Job Discussion Forums

[etoile]

Hi folks,
I was wondering would it be difficult for me to try find a decent job with no degree?
I have spent 2 years in uni studying French and Spanish and I do have plans to go back at some stage but at the moment I want to spend a year or 2 in Spain.
I will do a 4 week TEFL course maybe the CELTA but will this be enough?
I'll probably be looking for work in Valladolid because my boyfriend studies there.
Oh yeah and i'm an EU citizen.
So what do you think are my chances!?

[Moore]

Your chances are excellent: an EU visa and French and Spanish. Just say you're having a year out.

The only thing I'm not sure about is how big the market is in Valladolid: there's not a lot of industry up there and I'm not sure how much demand there's be for a teacher, so you'd probably have to go down the private classes route, which is very unpredictable and often involves being a pseudo-babysitter for adolescents. You'd have a lot more possibilities if you could persuade your boyfriend to move to Madrid which is only an hour and a half south.

Valladolid is a lovely little town though so it'd be worth seeing if there was some sort of market there.


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[SirKirby]

I'd say that the lack of a degree isn't going to be much of a factor, assuming you interview well, etc.

I've not been to Valladolid for 25 years so I'm not really qualified to say, but if you've got an interest in living there, I'd look there first, rather than Madrid.

I'd imagine that it's a much less popular destination than somewhere like Madrid (or Barcelona). There might be less demand for English teachers, but chances are there is less supply, as fewer people want to be there.

The same applies to other smaller, apparently less "attractive" Spanish cities.

(For anyone without proper papers, you might also consider that... A school in a less "touristy" sort of place might HAVE to take you as you're the only candidate... Something which is certainly the case in towns and cities outside Barcelona...)

[etoile]

OK thanks for your help, i'll have to look into it further but i think if i'm not in Valladolid i'd prefer to work in the south.

[SirKirby]

You want to maximise your chances of finding work, don't be tied to any one location...

February isn't the best time of the year for finding a teaching job (September is always best, before the school year begins...) so it's not a great time to be too choosey.

[jonniboy]

If you're an EU native speaker you really only need to have a pulse to land a job. In all honesty, CELTA really isn't necessary given the demand but is strongly recommended especially since you're starting out. Towns like Valladolid do have a demand for English teaching. My friend taught up that way in Burgos and said that there was always plenty of work, due to less competition although it wasn't the most exciting place to live.

Have a look on www.loquo.com in the valladolid section as there are a couple of teaching jobs currently being advertised there.

[SirKirby]

[mdk]

I am walking the "Via de la plata" and something I saw as I was walking out of Merida might throw some light.

It was one of those things one finds on a telephone pole with phone numbers you tear off along the bottom. It said " Lecciones de Ingles Particulares" and etc., etc., I think it had one of those little pictures you can find on the internet of a nice man talking on a telephone.

Valladolid is a decent sized city and I have no doubt there are lots of people there who want to take English lessons. The question is how long would you have to wait to develop a business and whether you can make a living or at least enough to pay for your time. This is true of any decently sized city I have ever seen in Spain, and I have seen those along the Camino Frances and now the Camino del Sur.

Logrono is a nice place. It wasn�t very far from Valladolid.

Good luck.

[etoile]

Well thanks for your help but it looks like i'll delay my trip until i'm finished my degree. Just another year and a half!