Job Discussion Forums

[LAS1969]

Hello, I work in a reputable private language school in Spain and have signed what I assume is a standard contract from mid September through to June.
However, due to one thing and another I have absolutely come to hate the school I'm teaching in and want to leave at the end of this term

I'm not normally a quitter but I'm really struggling to find the motivation to go to work everyday.

My question is this: how much notice do I have to give? I cannot find any mention of this on my contract and I am aware that as private teachers we come under one of the groups of convenios (sp) but am finding it difficult to find any information to assist me. Obviously I don't want to ask my employer. In hindsight I should have asked when I signed the contract but didn't think it would be an issue!

Any advice/knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

[spiral78]

I'd suggest offering to work up to the winter break, thus giving them until the new year to find a replacement. If you can take it another month or so!!

[LAS1969]

Thanks, that's basically what I was thinking of doing. I just need to make sure that it's ok to give one months notice as you would do in the UK.

[spiral78]

I doubt they'll be happy but it's traditional that some teachers don't return from the winter holidays, with or without advance notice, so I expect they should be OK with it.

Hopefully, anyway!

do let us know how it goes

[LAS1969]

Thanks, I will certainly let you know

[jamesart9]

Hi you are not alone, I am also not enjoying my job, I originally needed part time work as I have other means of income but at the last minute I found a full time job and thought it would be ok. This job feels like slavery for me.

So therefore, my job has taken away my other income for now
I am going to think about handing my notice in too and hopefully finding some private tuition.

I enjoy giving the lessons, I just don't like the setup of the school.
I am in a fairly populated part of Spain,
cannot say where due to obvious reasons.
Could anyone tell me if its unreasonable to expect to be able to bring in about 100 euros per week from private tuition if I market/advertise myself well? That is all I need at the moment as my other work brings in the rest.
Thanks!

[Grimace420]

Drop it like it's hot I say. When I worked on the language assistants' programme in bilingual primary schools for two years, apparently something like a quarter of the participants stopped showing up after Christmas. 2 out of the 5 auxiliares at my school did that during the year, but my school and some of the teachers working there were admittedly pretty bad and I can't say I wasn't tempted to join them at times. Anyway, I get the impression that in English teaching it's not an uncommon thing for people to just ditch their jobs here.

[pr455]

Well, I am going to put in my two cents here. Let's face it. English teaching is a joke in Spain, in general, especially when it comes to working for academies. The salaries are low when compared to what we have to pay out in personal expenses. It doesn't matter if you live in a smaller town, you still have to work your ass off to be able to save anything.

I say quit the job and make yourself happy. No need to be frustrated in life because you are working a job that you can't stand.

Suerte,

Shawn

[Mauricio Saenz]

Looking at all these comments on how teaching English in Spain tends not to be a great experience I thought you can give further suggestions or opinion on how this came to be. I'm planning to move to Spain in August and thought about teaching English as my way to get in as a temporary job.

However, as I've been reading comments from this forum and some other places, I'm giving it second thoughts as I really don't want to live a bad experience and regreting making this change in my life.

I hope you can give your perspectives on this as I really want to take a wise decision. Learning from someone else's experiences is a good way to prevent big mistakes.

Thanks in advance!!

[pr455]

Mauricio,

No one is saying the English teaching is bad in Spain, you just have to find a niche that works for you. Many people work for academies and give privates as well. You have to remember that everyone's experiences are different in life. There are some good academies out there. You just have to find them.

For example, now that I am working in a charter school and doing teacher training, my life is great. I only teach one class for an academy and it's based in Barcelona. He always pays on time and he is great with communication, answering emails and phone class.

It also depends on your legal situation as well. If you are not here with the proper working papers, you are at the mercy of academies who only hire people in an irregular situation. These are all things to think about.

Suerte,

Shawn

[Grimace420]

Hi Mauricio,

I see from another post that you already speak Spanish as your native language, have Spanish citizenship and have a job that pays well. Would I leave a well paying job just to go to another country where I wasn't going to get much benefit in terms of learning another language and for a reduced and probably inconsistent salary? Probably not, but it's up to you at the end of the day. If you fall in love with Barcelona (which I see is where you're planning to live) it may be worth it.

My advice would be to bring what I call an "FU fund" (okay, I stole the term from Tom Leykis) so that if anything happens that you don't like (bad job, bad boss, people rip you off, you need to get out of the country quickly due to drug debts, etc) you can put up your middle finger and ditch everything on the spot. Poor English teachers without said fund often end up having to tolerate stuff they don't like. If you can manage that, I'd say take the risk. Who knows? You may get all the breaks and everything may turn out great.

