From Scotland to Barcelona: Craig’s TEFL adventure

It’s coming up to the end of the year and we thought it’d be nice to catch up with some of our graduates and find out what they’ve been doing since they finished the TEFL Iberia course. First up is Craig from Paisley who studied with us in the summer.

Hi Craig! How did you get on with finding a job once you’d finished the TEFL course?

I mainly used Loquo (a Spanish classified website) for finding jobs and found several private classes pretty soon. Looking back if I could change one thing I’d have learnt more Spanish in the lead up to moving. It wasn’t necessary in classes as the model of the classes were always ‘English only in the classroom’ – however I felt like I may have let a few extra classes slip through my fingers through not being quick enough with replies due to translating etc. I also got plenty of help from people at the school in finding work. I ended up working for Languages4Life (TEFL Iberia’s partner school) and it was without a shadow of a doubt the best job, work atmosphere, and colleagues to work with, I’ve ever had/experienced.

How many hours a week were you working on average in Barcelona?

In regards to hours it changed from week to week depending on private classes. I had 8 fixed hours worth of classes that were always on, every single week – which was a mix between the school and classes I did for an agency. I then had 3 private classes that were on most weeks, and occasionally I’d pick up odd jobs and one-off classes with people across the city or covering for people at the school.

Was the pay enough to live on?

Having made more effort in getting jobs I could have maybe made more… But I was happy with what I was earning which provided me with enough money and plenty of free time to enjoy living in Barcelona. It’s not the best paid job of all time – but for me money wasn’t really the reason I was in it and the fact I loved the job far outweighed any times when things may have got a little tight.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about teaching English?

Go for it! I couldn’t really recommend it highly enough. My time in Barcelona from the moment I started the course til the moment I left was brilliant. TEFL Iberia was an excellent place to study.

Contact us if you'd like more information on training as an English teacher in Barcelona.