Job Discussion Forums

[Porthleven]

Have just finished my CELTA and am interested in teaching in Portugal. How far does the salary go? Is it possible to save any money? Am thinking of applying to the Cambridge College. What are they like?

Whats the lifestyle like?

Has anybody taught in both Turkey and Portugal? Where did you prefer, and why? Wheres better money? Which place has the best lifestyle?

Just looking for any general info, thoughts or recommendations - thank you!

[melancia]

Hi I used to work in Portugal, and the salary wasn't bad. I got around 1100 euros, my rent was 300 so I was left with a decent amount. It was defintely possible to save money.
I used to work for Cambridge School, they're not bad. The hours are quite good there, as it's 22 hours, and I never had split shifts as they tend to do a lot in Spain.
The lifestyle is relaxing, general pottering about drinking coffees, Lisbon is pretty relaxing, and the weather's good. Also there's lots of nice beaches not too far away. Lisbon isn't as lively as Spain, but it's got a lot going for it.

[peterinlisbon]

I wouldn't recommend Portugal at all. I have been to many places: Italy, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and this is by far the worst. Although on the face of it you would think that it is a good place to be (good weather, pretty girls, relatively cheap), once you've been here a while you will realise that you've made a mistake.

Wages are a disgrace: 10� per hour. Transport is terrible - you might have to wait 25 minutes for a bus and the metro network is very limited. Private classes are impossible - nobody is interested, in fact they don't even understand what a private class is, they just phone up and ask if you are a language school. Plus you have to pay to put adverts in the newspaper.

In any case Portuguese people hardly bother with English classes, they think that they know it all already. And the worst aspect for me is the people themselves. They are dull, boring people to teach. They think they know everything. In Portugal everything is about hierarchy and so business types think they are above everyone else and are often rude and superior.

People in general are very closed minded, unfriendly and permanently miserable. Nobody is interested in getting to know a foreigner. It is as if you are invisible. Service is always rude and impersonal. If someone serving you actually smiles or shows any facial expression at all, it�s almost certain that they are Brazilian.

You may think I'm being excessively negative but I wish that someone had warned me before I came. I would have gone somewhere else. It�s a great place for a holiday (with friends) but you wouldn't want to be here alone because the people will just make you feel unwelcome.