Job Discussion Forums

[Skipp]

I'd really love to teach in a Spanish speaking country, for the language, the culture and to experience something new. I've considered and would go to Latin America, but as a single woman with no travelling experience (though I'm off to Berlin in May and making plans), I thought Spain would be a good first place?

I'll be getting a CELTA soon and may see if I can volunteer with it, perhaps with refugees or a charity to get experience. I'm also planning on Spanish lessons.

I don't really know where to go in the country... I like culture, I'd rather be somewhere with nice weather (baring in mind I live in the UK and most places are 'nice' to me) and somewhere safe... I like to spend my spare time reading, walking, keeping fit, listening to music, exploring cultures and going to cafes...

Any advice on a good place to start? I don't mind working hard, or long hours... But I'd like to have at least one day off a week to sight-see and chill out I'd probably fly home during summer and do bar work..

Edit: How much would I need to save? I was thinking �4-6k?

[rob01]

I started off in Madrid, and I would recommend it to anybody starting off (I have since taught in Mexico, which is a lot more `hardcore`). Madrid has a lot of work, options and the potential to earn fairly decent money if you are prepared to put in the hours (most teachers in Madrid would earn between 1100-1600 per month). With a CELTA you should have no problems at all picking up work in somewhere like Madrid; you just need good timing.. September-October or January are good times to do it, you may struggle at other times. This is just because courses generally start at these times of the year, however it certainly is not impossible to pick up work at other times of the year-just more difficult (and I would a lot more cash in reserve if you go in an `off peak` month) . If you dont like the sound of Madrid (a big metropolis with all the hustle and bustle that goes with it, but lots of work and a nice cafe culture), you could try Barcelona (possibly slightly more expensive and probably a little less work, but more beautiful than Madrid), Valencia-smaller than the `big two`, but with a decent amount of work and a beach, or Pais Vasco (Bilbao, Santander.. potentially good money and decent living costs but it might not tick your box for somewhere hot, its really UK weather; think rain and greenery), or you could try the south; Andaluz..ie seville, which is very hot, with a bit of work and a lot of fun, but not great money - All of these places will tick your box for walking, keeping fit, music, culture, cafe.. por eso me gusta espa�a!

I have only taught and lived for any period of time in Madrid, but I can tell you that most people work a 20-30 hour schedule, and most work is paid by the hour; which can be anything from 13-25 Euros per hour. Most teachers have the weekends off, some teachers work Saturdays for a few hours and nobody works Sunday (Nothing happens on Sunday in Spain, and nothing is open ). For summer, you may consider looking into residential courses, this involves living in summer camps teaching kids and young people for a few weeks at a time.. for which you could be paid anything from 400-600 a week, which includes food and board.

To be honest; 4-6,000 GBP sounds excessive. I did it with 1k (not including the certification fees).. but 2k for the first month would be more comfortable. Think about the following expenses;

-hostel/hotel for a week or two whilst looking for a place to live.. 30-50 euros per night.
-rent (from 300-500 a month for a room in the centre), if your trying to find your own apartment, youll need atleast 700 to get anywhere near the centre. If you are not a party animal then try to look at surrounding suburbs, you may find a whole apartment for 400 in somewhere slightly removed from the centre, or a room for as little as 250. But if you like to party, then you will want to be in the centre of the action.
-factor desposit into this, which will usually be a months rent or possibly two months if you are renting an entire apartment
-living costs, depends on you.. but you should be thinking of at least 100-200 euros per week in your first month and that is very very modest.

I hope this helps, good luck!

[Skipp]

People can live on 20-30 hours a week??? Does this include preparing lessons and marking?

Did you go to Spain with no experience and has there been a significant decline in jobs due to the recession?

[Grimace420]

When people talk about the number of hours they teach, they generally don't include anything other than the actual class time from start to finish. I teach 22 hours a week, but in reality it's probably more like 35-40 hours of work (including travelling, preparation, looking for new material or adapting it to different levels, etc). Recycling what you have already used helps a lot. I've got a couple of pen drives full of about 5 years' worth of private lessons which I can always fall back on to help reduce preparation and make my hourly rate seem better.

There's been a significant decline in the number of jobs for Spaniards in general. Conditions are bad, the salaries for educated workers are terrible, and youth unemployment especially is through the roof. The national pastime is complaining about it, yet not that many are prepared to vote with their feet and up sticks to somewhere else with low unemployment and more opportunities.

However, for English teachers there are opportunities galore. From "bilingual" schools looking for native language assistants to academies to private classes, work is easy to get.

[jonniboy]

One advantage of Valencia is that start up costs and overall costs here are a bit lower. You can rent a room for 150 and I pay 350 a month for a studio in the old town. Another advantage is that because the city is smaller and more compact, you can get everywhere on foot avoiding the need to pay for metro and bus tickets. It also has better weather than the big two.

[rob01]

Grimace is right that people generally talk about the `contact hours` - a new teacher will find themselves doing quite a bit of prep work, but once you have done it for awhile this becomes less and less. To be honest after a few years of teaching, my prep work is minimal- once you have taught the same grammar point a few times, it becomes easier.

