guiz4

Hi there,

I'll just give you a brief overview of my situation; my girlfriend has been accepted to study a masters degree in Malaga and I want to go with her (and I believe I'd be there for around 8 months). I don't have any kind of TEFL/CELTA qualification (although I do have a bachelors degree and a little experience tutoring English to Italians) so I figured that the best way of making a bit of cash would be to tutor English privately, and I was looking for some advice.

How much would I reasonably to be able to charge for this kind of thing? Is there a high demand for it or are there thousands of native English speakers in the area doing the same thing? I speak very little Spanish, but I am fluent in Italian and I can understand around 40% of the spoken language and can just about read everything. I'd be confident that within a few months I could be at a decent level, but is this likely to be a problem initially?

I guess I'd just like to know whether this is actually something which I could feasibly do or not, and for some advice and perhaps useful links if anyone has anything.

Thanks very much.

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

guiz4

Thanks a lot for the welcome Rosemary, hopefully someone will be able to give me a hand shortly!

IamStu

Hi Guiz,
I hope you enjoy Malaga ... a lovely place to spend some time!
My partner was teaching English at a private school in Granada, of which there seem many.
Though she is fluent in English and Spanish, many of the other teachers only spoke basic Spanish. It would seem most commonly, classes are spoken only in the language being taught.
Salary would range from €10 - €15 per hour.
Other people I know would charge less but teach small groups. Mostly children which made it more affordable for parents and earned more money for the teacher.
My partner also held private conversational classes for adults who simply wanted to improve for work purposes.
I hope some of that helps....good luck

guiz4

Thanks very much for this, I'm a little more confident that it's doable now.

Does anyone know how big a demand there is for private lessons? Will I have trouble finding people who want to learn?

chrisjolly

If you are self employed then you will have to pay various social security payments, register with the tax authority in Malaga, get an identity number and obtain a residence permit.
Good luck.

Rosemary

Also do not forget that you have to pay the set amount of social security every month regardless of how much you have atually earnt.

Rosemary

agoreira

There is a demand, but whether it's sufficient to give you a living is debatable. Most that are interested will already be involved with a teacher/friend, so you have to start from zero to build a client list. Given that you'll be new there, and only there for a few months, I think you might struggle to get a wage out of it. As has been pointed out, you'll have to become autonomo and pay around €260 a month, regardless of how much you earn. Starting from zero, I think certainly to begin with you'll have more money going out than coming in. Clients won't be coming knocking on your door, you'll have to actively go and find interested people, not easy when you are new to the area, there are so many language schools, Brits doing it for neighbours for free etc. I wish you luck, but I think you'll find it difficult

guiz4

This is the kind of response which in all honestly I was expecting, thank you.

How does the autonomo stuff work if I'm just taking a few people for private lessons in my house for a few hours a work, does that make no difference?

Regarding actively seeking out clients, I am prepared for that. I'd be more than happy to advertise and even look for people before arriving; is there a Spanish equivelant to Gumtree?

Oh and I should add that I'm not looking to make huge amounts of cash; if I could pay the (shared bedroom in a shared apartment) rent and afford to eat and socialise occasionally I'd be happy.

cricketman

It makes no difference. You must pay your 260 euros per month social security payment even if you only invoice 50 euros, in fact even if you invoice nothing but are still looking for work for your business you must pay this

Of course, you could work illegally, thats up to you. But you would not be able to provide a legal invoice which may put clients off

steviedeluxe

As from October, new autonomos will only pay 50 euros per month to begin with, according to this

http://cincodias.com/cincodias/2013/...69_420614.html

To be honest, if you're only there a few months, I'd be inclined just to be a holidaymaker, and perhaps do a few language classes/intercambios for friends. You're very unlikely to get business clients (who do need the legal docs) if you don't have experience nor intend to hang around long.
As for the demand in the area, you'd be best to speak to people who live there.

guiz4

Thanks for this.

I wasn't really planning on looking for business clients, instead I was hoping to find young people and students who want to learn for a few hours a week.

When I say a few months I mean 8, which is sadly much longer than I can afford as a holidaymaker!

chrisjolly

If you come to Spain to work and that includes any work of any kind then you have to become part of the system otherwise you will be an illegal immigrant just like the ones in the UK that are being asked politely to leave or be subject to deportation. The tax authorities are very good at catching people because the black economy is rife. Be careful whatever you do but I would advise doing everything by the book.

mikelincs

Being Autonomo does give you access to the Spanish Health service, otherwise you would need private health insurance, and remember that if you are there for 8 months or so, then once you reach 183 days you become tax resident and should do a tax return where you will be taxed on all your world wide income.

Fred James

Unlikely as it sounds like he will be moving at the start of the university year, i.e. September, so he will not spend the full 6 months in one year in Spain so will not become tax resident.