Getting a teaching job in Spain

I thought I'd interrupt the course descriptions for a moment to talk a bit about the hiring process for Primary school teachers here in Spain, since a couple of people have asked about it.

First of all, there are three types of schools here: public, private, and concertado (semi-private.) The concertado schools are mostly, but not all, Catholic schools, and are not run by the State. However, they do receive State funds, and because of that they must follow certain rules. One of the rules is that all elementary teachers must hold the Spanish Elementary Education degree, or an officialy-recognized elem. education degree from another country. (Getting a foreign degree recognized is a huge PITA.) Another rule is that they must use the same admissions criteria as the public schools for students, and also I think that they may not require students to take religion classes (meaning that an alternative is offered for the time that religion is being taught for those who don't wish to take it.)

The private schools can hire anyone they want to, I believe.

And the public schools do not have any say at all in who they hire as teachers. If you want to opt for a public school teaching position, not only must you have the Magisterio degree, but you must also pass a difficult civil service exam. Those who pass are ranked according to their score, and then they get to choose from the available job openings based on their position in the ranking. Usually the positions that are open to those who have just passed are the least desireable ones, but once you have been in the system longer and have built up points for seniority etc. you can request a transfer, again based on your relative ranking and the available openings.

If you pass the exam but do not score high enough to qualify for a post (i.e. there are more people who passed than available jobs) you are put on a list to be an interino, which means you will be offered jobs as they become available due to a maternity leave, extended medical leave, etc. This is only a temporary posting for you, but it earns you points toward the next exam.

Those who get a full post basically have a job for life with lots of benefits, so it behooves degree-holders to take the exam and try to get a post. However, it is also difficult-- it is common for people to spend an entire year studying full-time for the exam-- so some people prefer to work in one of the other types of schools. Also, when you first get a post, it may well be in another city, so until you build enough points to transfer, it is not necessarily very convenient.

Still, I will probably take the exam. Unfortunately, the next time it is being offered when I will be elegible is in June of 2011 (if things go as planned and it is actually offered then). This presents a bit of a problem, because I will complete my degree in Feb. 2010, but if I plan to take the exam, it might behoove me to spend the 2010-2011 school year studying instead of teaching, which would delay my entry into the workforce for quite a few more years. So, I'm not exactly sure what I will do. Right now, I just want to finish my degree!