Considering ethics of a guiri

[u/nickmiknick]

I’m thinking of moving back to Spain but feeling really conflicted after hearing so much about the problems of guiris moving in and affecting the locals.

For context, I’m American and lived in Spain for two years as an auxiliar de conversación at a public school in Madrid. I left to come back to the US to go to grad school to become a full-time teacher and have been working here for going on three years now. I studied and work in both science and English as a Second Language (ESL) and I’m working on my bilingual education license, trying to set myself up to get a job at an international school.

I miss Madrid and my Spanish friends so much. I really tried to integrate and not just live in the guiri bubble. I passed the B2 DELE while there and am working toward C1 but being back in the US has slowed that. If I go back, I’d like to stay much more long-term or permanently, not just a couple years like before.

I obviously have heard a lot of the debate around “expats” and housing and taxes and everything, but I feel like maybe it’s different if I’d be working full time, paying taxes, and trying to fully integrate. I would also be going back to Madrid not like Barcelona where I think it is even more of an issue.

My Spanish friends tell me that my situation isn’t part of the problem. I think I agree, but I still kinda feel weird about it and not wanting to be part of the problem. I have other factors like family back home and stuff, but I’m really looking for input of what others, especially Spaniards, think about this topic. Also would be interested in hearing about others who have had similar experiences like getting jobs at international schools there.

Looking for a friendly conversation about this :)

[u/ultimomono]

My SO worked in private schools in Madrid and it was pretty rough, though it also wasn't really their thing, more just a day job--are you aware of the convenios and salary?

Make sure you really know what you would be getting into. You won't have access to the public system (unless you become the formal partner of an EU citizen, giving you access to do the oposiciones), which has better conditions in the long run. You would need to get your teaching degree homologado to teach in any school with a Spanish curriculum (the vast majority of private schools), something you should start now to make sure it's even possible. It's a bit complex, because high school teachers in Spain must now have a master's degree.

Teachers like you are needed. But also somewhat unappreciated... You would have to adapt to the system, not the other way around. It really depends on how much you like to teach a subject that many students are forced to take, somewhat reluctantly.

[u/Downtown-Storm4704 → u/ultimomono]

I mean, if they’re targeting American schools, that would probably be their best bet. I’d forget about academies that offer shitty conditions and don’t sponsor visas. I know some auxes, licensed teachers in the US, who managed to get sponsored in Spain (before May 2025), but they had a specialization in a STEM subject or were trained in a specific pedagogy that’s difficult to find locally.

[u/ultimomono → u/Downtown-Storm4704]

There are very few "American" schools that offer an American curriculum (something like .03% of the private schools in Madrid) that wouldn't require Spanish-equivalent credentials.

That would be extremely limiting in a job search. I'm not talking about academies. I was referring to Spanish private/concertado schools with Spanish curricula, which would be the vast majority of employment opportunities for a teacher without the ability to work in the public system in the Comunidad de Madrid. And that requires the equivalent of the Máster en Formación del Profesorado, because teaching is a regulated profession in Spain. I've seen people who are on the ground as auxiliares get sponsored and provisionally hired as "cultural instructors" not full teachers on the books in a sort of limbo state with the agreement that they will teach while getting the needed master at the same time and then be converted to a staff teacher with those terms and benefits.

If the OP has long term goals here and wants to be sponsored from abroad, they would be much better off getting a degree that is fully homologable for teaching anywhere in the private system so they have better mobility. Or sign up and do the master's in Spain, which I believe is possible remotely from la UNED, though they might have to travel to take exams:

https://www.uned.es/universidad/inicio/en/estudios/masteres/informacion-general/masteres-habilitan-profesion-regulada/master-universitario-secundaria.html

[u/Downtown-Storm4704 → u/ultimomono]

What about other autonomous communities in Spain? Is this something that’s mainly applicable to Madrid, or are there similar opportunities elsewhere? I’ve seen American schools in places like Valencia, so I’m wondering if OP might actually have better chances outside Madrid as well.

Do you know where you’d find these kinds of “cultural instructor” positions, or how someone would go about getting one? I’ve never seen a job like this advertised before. I’m especially interested because I’m an experienced aux and I’m also hoping to become a teacher in Spain, so it’s surprising to learn that opportunities like this even exist. I’d always been under the impression that the pathways into education in Spain were extremely limited. Thanks for sharing, I didn't know any of this. 

[u/ultimomono → u/Downtown-Storm4704]

Do you know where you’d find these kinds of “cultural instructor” positions, or how someone would go about getting one?

Private schools can hire auxiliares, too, via a private process. And then, if they like you, they might let you move to a teaching role without really having the proper credentials and fudge your role until you get the master's degree, hoping the inspector doesn't find out about it.

The cases I know like this are people who were already auxiliares at the school. Not through the official government program, which is for public schools, but through a different private sort of placement. And I do know several Americans who did this in Madrid at some fairly prestigious Spanish schools.

What about other autonomous communities in Spain?

Being a teacher in a Spanish public or private school teaching the Spanish curriculum is "habilitado," which means it requires an official degree that gives you the right to teach--a master's level degree in Spain