When I worked in Madrid, I found half of my time spent in the classroom and the other half on the Metro. To be honest, I would be hesitant about going back to a city like Madrid if it meant running around the city all day, it gets really tiring after awhile. My Mon-Fri schedule pretty much meant 7am-9pm, most of the time spent running around the city. Im all about the smaller cities now; everything is walkable, the pace of life is slower, people are friendlier and generally more open and your salary tends to go further. I made 1500-1600 euros most months with a 25-28 hour schedule in Madrid, but after you take into account rent (370 euros), bills (50-70ish), metro pass (55) and the cost of eating on the go all day (10-15 euros a day) the rest quickly goes on entertainment, if thats your thing (meal in a decent restaurant-15-25, cocktail in a decent club-10euros, pint of beer; 4-5 Euros) - I never could save anything, I would imagine that life is generally much more bearable financially outside of Madrid and Barcelona. The weather in Madrid is also not great in my opinion, its either too hot (summer temps reach 40), or just kind of drizzly and grey (winter), saying that the months of May and September are great weather wise, but thats just 2 in 12 months of the year, the weather certainly isnt `bad` in Madrid, I would just say that there are better options in Spain if your looking for a perfect climate-But then again Madrid is Madrid! For shopping, going out and `things to do` it is incredible. Theatres, museums, music, bohemian cafe culture-its all in the capital.

[pr455]

[pr455]

[Skipp]

Is it realistic to get a job with no experience?

Though I'm looking to try and get a few hours part time in London, even if it's voluntary, once I have my CELTA

[rob01]

I havent been in Madrid since 2010, and my schedule was variable but hovered about the 25-28 hrs mark, with probably a 70-30% split between academies and privates respectably.

Skipp, my advice to you is; don't volunteer, its not necessary in my opinion. Once you have completed your CELTA you are going to be in a much better position in terms of confidence, you will be ready by the end of the course. But if you still want to gain quick experience and don't mind not being paid for it.. check out.. www.puebloingles.com (they send native teachers to residential `intensive training` courses, you wont be paid but you will be provided with a nice hotel room and food, your job is to just talk to the students, I suppose it might build your confidence-but with no pay....). Quite frankly, I dont think that volunteering is necessary.. my advice to you is; get your CELTA, and hit the place you have chosen to go to with your cv in hand and a nice suit and the ability to sell yourself as a professional and if you do it at the right of year (September-October preferably or possibly January) then you will find yourself with work fairly quickly. Its certainly not uncommon to find a full schedule within a month if your timing is right.

[pr455]

[daniel_hayes]

This is a great thread, full of some fantastic advice. I have a question for Shawn and Rob.

I have a CELTA and a degree, and I'm English. I will 100% do some summer camps this summer, and then want to stay in Spain for a good long while. Seemingly, there are plenty of opportunities for teachers in Spain at the moment. That is good!

I am contemplating coming to Spain at the start of May. I would like to get an apartment (shared), enrol in Spanish classes, and also get some teaching work (maybe a few hours in the morning, and a few in the evening)

I have some other income, which would pay my rent and basic living expenses, so I wouldn't starve if I couldn't find teaching work.

Now, I know that Madrid has the most jobs. And I might very well move there in September to look for work. But, for May and June, I'm interested in smaller places, places like Valencia, Alicante, Granada, Seville, Salamanca, and maybe even San Sebastian.

Do you think work will be available in these places -- I mean work for May and June. For May and June, I think I'll be finding patchy hours -- a few hours at one school, a few elsewhere, and some private tuition on top of that. Does that sound about right to you?

Do you think I should be contacting schools now, or that I should just pound the pavements when I get there?

[rob01]

Daniel - I`ll try to help by offering as honest advice as possible..

To be honest, the bad news; May is among the worst months to come looking for teaching work in Spain. The Spanish teaching market basically shuts down from the end of June until mid-late September. With the exceptions of Summer camps which can be found from June-August. If you start looking literally now (tefl.com is a good starting point if you havent already been there.), then there is a very slim chance you could find work in a school for the last semester (easter/semana santa week-end of June). In fact I have done just that, I have recently returned to Europe from teaching in Mexico for a couple of years.. and have by luck landed a 2.5 month gig in the North of Spain (not far from San Sebastian)-in a small school. But I would say this is really the exception rather than the rule. As for picking up privates in May, again I think its the worst time of year because everybody packs up for the academic year in June, very few people are looking to pick up a new teacher in May, and only for a couple of months. Of course you could get lucky and find some privates, but I really dont think you will pick up more than a few hours if your very lucky in May. Plus you have said your going off to do summer camps in June/July/August, nobody will want a teacher for just a month or two.

The good thing is that you have another income, so its not life or death if you don't pick up work quickly. Your British, and CELTA qualified so this already puts you in an advantageous position. If I were in your shoes; I would decide on a specific city, head there and find a place to live and take Spanish classes at your leisure before heading off for summer camp. You will be in a great position to get to know the city, people, you might even be able to hit base with lots of academies before the year has even started putting you an in a great position for September-knock on doors with your CV, set up meetings with Directors of Studies etc, and if you pick up a few privates then its a bonus.

Your other option could be to travel around the country staying in hostels etc and getting to know various places for a couple of months, before you decide to commit to a certain place.

I hope this helps..! Just my 2 cents

[jonniboy]

Daniel, certainly I wouldn't bank on getting work in Valencia or Alicante in May or June as that's when the year is coming to a close for most schools and students are already thinking about holidays. There would be some work available in July in Summer camps but August would be likely to be a washout. I can't speak for San Sebastian but would make an educated guess that the situation there will be similar. With that arrival time I think you'd be far better off going to Madrid, though even then, May is a really bad time to be looking.

[daniel_hayes]

Very good advice. Food for thought indeed.