How To Become A Teacher In Austria

Whether you are an American, an European (E.U.) citizen or anybody else, you will find the vast majority of teaching and tutoring opportunities in-person locally on the ground in Austria. Because English language training is highly concentrated in the business sector and the vast majority of teachers work as freelancers and often on temporary contracts, seasonal hiring is not quite as prevalent as it is in some European countries. We still highly recommend that you plan on being in Austria during the end of summer (late August – early October) and in January. Some camps and schools also recruit in the spring and summer. Without E.U. citizenship, it is difficult to find work in Austria.

One option is through the Fulbright program to work in the public school system. These positions are competitive and start interviewing a year in advance. Check out the Austrian-American Educational Commission.

Teach English in Austria TEFL

Again, the vast majority of English teachers in Austria work and are hired as freelancers, which means that as a first-time teacher you should not necessarily expect to land a full-time position, especially at first.

1. Get an internationally recognized and accredited TEFL certification with at least 100 hours of training and six hours of live practice teaching. It will be a sad day for you when you travel all the way to Austria to teach English and find that nobody will hire you because you don’t have an accredited TEFL certification.

To learn more about choosing a TEFL certification, please read 7 Key Tips to Evaluating a TEFL / TESOL Training School.

2. GO TO AUSTRIA! Again, language schools and institutes in Austria interview and hire English teaching almost exclusively locally. This means that you need to go to Austria to meet with school directors and other potential employers. September and January are primary hiring months in Austria and through Europe.
3. Arrive in Austria with enough financial resources to support yourself for 4-6 weeks. Costs will vary depending on where you plan on living, but if you will be paying for your accommodations, we recommend that you arrive with access to cash and/or credit of at least $3,900 or €2,900 (not including airfare).

Fulbright Austria

4. If you do not have accommodations lined up such as family or friends, plan on spending your first month in a hostel or some other budget-friendly accommodations. Use resources such as Lonely Planet guides to find such venues.
5. If you have friends or relatives in Austria, have them scout out local schools before your arrival. Also, have them inquire with friends and colleagues to see if they might be interested in private lessons – this will enable you to start making money and getting experience as soon as you arrive.
6. As soon as you arrive, get a local phone with a local number and make sure to include your new number on your resume and in all correspondence.
7. Have your teaching English abroad resume/c.v. and cover letter translated into German. Also make business cards for yourself is possible that list you as TEFL-certified.
8. To find schools to contact for interviews, use every resource at your disposal, including the Austrian yellow pages and major ESL job boards. Call and research schools online to make sure they are still operational before visiting them personally.
9. The best way to get an interview is to visit and call schools personally – do not simply sit in an Internet café and email resumes as this will not prove effective.
10. Find students to tutor privately. We recommend posting notices on bulletin boards in and around major universities as well as cafes and other highly trafficked areas. You may also consider posting ads in local publications as well, and word of mouth can be key, so make business cards and ask friends and acquaintances if they know anybody in search of private English lessons. To learn more, read Can I Make Money Giving Private Lessons Teaching English Abroad?

Austria Teacher Salary

Salary and benefits while teaching in Austria

Teach in Austria – Hiring

The school year in Austria runs from September until July. While schools in Austria hire teachers year round, peak recruitment times for English teachers in Austria usually fall in September and January.

Qualifications to teach in Austria

Ideally, teachers looking for jobs at private language schools in Austria should have, at minimum, a Bachelor’s degree and an internationally recognized TEFL certificate to stand the best chance of securing an English teaching position.

The University of Toronto’s TEFL online certificate can give you the edge over other candidates applying to teach English abroad in Austria.

International schools in Austria will often seek candidates who have a postgraduate certificate in education as well as relevant teaching experience. The pay is consequently higher at Austrian international schools compared to private language schools.

Visas for teachers in Austria

If you’re a teacher from an EU member state, you won’t need to apply for a visa to work in Austria. However, all EU nationals will need to apply for permanent residency status within three months of their arrival in the country. Teachers outside of the EU, who have not yet secured a teaching job in Austria, are eligible to apply for a six-month Jobseeker visa. Due to the relocation costs involved with moving to Austria, it’s worth having a job offer in place prior to your arrival.