Job Discussion Forums

[robinnn]

Coming home from Japan in May, gotta wait until September to start CELTA in UK, looking for any teaching work in Spain for just 1 - 2 months with accomodation. Looked online but can only find volunteer projects that last a week. Any ideas would be great.

[robinnn]

Also, would looking for work in Jan 2013 be a waste of time? By the way, I have a British passport and 5 years teaching experience in Asia.

[Grimace420]

Which months exactly? And which city or cities are you thinking of moving to?

Actually, January is the second best time of the year to look for work after September as many positions open up due to people leaving and the demand increasing with Spaniards signing up for English classes.

[robinnn]

June and July. Anywhere in the country. I would eventually like to work in Madrid. Good to know about January.

[Grimace420]

Would you not have enough money to survive the summer months without an income? Don't count on earning anything close to a full salary (which in English teaching is generally below average here anyway) in June and less so in July.

When you say with accommodation, do you mean an English teaching gig that provides housing? That's pretty rare, except in some summer camps if they're out of town.

In late June and July there are summer camps, though these tend to be for the desperate among us as I understand it. There are both in-city "camps" where you just supervise kids while they do various activities and others where you might end up in the countryside, lasting for as little as a week or sometimes 3-4 weeks. I've got no experience with these.

Another option would be to go to English tutoring places like Acadomia in Madrid which can get you a lot of classes quickly. However, you'd mostly be teaching either kids who failed English during the year and are going to take a make-up exam in September or adults who are stuck working in shitty jobs while everyone else is about to go on holiday and think learning English will improve their prospects. Ha. Plus they charge their clients almost double what they pay you, meaning they're in the business of being middlemen.

My advice would be to put off moving to Spain until it's closer to peak hiring season (September) unless you have substantial savings to live off, otherwise it could be an interesting summer for you to say the least.

[robinnn]

Thanks for the info!

[SirKirby]

There's lots of summer camp work, though you maximise your chances of finding it by actually being here.

(I'd disagree and say that January is possibly the third best time to find work, as July is the second best, not to be looking, you need to look before that to land the job, but it's a time of the year when there's extra work, which can also be a way to get into a school and/or to make contacts.

(To find summer camp work, I'd suggest being here early June, and hopefully landing work for July and August. Madrid and Barcelona are possibly the places where you'll find the most demand, though many camps are outside those two cities.)

[daniel_hayes]

Very interesting thread. I also want to do summer camps in Spain during July and August, and then hope to start work, either in Madrid or Valencia, in September.

Where should I look for Summer Camps? When do they start recruiting, and finally, is it possible to work throughout July and August?

I know that i would almost certainly find a 'better' job in Madrid, but I am also interested in Valencia.

In terms of finding the best possible job for September, when should I start sending out my CV? I don't want it to be TOO early, but I want to get in quick!

[SirKirby]

I saw the first ad for a summer camp the other day and people recruit right through to last minute placements in June (but dont wait until then).

Not always easy to work the whole summer: July is busiest and it then starts to slack off in August. Virtually no summer camps run into September, that I'm aware of, as (regular) schools now go back much earlier than they once did.

For September (do you mean October, which is when language schools really begin?), best time is early September, but be here on the spot (and don't expect to get your first pay check until the end of October, ie end of your first month).

Don't say "Madrid or Valencia": take work wherever you can find it if it's a first job in Spain. You can afford to be picky afterwards, not before.

[robinnn]

Thanks again for all the input!