There is NO WAY you would get a job teaching English in the current economic climate. With high unemployment in the two main English-speaking countries in Europe, Britain and Ireland, there are PLENTY of highly qualified EU nationals falling over themselves and each other to get at TEFL/TESOL jobs in other EU countries. They don't require expensive visas, you do. Not going to happen. Forget the whole idea.
There are many qualified people already teaching English in the EU.
You would land a job perhaps if you learned something in the medical or computer trade.
Nurses and doctors are always needed. Those trades tend to pay better in the US so if money is your main goal then after spending years learning you would be wasting your time even moving to the EU.
I suppose any trade that you excel at would help land a job anywhere in the world.
As far as just showing up and trying to get hired it is not going to happen.
Jobs are hard to find everywhere and as a stranger you will find yourself at the bottom of the list.
You can always look into becoming a university student overseas, that way it might be possible to find a part-time job legally here while you go to school.
Not sure exactly how that works though, you may need to prove you have the funds to finish school before they enroll you.
My cousin teaches in Germany but she is a professor of Law and works for the US gov. at a base.
My other cousins are doctors working in the UK but they were born in the EU and moved to the UK.
No easy without a good education to do anything anywhere.
It's very unlikely you will get a visa to teach English.
If you are not European, you will have to arrange a visa in order to move there legally. European regulations require employers to advertise jobs and demonstrate that there are no viable European candidates for a job before they can offer a position to a non European. In the best of times non-Europeans have to have specialized skills, education and/or experience that cannot be easily duplicated by European job seekers. You're more likely to get a job that takes advantage of your education and skills than an entry level job; however, it's very difficult. Expecting a job when you don't already speak the local language or expecting employers to go to the time and expense to get you a work permit when that wouldn't be necessary for European candidates is unrealistic.
Right now, the overall unemployment rate in Italy is around 12% and it's around 37% for young people. In Spain and Greece, the unemployment rate is 27% overall and much higher for young people. In Portugal, the unemployment rate is 18% and France is seeing record high numbers of unemployed people. In the UK, the unemployment rate is 7.8%, but at least the number of jobless fell in June. Sweden is a lkittle higher. The lowest unemployment rates are in Germany, Austria, Denmark and Norway. Right now, the chances are not good, but it might get easier as the economy improves.
My direct experience is with Italy where I lived for the past 13+ years (working for a Swedish company); other countries here in Europe will have similar rules. It's not all that different anywhere else. The site for visas in Italy is: http://www.esteri.it/visti/index_eng.asp . The site has links to the application, the additional information you need to supply in order to get the visa and where to apply. It also includes education visas which are somewhat easier to get than work visas. You can find similar information for other countries on their consulate websites.Visa information on the website of the French Consulate in New York is here: http://www.consulfrance-newyork.org/-Vis... . You can find other consulate websites with a fairly simple search. Note that you'll need to apply to the consulate that has jurisdiction over the state where you live, but you can find the necessary information on any of the consulate websites.
A work permit is separate - you cannot apply for that yourself in many countries. The company has to apply and they have to be able to demonstrate that there is not a viable EU candidate for the job. As a result, jobs for foreigners including Canadian or US citizens are pretty much restricted to people with special education, knowledge, or experience ... and you would have to be able to speak the local language. However, the level of English is high in Scandinavia and most adults speak it very well. You would be able to manage well while learning the language. Right now, as noted above, the best bet would probably be something in the healthcare field which is a fit for you. When I moved here, it was through a transfer of the job I was already doing in the US to the Italian office. Even so, it took 8 months to put all the paperwork in place to apply for a visa. If you already have a job offer, the company will provide you the information you need for your visa application and take care of things like work permits.
It's useful to check the expat sites for information about living and working in the places you might be interested in:
http://www.expatsinitaly.com/
http://www.escapeartist.com/
http://www.expatica.com/
You can find other sites by searching for "expat" and the name of your target country. These sites will tell you how to register your address, provide information about healthcare, banks, and so forth to ease you into daily life.
You need to be aware that if you are a US expat, you would need to file tax returns in the US as well as in your host country and that can get to be expensive.
It's almost impossible for a U.S. citizen to get a job teaching English in the EU. It's so much easier for them to hire a Brit, who doesn't need a work visa. Ask your friend how he got the job. I knew some Americans who were teaching in East Germany before the reunification- and before the creation of the EU.
To teach, you need at least a bachelor's degree in something and at least a certificate in TESL/TEFL, preferably the CELTA. For the better positions, you need a master's. There are jobs in Germany for people with Ph.Ds in the right areas.
Go to eslcafe.com and look at the job list. You'll see very few jobs in Europe.
In order to teach you have to be a teacher, otherwise you end up in low paying private language institute. At least you need to graduate in a course English for foreigners.
Getting a temporary work visa is not that difficult but you have to find an employer beforehand.
The best way to move to Europe is to get an undergraduate degree which usually opens the path to university studies. Get a student visa and stay in the academic world as long as possible. Graduating beforehand makes only sense for much needed professions and only if your graduation will be accepted as comparable. Don't underestimate the language barrier.
There MAY be options for teaching English, but ask your friend.
Otherwise, you need advanced educational and professional qualifications plus be able to > fluently < read/write/speak the local language to get a work visa in the EU as an American.
If you don't know anything about it, maybe it's not for you. You don't tell me anything about yourself, your qualifications, your skills.
Teaching English is definitely a possibility. It's really not that incredibly difficult of a task although teaching has never been known to bring in a huge paycheck. You have to really like the job if you want to do that.
You have to do a lot of research. A lot of googling. You really have to know everything if that's what you're going to do. You can't go there, and then find out that you didn't know this, that, this and some more of this, and you'll wish you googled it up beforehand.
eu sucks more than us
