Job Discussion Forums

jaygarr · Joined: 09 Jan 2004 Posts: 2 Location: Philadelphia

How are the schools out there? I wanna hear good, bad, and really any stories about teaching English in Barcelona ...

thanks
JAY

KidAndMe · Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 7

One of my cousins used to teach English in Barcelona, but is now up in Bilbao -- i can ask my aunt for his email if you are still interested in talking to someone about the place.

let me know,
myra

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Never worked there. But I work with quite a few people who did. They all loved it(for a number of years), but they all left because they couldn't sustain a decent standard of living

PS Have you posted on the Spain board?

johnslat

Same answer as dmb. I had a colleague in Riyadh who'd worked there, and, yes, he loved it but the pay - yeech. That seems to be pretty much a fact of life in the EFL field - the better the place, the worse the pay, and vice versa.
Regards,
John

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Why is this John?
I'm sure most people would agree that the best paid is The ME. Does this mean it is the worst place to teach? (Please say yes. I couldn't go anywhere worse than my current place)

Sorry, I'm just about to answer my own question. If the pay was the same as 'good'places' we wouldn't come.

So, I'll ask a different question. Does anyone know of a league table of the average salary of an EFL teacher country by country? My guess is that KSA would be top, closely followed by other Gulf states. Japan might creep into the top five. But is this because the standard of living is high or the jobs are so crap? (I've never been to Japan. Educate me)

FGT · Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 762 Location: Turkey

If we make a table of comparative salaries, cost of living must be taken into account.
Eg: I earn 7 beers an hour, or 11 hours in the classroom pays the rent on a 2 bedroomed flat for a month. Both true.
Only problem - a fortnight's holiday in UK is 2 months' salary!

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Not a good example. I earn 8 beers a day. Rent is free. Holiday in the UK isn't even a week of work.(Less- the flights are paid)

johnslat · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 11:18 pm Post subject: Temptations

Dear dmb,
That WOULD be a nice thing to have: a table of the average salary of an EFL teacher country by country. But I very much doubt one exists. For one thing, there'd be far too many variables. However, I'd say your guesses are right. As for Japan, well, the salaries can be pretty darn good, but then the cost of living there is also pretty darn high (and I believe most jobs there do NOT provide housing - could be wrong on that one, though). In the Kingdom, you COULD save about 80% (or even more, if you were extremely "thrifty") of your salary, with no taxes and no - or very, very few - bills each month (I had to pay a monthly electric bill that averaged about $20). There just wasn't that much around to spend your hard-earned dollars on. But that's definitely NOT the case in Japan.
Regards,
John
P.S. And yes - I'd say that many/most teachers would consider the Kingdom to be the worst place to "live" and work.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

You had to pay for electricity!!! I know people who would quit if they had to do that.

johnslat · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 11:51 pm Post subject: But free internet access

Dear dmb,
Yup, but on the other hand, I had totally free Internet access from home through the IPA's mainframe - which saved a bunch. And you should see what I'm paying now in the USA for electric each month ( well, it's ony 2 1/2 times as much as I paid in Saudi, but then we've got gas heating), not to mention what the cable Internet connection costs here.
Regards,
John