# How difficult is it to acquire English Teaching Position



## ntan123 (Aug 16, 2016)

HI,

I am 33 and have gone back to get my CELT Qualification (TEFL) following my degree. I am interested in moving myself and my family which includes 2 young kids (5 and 7) to Spain. 

I am getting more experience at home but am thinking of maybe coming over next Summer to work while the kids are off school. 

Can anyone please advise if it is difficult to acquire this type of employment with a view to make it more permanent? 

Thank you in advance


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

It depends where you go but no, it shouldn't be too difficult. However it will be extremely difficult to get one that pays enough to live on, is not part-time and has a permanent contract. A couple of teachers I know do private classes to supplement their €650 a month salary. There is no shortage of people wanting to learn English (at least, up till now) but you might want to try a smaller city where there are fewer teachers to compete with and rents etc will be lower.

Beware of online agencies who say they have found you a job and take a sign-up fee for administration expenses. You will never hear from them again.

Good luck!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> It depends where you go but no, it shouldn't be too difficult. However it will be extremely difficult to get one that pays enough to live on, is not part-time and has a permanent contract. A couple of teachers I know do private classes to supplement their €650 a month salary. There is no shortage of people wanting to learn English (at least, up till now) but you might want to try a smaller city where there are fewer teachers to compete with and rents etc will be lower.
> 
> Beware of online agencies who say they have found you a job and take a sign-up fee for administration expenses. You will never hear from them again.
> 
> Good luck!


Agree with what Alcalaina has said. The difficulty is not so much getting a teaching position as getting one that gives you a decent salary and decent conditions. Here in Madrid I frequently see classes advertised at 12€ the hour and 23€ is about the max (higher if you are self employed) and in the south it's often a lot lower. If you work in an academy (and personally I think it's really good experience to start off in a good academy) the timetable will probably be in the afternoon from about 16:30 - 21:30, so balancing home and work life is tough.


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## mono (Jan 22, 2016)

Might be hard to get work if you intend going during holiday period


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

mono said:


> Might be hard to get work if you intend going during holiday period


Depends, lots of language schools offer summer courses.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> Depends, lots of language schools offer summer courses.


But usually only for one month (if at all) and that month is usually July, not August.


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## ntan123 (Aug 16, 2016)

Thank you all so much for the replies. It has given me a lot to think about.


I didn't know that about agencies or the not so family friendly hours. It something I suppose I will have to take into consideration.


Obviously I would like to move over to Spain permanently as the kids are getting older and I am eager for them to learn the language. I have had a typical desk job over here for years now, we sold our house and we are ready to move on. The hope was to find a job over in Spain maybe during the summer to give me some invaluable experience to make a complete life change.


The truth is you have to take a chance sometimes in life. Everyone thinks I'm mad. 


If anyone has any further advice or ideas I would really appreciate it. Thank you


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

I can only back up what others have said. 

When I first arrived in Spain I was "lucky" enough to find a main job that was a "compressed" working day from 08.00 to 16.00 with no lunch break.

That meant that I was able to supplement the income of that job (around 600 EUR per month) with a teaching job starting at 18.00 and ending at 22.00. I was also lucky enough that the academy gave me a proper contract so that there was contributions to the Seguridad Social.

I could not have survived on the teaching job alone.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

ntan123 said:


> Thank you all so much for the replies. It has given me a lot to think about.
> 
> 
> I didn't know that about agencies or the not so family friendly hours. It something I suppose I will have to take into consideration.
> ...


I think you mean academies, not agencies?

Another thing you might like to know is that there are not many jobs going in August and not many academies are open in August anyway.
There are quite a few offered in July, but more and more jobs are being advertised in the first two weeks of Sept, which unfortunately means that your starting date for work gets pushed back and back. A lot of courses start the first week of October. However, childrens' classes will normally start in Sept and the majority of classes in academies are focused on children (in particular preparing Cambridge exams), but by no means all.


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## ccm47 (Oct 15, 2013)

Have you thought about TEFL teaching on the South Coast of England for a while? Not Spain I know but very different to Dublin.
Vast numbers of students arrive there each year to learn the language and beecause they are not trying to hold down a job as well teaching starts at 09.00 or thereabouts.
It could help you get a better job in Spain too as your CV would show you have experience as well as the qualification.


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## lyjebt (May 25, 2016)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I think you mean academies, not agencies?
> 
> Another thing you might like to know is that there are not many jobs going in August and not many academies are open in August anyway.
> There are quite a few offered in July, but more and more jobs are being advertised in the first two weeks of Sept, which unfortunately means that your starting date for work gets pushed back and back. A lot of courses start the first week of October. However, childrens' classes will normally start in Sept and the majority of classes in academies are focused on children (in particular preparing Cambridge exams), but by no means all.


Some academies are open right through the summer. Somebody I know is teaching 6 hours a day at the moment (August) so there is work available.


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## bRod (Dec 15, 2014)

Self employed is another option. You'll never make any serious money working for an academy, but teaching groups at home or in schools could be an alternative..
As someone else said , avoid the cities, go for the smaller towns.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

lyjebt said:


> Some academies are open right through the summer. Somebody I know is teaching 6 hours a day at the moment (August) so there is work available.


Yes, of course some are open. I said not many are open, but maybe I should have said that not many are fully open ie employing a full staff, and there are just a few courses available, at least that's what happens around here. I didn't say that no work was available. Things can vary from region to region.
Another thing to have in mind are the temperatures. I worked some hours in July in Madrid city for the first time in many years finishing at 15:00, catching the train and getting home around 16:00 - not nice...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Yes, of course some are open. I said, not many are open, but maybe I should have said that not many are fully open ie employing a full staff,and there are just a few courses available, at least that's what happens around here. I didn't say that no work was available. Things can vary from region to region.
> Another thing to have in mind are the temperatures. I worked some hours in July in Madrid city for the first time in many years finishing at 15:00, catching the train and getting home around 16:00 - not nice...


The 3 (there used to be half a dozen) language schools in my town don't start regular classes again until October, & finished at the beginning of June.

One runs a summer camp for English classes for Spanish kids for about 6 weeks in July & August.

I'm self-employed. I can't afford to 'close' for 4 months a year.


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

I work for the largest language academy in Seville and the second largest in Spain. Their regular classes start in mid September and finish at the end of June. A handful of their centers are open in July for intensive courses, using a skeleton staff. They are all closed in August. Hiring is done in the spring for the following school year. 

As someone else mentioned, the timetable at most language academies is not very compatible with family life. Nearly all of the hours are in the late afternoon and evening, from about 4.00-10:00 pm. And while the pay is usually enough for a single person living frugally, it wouldn't be enough to support a family.


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