My other job

As an assistant I was finding I had a lot of spare time; I'd heard from previous Year Abroad-ers that tutoring was an easy way to earn some extra cash, but in my case I was only approached halfway through the year and, despite several reminders, nothing became of it.

However in February I saw a post on the 'Assistants de langues en France - Lyon 2012-2013' Facebook group advertising job vacancies at an English language school called Afterschool in Lyon. I applied almost half-heartedly, expecting heavy competition and no reply, but suddenly I was observing a lesson, having a short interview and talking about gaps in my timetable. Due to the school holidays the earliest I could start was March, giving me a total of only 8 weeks there before returning to the UK.

I have a variety of students, from private business clients looking to learn very specific grammar and vocabulary points to a class of four misbehaved nursery school children. It's well-paid and both easy (no need for elaborate motivation tactics when the students are paying €50 for the lesson!) and challenging (teaching grammar in English takes some getting used to), and it suits me perfectly to be doing a skilled, rewarding and interesting job on the side rather than yet another bar or café, and according to my boss, I'm quite good at it!

I only wish I'd thought of it sooner. So my advice to 2nd year language students is to look up language schools in your area, or the nearest big city; I take an hour long train in twice a week for it, but I meet up with friends from Erasmus for lunch or dinner and do shopping etc. around work while I'm there.
Don't make the same mistake is I did; get in there early and you could be almost doubling your income!