I previously wrote an explanation of the various ‘TEFL’ terms (you can read about it here), for those who were confused over what they actually meant. So now I’m going to talk about a few other things in order to clarify some questions people may have in regards to teaching in Spain; where to work, salary, accommodation and the cost of living.
If like me, you scoured the internet looking for information about the above look no more, as I have outlined it all below.
Whilst it isn’t overly difficult to find work teaching English privately in a foreign country, it can be a bit of a chore gathering enough students to earn you the amount of money you’d need to survive. For this reason, I would recommend working for an academy or a school. Granted, the money you could potentially earn teaching privately would be more (per hour) than working for someone but, what you need to decide is whether it’s worth using your time and energy marketing yourself for a few extra euros. This brings me to what you could earn…
Most first-time teachers can expect to make €13-€18 an hour, so if you work full-time for a school or institute (typically 25 hours a week in a classroom), you will make €1300 - €1800 per month. Working for yourself in major cities like Barcelona and Madrid, you can expect to make around €15-€20 an hour. If you choose to work for yourself you do have the added benefit of choosing the number of hours you work but, my personal opinion is that it’s better to work for someone and guarantee hours (and in turn, a steady wage) than to not know how much you’ll be earning from one month to the next – it also eradicates the hassle of having to scout for students.
Rented property is very easy to come by in Spain and the cost of this varies depending on whether you are sharing or living alone and, what part of Spain you wish to live in. Obviously, if you live in an area where accommodation is very cheap, it’s likely that there will be no schools or academy’s close by and then you’d have to spend a substantial part of your salary (and time) travelling to and from work.
Sharing will cost anything from €300-€450 per month and a one bedroom property can cost between €500 and €700 (in the centre of Barcelona and Madrid).
The cost of living in Spain is pretty cheap, providing you’re not going out drinking every night! Having said that, there are plenty of bars/restaurants that sell beer for a €1 coupled with a selection of tapas for €1-€2 each.
The cheapest supermarkets, where you can get a week’s worth of groceries for less than €40 are Bon Area, Mercadona and Lidl. Bon Area won’t have everything you need but, if you want to save money, it’s worth going there to get what you can before purchasing the remainder from one of the other shops.
Utility bills (water, gas, electric) are paid every two months and will cost, in total, approximately €100 per month.
Internet, including 3G on your mobile phone, is around €40 per month depending on which provider you use.
So, there you have it.
If all this is enough to sway you into wanting to change your current lifestyle and opt for an easier way of life, book a no-obligation interview today with OxbridgeTEFL and you could be living it up in Spain within a month.
