This post is designed to guide Americans like myself who have no ties to the UK or the rest of Europe who may wish to come over, live abroad and teach here in Europe on a long or short term basis. If you have an EU passport, permanent residency in Europe through family, marriage, or otherwise, the steps will be considerably easier for you as you automatically have the right to live and work in EU countries. This post is designed for the Americans, like me, who don't. The process is difficult, and sometimes frustrating, but not impossible. Read my step by step guide! (Warning, this will be a bit long.)
1. Choose a country.
Well duh, of course. But of course it's necessary to choose a country wisely. Why do you want to teach in this country? Calmer lifestyle? Cheaper cost of living? Gorgeous local women (hehe)? Weather/Climate? Higher wage? This is what many people think about when they think about teaching abroad, but if you really want to be successful at teaching in Europe, you need to go where you are needed the most. For example, if you decide to go to the Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark), The Netherlands, or Germany, you will have less of a chance to get hired. The English level in these countries are already MUCH higher than in other countries; many citizens of these countries speak English at a highly fluid (some even fluent) level and they tend to hire local teachers for their language schools. And also you will be competing against native speakers from EU member states (UK at least for the next 2 years) as well as Ireland, and Australians on a working holiday visa (which is something unfortunately we Americans cannot get). It is costly as well as there are mountains of paperwork in general a school has to provide if they decide to legally hire someone from outside the EU, so many of them avoid the process of hiring Americans as so many of their own countrymen are qualified who cost nothing. EU citizens are also free and much easier to hire. So if you are an American it is very difficult to break into this field especially if you want to live in the city. If you are willing to live outside of the major cities, however, it gets easier. In countryside towns and small cities in Germany, the Netherlands and the Nordics, you won't find as many people who speak English well as there are few foreigners among the population, and there is more of a demand for qualified teachers. However don't expect the night life, retail, and social conveniences of a big city in these places, and often you will also find that the locals in those towns don't speak English well, if at all; however, if you really want to experience the culture of the country as well as work, the small towns are the place to do so. You will find yourself learning the language quickly, a lower cost of living, and more of the true feeling and culture of a country than you would in the big cities. Probably most advisable is to research cities that are a short bus or train ride away from a major city, and settle there, work during the week, then on the weekends you can easily commute to a major city for your shopping and recreation.
The EU countries that are probably easiest for Americans are to work are: Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Spain*, Portugal*, and Italy.*
Let's first talk about the last three, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. A lot of times they are hit or miss, as generally they are not so strong economically at the moment. Most schools in these places tend to hire only EU citizens as they do not want to go through the trouble, paperwork, and costs in order to provide work permits for Americans. However all over these countries, the English level is generally pretty low. Once in the country for awhile you can collect your own students who will be more than willing to pay you cash in hand. This is probably better for short term teaching stints (more about that later). It will be hard to find schools in the big cities who will be willing to sponsor a visa for you, but there are some that may. Competition is also FIERCE here as there are many Americans with dual citizenship, Irish, and UK citizens already living here and love it because of the warm climate and low cost of living in many cities. They of course will have an hiring advantage over you, of course again because no visa is required for them. Your best bet would be living outside of the major cities again here, places where not too many foreigners live.
Your best bet honestly is Eastern Europe (the rest of the countries listed above). English is a HUGE investment in most of these countries as the majority of the citizens do not speak English very well. However they realize the importance of competing on an international level so they pump a lot of money into English education. Most of these countries are willing to accept Americans and do the paperwork involved because they see native speaking teachers as a commodity. You will be able to find tons of schools in the big cities happy to have a native speaker in their ranks. You will also be able to easily find private students also desperate to learn. The only issue about these countries is most are not on the Euro (with the exception of Slovenia and Slovakia) so you will be paid in the local currencies which usually have a very low value compared to the euro, dollar, or pound. However you will usually make more than enough to survive comfortably wherever you are. Just don't expect to spend crazy weekends partying it up in expensive countries like England or The Netherlands, and also don't expect your zloty, kunas, or levs to go very far abroad. They won't. If you wish to get rich or pay off debt teaching English, Europe is not the place to do so, a better bet would be the UAE or Asia for that. In Europe you will definitely, however, be very comfortable and always have a job if you live in a country where English teachers are in high demand.
