Job Discussion Forums

[Grimace420]

So I recently discovered http://www.tusclasesparticulares.com/buscar/alumnos.aspx?q=&idsubcategoria=1&idprovincia=33 and thought it might be a good site to find a few private classes. However, instead of using it to find work, I've used it as a source of entertainment with some of the ridiculous offers people make on it. For all the insane obsession with learning English in this country, a lot of folks are really against the idea of paying decently for it or are simply clueless as to what is a good hourly wage (perhaps stemming from the monthly payment of salaries here), but at the same time they demand native speakers due to an apparent mistrust of their own countrymen.

Anyway, I found this offer and thought I'd share it with you:

[johncoan]

Well, he'll find someone, of course. Somewhere there's a TEFLer who'll do the job.

What can you do?

[Mrguay84]

Yeah, that kind of offer is ALMOST normal for where i'm living too. One of the problems is that all the random ex-pats and ERASMUS students seem to be offering English classes too (to make money in their spare time) - and who can blame them, but the problem is that some of them are offering to 'teach' for way below the normally acceptable wage (I've seen one ad in the past that stated 6e an hour - WTF??). So this is kind of bringing the 'standard' down, if you get what I mean.

Unless you're desperate, you just have to stick to your guns (my absolute minimum is 12e an hour, and for kids more, as I HATE them, LOL).

--------------------

Back to that ad though, it's seriously appalling. I mean, even in the worst academy possible in a big class with differing levels and no organisation whatsoever I'd imagine they'd be paying 5e an hour for each child the absolute gutter minimum. So to expect to pay less than 3e an hour for a teacher to come to their house to teach a class of 3.........OMG! All I can say is that the person must have been snorting cocaine around about the time that they posted that ad (this would probably also explain why they can only offer 100e for 15 hours teaching, LOL2).

[pr455]

Yes, I have seen many offers on tusclasesparticulares which were very laughable. We have to realize that it's not people advertising who are bringing the standard down. It is also academies who hire the first thing that comes in looking like it speakers English because they are desperate for teachers and have taken on too many clients. There are many factors involved.

Let's not forget people who are looking for cheap classes as well and get excited when they see someone offering 6� and hour, and when they realize that they are not getting quality, then they bellyache about how bad English teachers are in general in Spain. I have heard it all before and it won't change anytime soon.

I stick to my price of 25� and hour for privates.

Suerte,

Shawn

[jonniboy]

Indeed Shawn, we all have to maintain a certain level otherwise we'll all be working for 6 euro an hour before we know it.

Speaking of laughable job offers, Valencia loquo today has...
"Native English Teacher Required (September 2011 onwards) ...for language school in Almassera, Valencia for the 2011/2012 course (From September onwards). "

Presumably those without a time machine or access to one need not apply.

[ruth.s]

I did 6 months in an academy at 6.60euro per hour for a private class or 7.80 per hour for group classes. I'm actually a little embarrassed to admit I did it for that long.

[posh]

This is pretty wild:-

http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/index.cgi?read=24613

[Grimace420]

Haha, that was a good read. The exaggeratedly romantic descriptions of Madrid and English teaching were funny, plus the many reviews of the program from Americans and other non-EU citizens who just decided they'd go to Spain to do the certificate and were amazingly able to get work with Canterbury English had my bullshit meter going off the scale .

[pr455]

The job offering for Canterbury gets updated every single month. I knew a person who did it and he said that it was OK and that he did end up working for Canterbury after his TEFL course. That is a lot to read. My head was swimming after the first 5 posts.

[spiral78]

[Grimace420]

This guy details the scam many TEFL certificate companies used to sell their certificate to non-EU workers before shrugging their shoulders when it turned out the teachers couldn't get hired legally. I'm shocked that this still appears to happen, even in a supposedly reputable company like Canterbury as evidenced by the fact that not one of non-EU reviews mentions visas or visa issues. As a non-EU citizen who's always worked in Spain legally that would be about the first thing I'd mention with all the hassles it's given me over the years.

[pr455]

I am going to be frank here, this guy is not saying anything new at all and let's face it, salaries are low even for people working here legally. I read his blog with a grain of salt because his post is 4 years old.

I am here in a legal situation, and I still see academies offering 15� an hour and many still say that this is top pay. Let's face it! Academies are asking for years of experience and then say that they pay top Euro. I don't think so.

I just glance blogs like his and besides, I worked with him at GES (Global English School), which is no longer in business.

Shawn

[pr455]

It is not just Canterbury, it it just about al academies that offer TEFL certificates. They take the money and International House, for example, is up front and say that they will not hire anyone without papers, but you can do their course and they take your money.

It all starts with academies and yes, the people who are working under the table are at fault, but only to a certain extent.

Shawn

[spiral78]

I totally get it when people want to take a course somewhere nice like in Spain, even when that's a country where they won't be able to get a legal work permit. Just so long as they are aware that they're not eligible to work legally there, and are only there for the course + up to 60 days (90 day Schengen zone visa), no problem.

The only issue is if/when they are misled by a training centre into thinking that they'll be eligible to work legally with a cert from that centre does it get dodgy.

So International House is probably doing it right. I guess Canterbury, if asked directly, might also 'admit' to a non-EU candidate that they won't be able to get legal papers, but their website is a bit misleading, IMO.

[pr455]

Spiral78,

You are right in what you say. It's the misleading way of advertising that is just wrong. Let's face it.

International House has no problem taking money from people who are not here with the proper working papers, but they make it clear that they can only higher people with their papers in order.

There are still many academies out there who take people without papers and they have no qualms about it. As long as they have a pulse and are a native speaker, they are in, hehe.

Shawn