, the main problem, though quite honestly I don't think the lack of degree would really matter for summer camp jobs in the UK, I know a couple of people without degrees who do it every year.

[pr455]

jonniboy,

Thanks for your post. It is very helpful.

Unfortunately, there is no negotiation in Madrid. You take the price that the academy gives and every single academy loves to say that they pay competitive rates. I have seen anywhere from 7� - 25� and hour, and still, many places want the person applying with them to be FREELANCE, so that way, the company doesn't have to pay their social security. Of course, if they put you on a contract, your pay is less.

This is not meant to discourage anyone, but looking at advertisements on websites here and in free English language newspapers, it appears that every single academy wants tons of experience, but doesn't want to pay people what they should get for having years of teaching experience. In the end, it is what it is and we just deal with it. This is why I only teach one class with an academy and that's my metro pass and food money. I, personally, couldn't go back to working for an academy and depending on them for the vast majority of my income.

I would like to hear other people's experiences in Madrid, or in another part of Spain to compare stories.

Suerte,

Shawn

[Mrguay84]

[jonniboy]

Yeah that was what I meant but the keyboard slipped

and (*pedantry alert*) it's more like 104 hours, there being 4.3 weeks in a month ...