HOLA a TODOS,

this is my first time writing, but I've enjoyed reading what everyone has contributed! I have a question, I am moving to spain in september as part of an exchange for grad school. I have an awesome set up, I'll be teaching English at a university and getting paid. it's nothing like my stipend here, but having lived in spain twice in the past, I know that I will be living well. I will be there during the entire academic year.

Here's the deal though...I will finish my master's degree after the year is over and want to stay in Spain. My concern is that it's not so easy to get job offer if you don't already have a work visa, since the process is so complex. I was reading other people's postings about the job search, but it seems that most of those people were all married, so they already had permission to work. Does anyone know how conceiveable it is to get a job if you're needing a work visa for the first time and are NOT married to a spaniard? (nor willing to marry solo for the purpose of obtaining a visa- if I'm lucky I'll find my soulmate but my idea of a soulmate is not a greencard). I unfortunately only have computer skills 'al nivel usuario' and no programming experience (it seems like there are a lot of those positions out there) although I've got lots of office experience. I speak English natively, Spanish fluently, and have a high level of italian both written and spoken, intermediate portuguse, and have experience teaching spanish and english at the college level. TELL ME MY EDUCATION WILL GET ME SOMEWHERE IN ESPAñA!

muchas gracias!

Unfortunately, I wouldn't count on it. It also depends on some other things... check out the other postings on becoming a spanish citizen and that type of topic... if you have a spanish parent, it may be easier, if not, its a lot harder than you may realize.

On a POSITIVE note, the fact that you're going to be there for a year doing your thing, well, start pounding the pavement from day one! It is VERY difficult but not impossible to get work there. You may find a place willing to go through all of the paperwork etc. there and keep you there, but of course, many times I've found that places that were willing also wanted to do an interview, something not easy when you're not actually LIVING there (as from time to time has been my case). However, the employment situation there is getting more and more difficult for foreigners, especially if they're not part of the EU. (Any chance you may have some irish in you?- that might be a way in.)

In any event, good luck. If that's what you really want, then you can only be persistant. Be very determined and realistic (and since you're not willing to run off and get married just to be able to stay there) it sounds like you are.

Welcome to the board!

Welcome lismari - When you do your search as recommended, pay particular attention to some of the posts by Chica. Yes, she is married to a Spaniard - but her posts on working in Spain are thoroughly researched and she has posted a ton of solid info on working, especially teaching, in Spain. She teaches business english and her jobs are legit.

You might also want to check out Tracy Morales' website @ www.expatriatecafe.com for more info.

Okay Becky - you owe me one!

Aloha Puna!
Thanks for the vote of confidence. Hmmm...how can I ever pay you back .

With regards to the jobs being legit, so I thought they were. All I have to say is be very careful..very very careful. There are alot of "chorizos" here as they are called in Spain who will do anything to make a quick buck, even if it means cheating lots of honest people out of money one way or the other. I am currently in a legal process with one of the places that I worked for. Email me if you want the low down.

Just to give a little background, back in the late 80´s early 90´s (starting around ´87).. when the decision move to the Euro was becoming finalized, people began to realize that they had to do something to "wash" their dinero negro (black money) that they kept hidden in the mattress and hidden from Uncle Aznar (substitute Spanish president of your choice). Essentially there were three options: 1- open an academia de informática, 2- open an academia de inglés, 3- invest in real estate (which in turn started the huge real estate boom here in Spain..particularly Madrid). So the interest of these Chorizos wasn´t really in the quality of education, but rather how much money they could make "legitimately".

So, as you wander through the streets of Spain and see academy after academy of informática or inglés, you will realize that maybe they exist not so much for the demand (which there must be to some extent), but for the front to cover black money.

Nowadays the gig seems to be with the Consultorias de Formación... the outsorcing firms that land corporate clients, find them English teachers all somehow financed one way or the other through FORCEM (a government agency) which offers a subvención (grant) for educational classes through companies, particularly for languages, as the Spanish government works hard to make its workforce that much more competitive (read: on level with) with its northern European neighbors. I sometimes wonder if these consulting firms were also started with dinero negro as they seem to be mushrooming all over the place. Which is odd for a country which generally eschews the idea of consultants.

But don´t lose hope! Espe made a lot of excellent suggestions. As is often said in the American business world, just know who you are getting in bed with. Know who you are dealing with...do what you can to protect yourself...and you should be fine. There is a high demand for native English speakers...and alot of places will hire you without batting an eye, with or without legitimate papers. Just be aware of them...they could be the ones who dejarte colgado in the end.

And I thought dinero negro was pretty well confined to the real estate world! Live and learn.
Chica - I'll email shortly

Lismari,

I'm looking into masters degree programs that offer time abroad. Which university are you enrolled in here in the states?

Lismari,
Through reading your post...I can see myself 3 year down the road .Right now, I am just finishing up 3 months in Spain, and already trying to figure out how I can get back there for longer. One of the things I was thinking about was doing either a year, or my entire graduate degree abroad. I am only going to be a sophmore next year, so I have LOTS of time to investigate my options , but I am curious to know how you went about this....did you enroll directly into the Spanish grad school as an international student, or is it an actual exchange between a US school???? Thanks! :p
Kelly

Middlebury College and New York University both have MA programs in Madrid. The MAs are in Spanish, just so you know and are year long programs.

www.middlebury.edu

www.nyu.edu

Check them out. I did the MA with Middlebury and enjoyed the program. It has its drawbacks, but hey, so does evrything in life.

To the person who is a sophmore in college, why not do a year abroad in Madrid. Look for info in your study abroad office or go to

www.studyabroad.com

Good luck in your search.

