Hey everybody, thanks for reading. I'm one week away from compeleting my 100 hour TEFL certificate. I'm one year exactly from completing my Bachelor's degree in English. I'm American. I have no teaching experience other than the tutoring and conversation partners that I've helped through the course. I'm desperately set on going to Italy next year and to gain some experience I'm thinking about starting off at an Italian summer camp for kids. But I want more than that. I want to stay for several months in Italy while teaching in one way or another whether it's through private schools or tutoring. I've heard that it's nearly impossible for Americans to get hired in Italy however due to the issue with EU passports. But is that completely true for the entire country of Italy, or is that just for the major cities? I don't necessarily want to teach in the major cities-just as long as I'm in Italy I'll be happy.
I'm also having a really hard time looking for employers-maybe it's just because it's the internet and the internet can be very limited internationally.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Briona is right to warn you about working illegally. There is a massive black economy in Europe but you will have no free access to health care, really bad wages and if you lode your job you will be stranded thousands of miles from home. I recently knew an American girl here in Spain who had to go home for a certain time and then she somehow came back with a visa but it was a lot of sress for her - you'd have to be certain that it's what you want.
Also remember that Europe is in dire straight at the moment and Italy's economy isn't a good bet for a major commitment. It's really on the cards that Germany will force closer political integration on Spain and Italy, and welcoming more overseas workers isn't going to be top of their agenda!
There is enormous competition for work in Europe at the moment aswell - I would advise that you come on your summer camp and take advice from people who've been down a similar path before you set your heart on this one.
As Briona says, it's very difficult without a European passport. Springtime and up until summercamp starts is when people are usually advertising for camp monitors and I have heard of companies in the US which do organize placements, although I don't know of any.
There are also a number of websites around for au pair work if that is something you have considered. Having trained as a TEFL teacher, it may work more in your favour, although saying that with unemployment across many European countries still quite higher than "usual", you may not be able to command the type of salary you would like doing that!
Hi there,
Unless you hold a passport from an EU member state or are married to an EU citizen or are in possession of a valid work/study visa, you will have to enter Italy on a Schengen visa. Note that this is a tourist visa and you cannot work on it. The Schengen visa gives you 90 days in the zone (Google for list of participating countries) and then you have to leave the entire zone for a further 90 days. If caught overstayers are subject to deportation and an exlusion from the entire zone for around five years.
But imagine that's a risk you're prepared to take - could you find work? As I'm sure you're already aware the lack of a passport from an EU member state means that your chances of finding legal work are pretty much zero. An employer in Western Europe cannot just hire a non-EU citizen. They have to first prove that there were no suitably-qualified EU citizens (ideally a degree, CELTA and two years' experience) who could do the job, which is pretty unlikely.
But of course there are always shady and unscrupulous employers who will hire people illegally. Be advised though that working illegally means that you have no rights. An employer can force you to work 40hrs a week and then not even pay you. After all, there's nothing you can do.
Being paid (or not) though may turn out to be the least of your problems. With the increasing illegal immigration problem in Europe, border security has been tightened up and passports and travel documents are being scrutinised. I personally would not want to spend my life looking over my shoulder.
This may sound depressing but it's the same story for Europeans wishing to work in America.
Briona
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