Job Discussion Forums

[Coatsey]

Hi all,

I know quite a lot about Wall Street from my time in China, but could someone please give me some info about the salaries paid in Italy. I noticed that the Bari branch is looking to recruit, but I'm not sure about making an application. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[Teacher in Rome]

In my area of Italy, Wall Street are on the low paying side. In fact, I worked out with a student the other day that he's paying about 7 euro an hour for lessons in his monthly membership. Admittedly, some of those hours are in front of a computer, but they advertise on price, so...

Most work is in the evenings. Of course, that might mean you can supplement it with better paying work at other times.

[Coatsey]

Thanks a lot. Any idea what the basic salary (net) is per month; based upon the thirty contact hours they always quote? Just another query ... Do Italian schools normally keep you sweating very long on a reply, if you're applying from outside of the country. I'm in the UK.

[Teacher in Rome]

I'd assume no more than 10 euro an hour, so 1200 - 1500 gross a month - if you're lucky. You'd lose at least 30% of that as a contract worker. If you cleared 1000 euro a month, that would be sort of OK. Are they offering anything else? Shared flat, utilities paid?

Italian employers won't make you a priority if you're outside Italy, though for Wall Street they might be short of teachers. Peak hiring season has just passed, so it's also possible they're waiting to see if they have lots of students and need another teacher.

You'll always be in a better position if you're in situ.

Why Bari? It isn't the nicest place in the south. Brindisi is arguably nicer, but other towns in the region (ie Lecce) are gorgeous. Just a thought...

[Coatsey]

No reason for Bari. I was just fishing a bit, that's all. You told me what I need to know, so thanks for that. I've only applied for a couple of better paying jobs teaching Business English; one with Lingurama (being in Rome, maybe you know a bit about them?) and the other is with a company called RedZefiro, who are based in Bolzano. Only applied in the last few days for both, but heard zilch so far. My situation is this: I've just taken a year out to do an MA, after teaching for eight years in China. I have a CELTA and bags of experience, so just need the opportunity to get my foot in the door (ie, an interview) to get me started again. China would be an easy call to make, so I thought I'd test the waters a little before I jumped in again. Italy appeals for all the cliche reasons. Nothing wrong with that, right? I moved a little late on (my applications) account of my dissertation at Uni. So, when in Rome (which you are), what would you do? Sorry about that; I just couldn't resist. Thanks again.

[Teacher in Rome]

Reasonable assumption to make, but I'm not actually in Rome any more!

Linguarama don't pay very well either. I heard that British School are hiring, but not sure which school in the chain. Other all year round hirers are British Institutes.

Why not come over to Italy, choose a rough destination, and apply from here?

[Wiganesi]

Just chirping in to the Bari vs. Lecce debate...

Bari's a great city. Alright it might not have the baroque architecture of Lecce; but it is a lot bigger +has a charm of it's own. There has been recent regeneration of the centre and Bari vecchia; which is a great place to go in the evenings nowadays. There's a lot of trees and it is relatively graffiti free in the centre of town which marks it out in the south. What's more you're in a great location for exploring the rest of Puglia; with excellent transport links to outside (Rome in 3 hours iirc.) What's more if you're interested in other countries the aiirport has economical flights to beautiful places in less than an hour (eg. Corfu, Mostar,) making weekend trips abroad easy.

Cuisine in the whole of Puglia is commonly thought to be amongst the best in Italy. Obviously the region is considerably cheaper than the north; but, for a southern region, it it relativity affluent. I'd say you could live very well there.

I better come out and admit that I have family origins from Bari, so my opinions may be a bit biased! If you want cliche Italian; Bari will not disappoint!

[Teacher in Rome]

Fair enough Wiganesi! I think the OP should come and have a look him/her self...

I'd definitely agree with you on the cuisine. In fact, I ttink Puglia is a fab region for lots of reasons. Great food, spectacular scenery, really nice people. Small towns can have a lovely feel too.

The hospitals on the other hand... I went to one this summer with the son of a friend who wasn't feeling well. The plaster was falling from the walls, the insides were filthy and equally crumbling. They were out of basic equipment. It was, frankly, an utter disgrace to a supposedly first-world country.

This is perhaps one of the biggest problems in deciding where to live in Italy. There's no uniform standard of health, security or education. I guess that's similar to the UK, but honestly, the hospital I'm talking about was out of a horror film. You would not want to wake up there after an op.

[Aimer]

Hi there,

I live in Lecce and absolutely love it but despite the local rivalry (!!!) I'm more than happy to speak up for Bari too. It is a lot bigger city (biggest city on the South apart from Naples I think) so is a very different vibe and of course has it's scruffy areas on the outskirts - but that is true everywhere in Italy. The city has transformed in recent years and I think the centre is great and it should be a good place to live.
In terms of salary Italian schools nearly always quote in terms of net salary. I'd expect a minimum of 1,000 euros for a full time contract but much over that is unlikely. 30 hours teaching sounds a lot but it sounds like you are used to their methods and working practices.
In Lecce 1,000 euros salary is fine to have a good quality of life and this should be true in Bari too although perhaps it is slightly more expensive for rent and day to day costs, though not hugely I wouldn't have thought.