The obvious choice is to
teach
English , for which
the demand has expanded
enormously in recent
years. You can do this in
two ways: freelance
private lessons, or
through a language school.
Private lessons
generally pay best, and
you can charge around ฃ30,000-42,000/?15.49-21.70
an hour, though there's
scope for bargaining.
Advertise in bars, shop
windows and local
newspapers, and, most
importantly, get the news
around by word-of-mouth
that you're looking for
work, emphasizing your
excellent background,
qualifications and
experience. An advantage
of private teaching is
that you can start at any
time of the year (summer
especially is a good time
for schoolchildren and
students who have to
retake exams in
September); the main
disadvantage is that it
can take weeks to get off
the ground, and you need
enough money to support
yourself until then.
You'll find the best
opportunities for this
kind of work in the
tourist resorts and the
bigger towns and cities.
Teaching in schools
, you start earning
immediately. It usually
involves more hours per
week, often in the
evening, at a lower rate
per hour, though the
amount you get depends on
the school. Don't accept
anything less than ฃ15,000/?7.75
an hour (approximately ฃ5/US$8),
while the bigger schools
should pay much more than
this. For the less
reputable places, you can
get away without any
qualifications and a bit
of bluff, but you'll need
to show a TEFL (Teaching
of English as a Foreign
Language) certificate for
the more professional
establishments. For the
main language schools,
it's best to apply in
writing before you leave
(look for the ads in the Guardian
and Times Education
Supplement , and
contact the Italian
Cultural Institute),
preferably before the
summer, though you can
also find openings in
September. If you're
looking on the spot, sift
through the phone books
and do the rounds on foot,
asking to speak to the direttore
or his/her secretary;
don't bother to try in
August when everything is
closed. The best teaching
jobs of all are with a
university as a lettore
, a job requiring fewer
hours than the language
schools and generally
providing a fuller
pay-packet. Universities
require English-language
teachers in most
faculties, and you can
write to the individual
faculties (addressed to
Ufficio di Personale).
Strictly speaking you
could get by without any
knowledge of Italian while
teaching, though it
obviously helps a lot.
If teaching's not up
your street, there's the
possibility of courier
work in the summer,
especially around the
seaside resorts. These are
good places for finding bar/restaurant
work , too - not the
most lucrative of jobs,
though you should make
enough to keep you over
the summer. You'll have to
ask around for both types
of work, and some
knowledge of Italian is
essential. Au pairing
is another option: sift
through the ads in The
Lady to find openings.
One way of spending time
in Italy is to combine a
holiday with learning the
language, or taking one of
many summer courses on
myriad aspects of Italian
art and culture. There are
a great many places where
you can do this, usually
offering language courses
of varying levels of
intensity for between one
and three months
.
