Hi there,

I am 41 years old from London U.K. and have just been made redundant from my job in the IT industry where I worked as a Data/Media Converter (analysing/converting/recovering data from many many different types of tapes/opticals/backups etc.)
A bit of a niche job unfortunately.
I am now about to take a CELTA course (Cambridge Certificate in English Language) at International House in London, spread over a 3-month period.
What are the chances of me getting a teaching job in Spain with this CELTA qualification (I do not have a degree), even though I will have no experience under my belt?
Will I be able to support myself?
I am also about to learn Spanish at evening classes. I have friends in Salamanca and Madrid, and if necessary I would be happy to find some sort of computer work and try to work my way into teaching English.
I am very organised and methodical, and have a CV at the ready. I have done a fair amount of background research on all the necessary red tape (work permits, health insurance, etc.)
I would be grateful for any suggestions as CELTA doesn't seem to be mentioned very much - only TEFL or TESOL.

Regards

Pete
mcfungus@hotmail.com

Hi Pete. The answer to your question(in my opinion) is yes, you will be able to support yourself as an English teacher. You probably won't be able to make a million Euros doing it right off, but you should be able to find work.

I'd recommend hitting the want adds in the major newspapers around here for English teachers (El Pais, El Mundo, ABC, La Razon, Segundamano). If there's a downside, it's that, not all places out there provide worthwhile support to their professors. You can tend to find some teaching 'meat markets' out there. So try to be somewhat discerning.

We run an English academy in a Madrid suburb, but we're doing ok on teachers for the moment, otherwise I'd be happy to give you an interview ASAP. However, if you want to forward me an email, I'll keep it handy and we could conceivably give you a call in the not so distant future. Let's put it this way, I hope we have the necessity to call you...

Best of luck to you. If you need any more help, you've got a wonderful resource here with Jer's multimadridian support circle. Put it to good use my man!

Hey Pete, jer here.

Well, tonytorero has given you some wise advice above but I will add a few things as well.

You will find work, especially with the CELTA degree. Your inexperience should not hinder you much in finding a job but you may have to take a lower pay due to the fact that you do not have time in as a teacher.

Also, many teachers here are run ragged by the schools/companies they work for and as tony described above, there are many teaching "meat markets" out there. You may have to run around the city a lot if you work for companies that send you to in-company classes but once you pay your dues and get that experience you can start being more choosy.

Aside from the papers mentioned by tony above, you may also want to keep an eye on my monthly classifieds section at www.multimadrid.com/classifieds (brought to you by the world famous InMadrid newspaper here, online at (www.in-madrid.com), it usually has a jobs offered section that is chock-full-of teaching job offers.

Another good resource for anyone looking to teach English in Spain is the Ex Patriat Caf� at www.expatriatecafe.com . Maybe Tracy Moral (she runs the site) will drop by this thread and give you some good advice as well

Saludos & Suerte,
jer...

Hola!

(Wow, Jer has such insight knowing that I might stop by and give advice!! (*wink*)

Both Tonytorero and Jer pretty much sum up your chances...which, I will add, are pretty good. What's most important to know is that your best contact is through International House. They SHOULD offer job placement as well as an internship in Spain. If you can, I suggest taking this course in MADRID (on calle Serrano). This way, you've got a foot in the door and an excellent starting point.

If you peruse through the JOBS OFFERED page at the Expatriate Cafe, you'll notice too that there's an equal amount of academies looking for the CELTA qualification as well as TEFL. It's all pretty much the same. In fact, oftentimes, CELTA and RSA/CAMBRIDGE is a little more appealing to the Spanish.

Either way, the internship from IH will offer you invaluable experience!

Good luck!

Tracy