Hi! Sorry if this has been asked before, but I was wondering how you got to your like job and stuff in Spain? I'm in highschool and I'm really interested in following the same-ish career path (or at least something international) but like. In order to get to your job (teaching english, right?) what did you take in high school/college, and how did you find a job opening? I just want to know the process sorry if this is vague :)
Hi there! I’ve actually been meaning to make a master poster about this for a while.
Basically, I didn’t do anything special lmao. The Spanish government has a special program to bring in native English speakers to work as teaching assistants. The only requirements they really have are to have a bachelor’s degree (or be on track to get one before you start the program) and have an “intermediate level of Spanish” (although they do nothing to check this).
A lot of other countries have similar programs, although they have their own requirements. France actually makes sure you can speak French, Korea’s program now requires a TEFL or TESL certificate, etc. In other countries (like China, Thailand, almost anywhere in South America, etc) there is not a centralized program and you have to contact specific schools to get a position... or just show up and hope for the best. In these cases, there are a lot of companies that will help you find a school (for a fee, of course) but theoretically you can do it yourself. It might be easier to find a position if you have a TEFL certificate or a degree in education, but from what I’ve heard the most important thing is that you’re a native speaker.
Every country also has their own visa requirements, which is another can of worms.
Keep in mind, however, these are very basic “language assistant” positions that aren’t really sustainable as careers. Most people use them for “gap years” after college or between jobs. If you want a job as a “real” teacher, you’ll have to follow a different path... I know a handful of people who transitioned from teaching assistants to full-time teachers, but this is difficult, mostly because of visa stuff and laws surrounding hiring foreign workers. It might be easier in other countries, but in Spain it’s difficult for US citizens to get long term work visas without marrying a European.
So, my advice is.... just study what you want in high school and university!! If you want to be a teacher, study education. If you’re leaning more towards international business, study that. Language classes will be useful if you want to go abroad (I’d suggest Spanish, but I’m biased, haha). If you’re specifically interested in teaching English, there are LOTS of volunteer programs to help with ESL classes. When I was in college, I volunteered giving classes to university employees and international grad students. You can also try to get a TEFL or TESL certificate (basically, you take a class that teaches you about ESL), but I wouldn’t spend the money unless you know you’ll need it in the future.
So, for now, I wouldn’t worry about it too much! When I was in high school my main extracurricular activity was theatre... which has actually helped me as a teacher, but it certainly didn’t affect me getting my current job, haha. And in college I studied biology... I actually applied to Spain while studying for a physics exam. So, relax, because there are lots of different tracks to going abroad.
Hope that helps!
