So you want to turn your Spanish vacation into a full-time job? For many, especially those without Spanish language skills, teaching English is the easiest job to do. But what is it like to work as an English teacher ?
Typical hourly or monthly salary
Hourly wages vary enormously for English teachers in Spain. The average is around 12-16 euros per hour, but rates can range from around 10 euros per hour to 25 euros, depending on the experience required, the level of preparation for each class you are expected to take, and luck.
Keep in mind that much of an English teacher’s time in Madrid is taken up by preparation time and travel to classes, which often take place in the office of your student (s). This means that a realistic limit to the number of class hours you can teach per week is around 20.
At a price of 14 euros per hour, this would leave you with around € 1,100 per month, which is enough to survive in any city in Spain. You won’t be able to fly home very often, but this will allow you to live in the city center, eat regularly (Spanish restaurants are cheap), go out on the weekends, and even allow you to take some weekend trips. to other cities in Spain.
Most teachers in Spain can get a better deal than that in their second year in town as they start to learn which schools pay more and schools offer more money to loyal teachers. In many cases, it can easily reach € 1,500 per month.
The holy grail of teaching in Spain is receiving “block hours” at a language school. This means there is no travel or waiting time between classes (but you will still have to prepare your lessons). Some schools will offer less money for these classes because they are in high demand. Prepare to teach children to take these classes.
A full-time contract with a school with all classes in one place is even better. Such contracts often come with higher work hours than the more typical business class schedule.
Average salary
Sources list the average Spanish salary as € 1,734, while highlighting that most people earn less than average, not more. Therefore, you can see that an English teaching generates low or average income for a worker in Spain.
I do not have a Visa
There was a time when it seemed that half of the English teachers in Spain were Americans without a work visa, working “under the table.” This has been reduced as the Spanish economy has suffered, but it is still possible. However, expect to earn less as an illegal worker than as one on a legitimate work visa.
Working conditions
Business classes tend to take place early in the morning, at 8 am or at noon (1 pm). You will not find classes between those times.
After school is when block hours start to appear, typically around 4 pm to 10 pm This means your workday can be 14 hours long!
Vacation time
Unfortunately, teaching in Spain only lasts from mid-September to the end of June. For the rest of the year, you will be unemployed unless you are willing to work at a children’s summer camp in July and August. Easter and Christmas also hit most teachers quite hard, as few employers pay when there are no classes. Take this into account when calculating how much money you need to live as an English teacher in Spain.
