Job Discussion Forums

[headstone]

Right, so I've done a search on the site and read everything I could find on Vaughn Systems. Some people say it's a good company, while a few others seem to think they're out to rip you off. I'd like to hear from anyone who's actually worked for the company, specifically in Madrid.

In particular, is it true that, as a beginner, you will be given classes all over town that will keep you out of your apartment from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., even though you'll only be paid for working about fifteen hours per week? Also, I know you have to pay your own social security, but will this really cost a minimum of 230 euros per month? Are there other taxes to pay on top of this? Together with rent and transport and food (I'm not talking about eating out), is this going to end up costing more than you earn in the sixty hours of work you're supposedly guaranteed from the start?

As for the teaching itself, I've read both that you're required to use a book they give you and that you're given virtually no supplies. Which is it?

Any answers would be appreciated.

[lindarose]

With respect to the query about Vaughan Systems, hey there is no "system". My best advice is not to get involved with this organization. Like most Madrid language academies it is a popularity contest, that is, do they like you, are you a good entertainer, are you young, are you pretty, etc. This isn't TESOL, Inc. I am talking about. I do my best not to post any defamatory remarks to any internet site and it is best if I don't do so now.
About the money, you might do okay for a few months, then get the rug yanked out from under by a secretary screaming at you for some reason unbeknownst to you. Nobody cares what happens to you on the job site, if client complaints are justified (most are not), but you will suffer. There are quite a few people in Madrid with almost the same unpleasant experiences with this organization. Don't do it.
If you are a trained teacher, that is, really trained well with a degree in teaching, maybe you could view this as a training session. But a horrible one.
About the cost of living in Madrid, it is expensive. The Euro killed us. Rentals are in short supply in the center, and are prohibitive. You will probably have to share. That's fun, isn't it.
Look at it this way, if you are in Madrid for a good time for a short time, okay, do what you have to to get by. But if you want a professional experience, very hard to come by.

[Rock2134]

Vaughan systems is okay, but in the end you'll be made sick by the amount of money they're making and how little they want to share it with you, or give you any form of security. At first the wage seems good, but when you start factoring in social security and travel and no holiday pay and all the rest, you begin to realize that it's just a regular Spanish wage.

However, as teaching English is such a bad job, and there's far worse out there, Vaughan's probably not so bad.

Ciao

[MAP Magazine]