Babylangues - Childcare/Teaching English to preschoolers in Paris

Visaquestion

Has anyone any experience with this company? I have an interview with them on Monday and if successful would hope to go to Paris in September and Stay until June.

For anyone currently living in Paris, what is the minimum you would need to live on in Paris?

This is a concern as Babylangues will only provide me with part-time hours so I would need to supplement it with other teaching jobs or something else.

Visaquestion

I interviewed there on Monday and was offered the job but the lack of hours is still a concern. I would need to find another type of work as they won't allow me to work for other English teaching companies.

Does anyone have any experience with getting bar-work in Paris? I have no French at all at the minute but I have until September to get a basic level anyway. Are there any other sort of jobs people get with basic/no French that offer part time hours? The Babylangues gig would be Monday to Friday between the hours of 4pm and 8pm so I would need to work around that.

nervous_twitch

Realistically you will find it hard to survive in Paris on part-time hours. Impossible, even. Rents are high, as is the cost of living, and basic wage isn't that great in France after all your cotisations etc are paid. When I first arrived, I went for a similar sort of gig with Speaking Agency (teaching English to kids) but the hours were limited and the jobs often so inconveniently located that in the end I didn't bother. 

With no French, the only work you will be able to get is in bars (the Irish/English ones) or teaching English. The latter can actually work out a pretty sweet gig if you get full-time hours, either in the universities or one of the language schools. Have you got any TEFL qualifications? 

More importantly, why Paris? I'm sure the idea of living in the city appeals to you, as it does to many, but the reality is different. If you're coming here to learn French, Paris is definitely not the place to do it. There might be more job opportunities in Paris but theres also more competition. Rents are prohibitive too in the capital. Have you considered going anywhere else? I know you've been offered a job with this company but those sort of jobs exist all over the country. I recommend coming with a couple of months savings and then hitting the bars/schools to find full time work. September is a good time to look as all the students have gone back. For a lot of the schools, they will already be looking for their September staff so maybe you could contact them directly online to see if there are any positions opening up.

Visaquestion

nervous_twitch wrote: »

Realistically you will find it hard to survive in Paris on part-time hours. Impossible, even. Rents are high, as is the cost of living, and basic wage isn't that great in France after all your cotisations etc are paid. When I first arrived, I went for a similar sort of gig with Speaking Agency (teaching English to kids) but the hours were limited and the jobs often so inconveniently located that in the end I didn't bother.

With no French, the only work you will be able to get is in bars (the Irish/English ones) or teaching English. The latter can actually work out a pretty sweet gig if you get full-time hours, either in the universities or one of the language schools. Have you got any TEFL qualifications?

More importantly, why Paris? I'm sure the idea of living in the city appeals to you, as it does to many, but the reality is different. If you're coming here to learn French, Paris is definitely not the place to do it. There might be more job opportunities in Paris but theres also more competition. Rents are prohibitive too in the capital. Have you considered going anywhere else? I know you've been offered a job with this company but those sort of jobs exist all over the country. I recommend coming with a couple of months savings and then hitting the bars/schools to find full time work. September is a good time to look as all the students have gone back. For a lot of the schools, they will already be looking for their September staff so maybe you could contact them directly online to see if there are any positions opening up.

Hi, thanks for replying and thanks for the advice.

I have no TEFL so a lot of English teaching jobs are out of bounds for me.

As to why Paris: just because, really. I visited last year and liked it and thought I'd like to live there. I do intend to learn French and the company offer free lessons and language exchanges.

This whole idea is a last resort if I don't get a job at home or a job teaching English elsewhere so I've not put a whole lot of though into it, but I'd like to keep it as an option.