Stay tuned for part 2!
Please leave a comment if there are any corrections or amendments to any of the info listed here, and tell me your experiences!
Well duh, of course. But of course it's necessary to choose a country wisely. Why do you want to teach in this country? Calmer lifestyle? Cheaper cost of living? Gorgeous local women (hehe)? Weather/Climate? Higher wage? This is what many people think about when they think about teaching abroad, but if you really want to be successful at teaching in Europe, you need to go where you are needed the most. For example, if you decide to go to the Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark), The Netherlands, or Germany, you will have less of a chance to get hired. The English level in these countries are already MUCH higher than in other countries; many citizens of these countries speak English at a highly fluid (some even fluent) level and they tend to hire local teachers for their language schools. And also you will be competing against native speakers from EU member states (UK at least for the next 2 years) as well as Ireland, and Australians on a working holiday visa (which is something unfortunately we Americans cannot get). It is costly as well as there are mountains of paperwork in general a school has to provide if they decide to legally hire someone from outside the EU, so many of them avoid the process of hiring Americans as so many of their own countrymen are qualified who cost nothing. EU citizens are also free and much easier to hire. So if you are an American it is very difficult to break into this field especially if you want to live in the city. If you are willing to live outside of the major cities, however, it gets easier. In countryside towns and small cities in Germany, the Netherlands and the Nordics, you won't find as many people who speak English well as there are few foreigners among the population, and there is more of a demand for qualified teachers. However don't expect the night life, retail, and social conveniences of a big city in these places, and often you will also find that the locals in those towns don't speak English well, if at all; however, if you really want to experience the culture of the country as well as work, the small towns are the place to do so. You will find yourself learning the language quickly, a lower cost of living, and more of the true feeling and culture of a country than you would in the big cities. Probably most advisable is to research cities that are a short bus or train ride away from a major city, and settle there, work during the week, then on the weekends you can easily commute to a major city for your shopping and recreation.
The EU countries that are probably easiest for Americans are to work are: Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Spain*, Portugal*, and Italy.*
Let's first talk about the last three, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. A lot of times they are hit or miss, as generally they are not so strong economically at the moment. Most schools in these places tend to hire only EU citizens as they do not want to go through the trouble, paperwork, and costs in order to provide work permits for Americans. However all over these countries, the English level is generally pretty low. Once in the country for awhile you can collect your own students who will be more than willing to pay you cash in hand. This is probably better for short term teaching stints (more about that later). It will be hard to find schools in the big cities who will be willing to sponsor a visa for you, but there are some that may. Competition is also FIERCE here as there are many Americans with dual citizenship, Irish, and UK citizens already living here and love it because of the warm climate and low cost of living in many cities. They of course will have an hiring advantage over you, of course again because no visa is required for them. Your best bet would be living outside of the major cities again here, places where not too many foreigners live.
Your best bet honestly is Eastern Europe (the rest of the countries listed above). English is a HUGE investment in most of these countries as the majority of the citizens do not speak English very well. However they realize the importance of competing on an international level so they pump a lot of money into English education. Most of these countries are willing to accept Americans and do the paperwork involved because they see native speaking teachers as a commodity. You will be able to find tons of schools in the big cities happy to have a native speaker in their ranks. You will also be able to easily find private students also desperate to learn. The only issue about these countries is most are not on the Euro (with the exception of Slovenia and Slovakia) so you will be paid in the local currencies which usually have a very low value compared to the euro, dollar, or pound. However you will usually make more than enough to survive comfortably wherever you are. Just don't expect to spend crazy weekends partying it up in expensive countries like England or The Netherlands, and also don't expect your zloty, kunas, or levs to go very far abroad. They won't. If you wish to get rich or pay off debt teaching English, Europe is not the place to do so, a better bet would be the UAE or Asia for that. In Europe you will definitely, however, be very comfortable and always have a job if you live in a country where English teachers are in high demand.
Stay tuned for part 2!
Please leave a comment if there are any corrections or amendments to any of the info listed here, and tell me your experiences!