[pr455]

Good advice, Grimace. I always tell people to follow their dreams and see where they take them. For example, I am not earning as much money as I would like living here in Madrid, but I am happy. I know of many people who are too afraid to do what I am doing because they want stability in life and choose to be cautious. That's fine. Everyone in life has a different path.

Shawn

[Mauricio Saenz]

Shawn: Thanks for the reply. I'm convinced I want to go to Spain as it's been always been a dream to develop myself as an artist in an art-friendlier environment. I know there's always a risk for things to go different than you expected but it's probably worth taking it.

Now, how likely you think it would be for a Native-level speaker with a Spanish nationality to get a decent job in Barcelona or Madrid in September, not to forget with US English?

Grimace: Thanks to you likewise. I also think following a dream is something it should be done in life as it one of the main reasons why we're for. I'm already tired of my lifestyle in Texas and don't really care too much about losing a well-paid job and rather be happy even if the salary isn't the greatest thing. I always tend to do things for the passion I have for them rather than the money. I just feel like a need a change in my life.

What would you suggest to be a better city to find a job as an English teacher, Madrid or Barcelona? How about to live in?

Thanks to both of you; I really appreciate your opinions and take them into consideration.

Hope we can continue this feedback as I'm getting a better idea of what it's like to teach English in Spain and I'm coming to have more info to take a good decision.

Saludos a los dos!!

[jamesart9]

Hi Mauricio,
I am an artist.
My mistake was to find a TEFL job with full time hours.
I found a full time job like this with split shifts, I could not have enough time to produce my artworks. This was a fatal mistake for me over the last two months.

I am looking for part time work or enough private lessons now as I
make enough through art and design work online to top this up.
So my advice is to find a job that has part time hours,
I have full time hours, every morning 9am split shifts and mostly working until 930 pm.

As a temporary measure, I find teaching English is an enjoyable thing. However, I do not like the feeling of being in a factory production line where only the money matters and less time is spared for preparing the lesson and being able to teach how the CELTA taught me and not a school
methodology. I also question why I am working full time hours and only taking home what would be a minimal salary in the UK. Yes I know everyone keeps telling me in Spain this is a good salary.
So what, does that mean I have to be the same as everyone else here!

Hope this may help,
James.
p.s. Do you beleive Spain is really that artist friendly? I find London for example a good place for art contacts.

[pr455]

Mauricio,

I can speak for Madrid. I have never been to Barcelona, but I know that I will go there one day.

In Madrid you can expect split shifts, for example:

8:00 - 10:00
14:00 - 16:00
18:00 - 21:00

This is just an example and is not anything set in stone. My schedule used to look like this from 2003 - 2006. You may have to work with multiple academies as well because it is hard to find one that will give you a full timetable. Get ready to spend time on the metro as well, although with many companies, you can find block hours. You can also give private classes to supplement your income and have them pay you in cash every week and that way you always have money in your hand.

Here is what my schedule looks like now:

16 HOURS - Charter School
9 HOURS - Private University
1 HOUR - Company Class
VARIOUS HOURS - Teacher training

As you can see, I have 26 set hours, but the majority of my time is teaching in a charter school where I am just the language assistant and give the speaking and listening part of the class. I like the variety and every place where I teach is very close to my house. Please remember, that I am not the typical example of an English teacher here in Madrid because I have broken away from teaching for academies, except for the one hour that I have on Thursdays.

As far as your nationality goes, you should be fine. People are more concerned with your English-speaking abilities, rather than your name or nationality. Although, to forewarn you, there are many Spaniards here in Madrid who do not want a teacher who doesn't have a native speaker name. these are very few people and this should not cause you to be worried at all.

I say give it a go and also listen to what jamesart9 has said on this thread as well. As you can see, you can find a full-time job, but do you really want that right away or are you fine with starting out with less that 20 hours? These are questions that you have to answer.

jamesart9,

I can understand what you say about what you are earning is a good salary according to people, but as you realize, salaries in Spain are very low, so if anyone realizes that you are making above a certain amount, well, that's a good salary. Here's an example, beginning teachers in a public school make 1400� a month and that's a good salary for Madrid, especially if you share a flat, divide all expenses, don't have a car or any other bills to pay and you too can live like a king.

I also see adverts for jobs where people have to work 40 hours and the pay is 900� after taxes. I have to do a double take on those and wonder HOW. Hope this gives you some insight into the salary thing.

Suerte,

Shawn