Shawn

What were the drawbacks of the middlebury program? I hear that they're not any good with financial aid, so thats one major drawback. I'm looking into the NYU program though. I'm wondering if you know about how qualified the students who get accepted are. I'm a couble major in spanish and linguistics. My gpa is about a 3.5. I've been abraod to Spain 3 times, so my spanish is pretty good. I also have a lot of experience teaching. If you know any of this informantion that would be great!

The financial aid piece was good for me. That depends on individual cases. Two major drawbacks are: Don't expect to study in a library. The library in the institue is noisy and people constantly talk. Get ready for old professors that just don't know how to teach. Two in particular stand out, but E-mail me for more info. AT the end of the semster, in addition to a final exam, you will have to write a 15-20 page paper, in Spanish, for each class. Ask the instructor to give you some suggested topics at the beginning of class. Many waited until 3/4 through the class to even begin to talk about the final project.

I don't know too much about the NYU program. They used to be housed in the Instituto Internacional on Calle Miguel Angel, 8, but have since moved somewhere else.

If you have anymore questions, just ask.

Shawn

HOLA de nuevo!

sorry I haven't responded yet but I was in Mexico de vacaciones! anyway, to answer some questions about the grad school thing: (Kelly and Expressdance) I am at Penn State University. the financial aid is great, I get tuition covered and I have a stipend for teaching. I didn't have to loan out any money at all. The deal will be similar in spain, but instead I'll be teaching English. They have exchanges with both Valladolid and Salamanca, although there are only 2 spots each year for each program. Since it is an exchange, I have the same setup though, tuition covered and a stipend (although it's not as much as when I'm teaching at PSU).

I also know that Bowling Green of Ohio has a master's program in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). I studied there last year (my senior year) through Council and met about 10 of the Bowling Green students. Alcalá is a great city, and it was a great program. Bowling Green's program is similar to the PSU deal, they give you a stipend for being a TA although I'm not sure if they cover tuition. I don't know of many programs that do the whole master's in Spain, normally it's just a year or a semester. Since the Master's degree is a fairly new concept in Spain, I don't think there are a whole lot of programs that you could directly enroll into. I know that Salamanca has one for ESL and there are some that have to do with business, but I can't remember at which universities at the moment. I have to say though, check out the big US schools, they have the most money and are most in need for TAs so they will shell it out. I was suprised at just what a great package I got. The qualifications were pretty tough, as far as GPA and whatnot, but if you're determined you'll be fine.

thanks everybody for the job search suggestions. I'm going to start looking ASAP when I get there! I need an enchufe!

chao for now!

When you say the qualifications are tough, exactly how tough are we talking? In terms of average GRE, and gpa scores, whats this looking like? I'm just trying to get an idea of what kinds of programs I should apply to. I'm actually getting ready to take the GRE in about a week and a half. This is making me very nervous!

Hey Lismari,

I did the Penn State exchange program for grad students 2 years ago except I went to Salamanca. I'm sure you'll love it--I mean, what's not to love about getting a free year in Spain! Hopefully PSU is a little more organized now because when I did the exchange no one in the Spanish dept. seemed to be able to give me any information on it. I really thought that I would get to Salamanca and the people there would ask me who the heck I was and why was I there! Luckily everything worked out and I absolutely loved it there. I'm actually heading back to Spain in 2 weeks to try to live and work there because after being back here for a year at the University of Florida and starting my Ph.D. I decided that I absolutely can not live here anymore. I'm getting really nervous because I have no idea if I'll be able to find a job or what is going to happen, but I'm going to at least give it a try. Have fun in Valladolid and just be prepared for a totally different teaching experience at a Spanish university than you had at Penn State.

Megan

Megan,

I feel you on the not wanting to live in the US anymore. I am in the same boat. I am shooting for January. My job has gotten on my last nerve and I want to be in a place where I can speak Spanish all of the time. Can't do that in Richmond, VA.

I am patient and know that my dream will come true one day.

We always hold our
Wounds in the dark of night
Ain't no morning gonna come
'Til the time is right
Can't get the better days
Unless you make it
Through the night

Better Days
Dianne Reeves

Shawn

Noticed a couple of you mention PSU. Though I didn't go (my mom did) and I was raised a Nitteny Lions fan. Roar lions roar.

P.S. Sorry for the off-topic post

Do any of you know of a Master's program offered through any US schools (not teaching) that can be completed, start to finish in Spain?

Such programs as art photography etc. that give the option of studying these things abroad instead of at home?

HOLITAS!

SuperGuiri- I LOVE YOUR NICK. that's really cute! that's so cool that you went to PSU. And yes, I had kind of a tough time getting info from anyone about the exchange b/c the staff has changed so much. But actually I am having much better luck than those who are going to salamanca. (maybe I am just more pushy???) I'm sure we know a lot of the same people from PSU, do you still keep in touch with anybody? that's great that you're going back to spain, maybe we'll run into each other!

Ok, as far as the qualifications, I guess I didn't specify very well. I don't exactly remember all of them, although there is a graduate handbook online at the department website: http://sip.la.psu.edu/. all the info is there! I enjoy PSU, it's a great program. I'm especially pumped about the opportunity to study and teach in Spain. I'm leaving 3 weeks from today! yippee!

As far as any other Master's programs that are start to finish in Spain, I think the only one I've heard of is Middlebury. I'm sure there are others out there!

take care everyone!

NYU IN MADRID . . .

Besides Middlebury, there is the NYU program in Madrid. Here is the URL:

http://www.nyu.edu/fas/dept/spanish/nyuinmadrid/index.html

This has all of the information that you need about the program. I hope this helps.

Shawn