ESL Teaching in Greece

By Christopher Deliso

Although Greece is a relatively tough market for teachers, things are not nearly so dire as the pessimists at Lonely Planet and Rough Guides would have you believe. To teach English in Greece you need a teaching permit, a resident permit, and a work permit. It is a good idea to contact a potential employer before leaving, but if you are smart and qualified you can usually just show up and find a spot.

It is a very good idea to get yourself a TEFL teaching certificate. While the full-course degree is most useful, an abridged "intro" course can also be good enough (as it was for me). If you have a strong college degree you'll stand a better chance of getting a good job.

With a full-time work week of about 28 hours, you can live easily on a monthly salary-around 250,000 drachmas. Rent should be 75,000 drachmas per month at most and food bills about 35,000 drachmas per month.

In addition to your full-time job, it is also possible to recruit private students, who are usually willing to pay between 5,000-8,000 drachmas per hour.

All language schools in Crete are regulated and organized through a central agency of school owners called PALSO. Contact them to find out what schools are hiring. They will even take your resume and send it on to interested schools: PALSO Heraklio: Demokratias St., Heraklio, Crete, Greece; 011-30-81-322-002. PALSO Chania: Iroon Politehniou, 80 Chania, Crete, Greece; 011-30-82-142-546; info@palso-chania.gr.