Country | Avg. monthly salary | Degree required | Start of term | Teaching experience | Housing & flights included | Suitable for non-native English speakers | Age restrictions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teach in Italy | €1,793 £1,513 GBP $1,947 USD | Preferred | September | None |
Italy is a top destination for TEFL teachers. Find out how much you can earn teaching English there in our quick salary guide.
Italy is one of the most popular places to teach English in Europe, with its incredible history, world-famous food, and fantastic places to live and work. Whether you’re in Rome, the Amalfi Coast, fashion-forward Milan, or an industrial city like Turin, the demand for English teaching is great, and the opportunities to explore are limitless.
Although wages for English teachers in Italy aren’t the highest in Europe, the country has plenty of opportunities across state, private, and international schools, and through private tutoring gigs. In your downtime, you can also enjoy Italy’s relaxed pace of life and some of the best landscapes in the world.Let’s explore how much you can earn teaching English in Italy, where the best pay is, and what you need to earn top dollar.
On average, a TEFL teacher in Italy will earn about €1,793 per month working full-time (£1,513 / $1,947). Private lessons can earn teachers an extra €25 (£21/ $27) an hour.
Of course, the nature of work for English teachers in Italy can vary. If, for example, you teach English at a summer camp, you can expect to earn about €250 (£290 / $270) weekly.
Averages can also vary depending on the region you teach in. In Italy’s stunning capital, Rome, the average teaching salary is nearer to €2,280 per month (£1,905 / $2,462). Italian cities with higher living costs, like Rome, Milan, and Varese, will usually pay higher wages, but this is to match increased daily expenses.Country | Avg. monthly salary | Degree required | Start of term | Teaching experience | Housing & flights included | Suitable for non-native English speakers | Age restrictions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teach in Italy | €1,793 £1,513 GBP $1,947 USD | Preferred | September | None |
Let’s look at the different opportunities available for English teachers across Italy, from public schools to language centres and universities.
In Italy’s public school system, wages are controlled by a collective agreement across the education sector. While there are slight differences based on location, seniority and qualifications, you can expect a salary of around €1,500 to €2,200 per month before tax (£1,253 - £1,839 / $1,620 - $2,375).
To land these kinds of jobs, you’ll need a degree, a TEFL certificate, experience, and some fluency in Italian.
What do English teachers need to earn a living in Italy? Well, different jobs have different requirements, but in general, you’ll need:
When you teach English in Italy, three main factors influence your income: teaching experience, qualifications, and your employer. Let’s take a closer look.
None of this is to say that newer teachers aren’t valued in Italy. Still, you need two years of experience, especially if you’re applying for work in elite institutions like international schools and universities.
The more relevant qualifications you have on your CV, the higher your English teaching salary will be.
A bachelor’s degree is a necessary requirement for the majority of teaching jobs in Italy. With a master’s or PhD, you’ll find more opportunities to earn a higher wage, while professional teaching certifications and a teaching license are also hugely beneficial.TEFL certifications are crucial, with 120 hours of TEFL coaching being the industry standard. Advanced TEFL certificates can also help out massively, specifically the following:
ESL teachers across Italy will earn differing salaries depending on where they work.
Language schools, which are common in major Italian cities like Rome, Milan, and Florence, offer decent pay. Top earners make around €1,200 – €2,000 per month (£1,000 - £1,670 / $1,295 - $2,159).
Teaching in private or international schools can offer higher salaries, sometimes reaching €2,500 – €3,500 per month (£2,090 - £2,925 / $2,700 - $3,779), especially for experienced teachers with strong qualifications.
University salaries vary widely. If you’re a professor, you can expect earnings similar to those at top international schools, while faculty heads and department chairs earn even more. The average salary for a professor in Italy is about €3,583 (£2,995 / $3,868) per month. You’ll usually need at least a master’s degree to earn this salary at an Italian university.
Tip: Remember that full-time contracts are less common in Italy. As a TEFL teacher, you’re likely to work multiple jobs at any given time, or move from contract to contract, sometimes at short notice. This can make calculating an “average” salary quite tricky!
What benefits and compensation packages can you expect while teaching abroad in Italy?
As is pretty common across Europe, teachers don’t receive the large benefits packages you might find while working in the Middle East or parts of Asia. However, there are somealluring bonuses for TEFL teachers, depending on your employer and specific working situation.Sometimes, educators looking to start teaching abroad in Italy will be offered support with accommodation, either in the form of on-campus accommodation or a stipend. TEFL teachers volunteering through programmes in Italy are often provided with a host family.
Knowing the local language is extremely helpful while living and working in Italy. Different schools, usually international, private, and language schools, offer this benefit. When you teach abroad, knowing the local language is incredibly valuable.
Teachers on full-time, permanent contracts can receive healthcare coverage and paid holidays. Again, these kinds of teaching contracts aren’t the norm in Italy, so they’re rarely available to part-time and freelance teachers.
If you’re picturing luxurious holidays in Rome, Venice or Florence and thinking it costs a lot to live in Italy, you might be surprised by its affordability. Compared to neighbouring countries like Germany, France and Switzerland, English teachers' living costs are pretty reasonable.
The cost of living in Italy varies significantly depending on your location. While many TEFL teachers dream of Rome, Venice or Como, budget-conscious teachers can explore smaller cities like Lecce, Perugia or Bologna. Numbeo data shows that a meal at an average restaurant in Lecce is much cheaper than a similar one in Florence, for example.
Additionally, communities of ESL teachers tend to be closer-knit in smaller areas, so you can more easily find people to share accommodation with while you teach abroad.Restaurants | EUR | USD | GBP |
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Inexpensive restaurant meal | |||
Domestic beer (0.5 litre) | |||
Regular cappuccino | |||
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Regular milk (1 litre) | |||
Loaf of white bread | |||
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Apples (1 kg) | |||
Transportation | EUR | USD | GBP |
One-way ticket (local transport) | |||
Monthly pass (regular price) | |||
Taxi start (normal tariff) | |||
Gasoline (1 litre) | |||
Utilities | EUR | USD | GBP |
Electricity, heating, cooling, water, and garbage (for a regular apartment) | |||
Regular prepaid monthly mobile tariff with 10GB+ data | |||
Internet (60 Mbps, unlimited data, cable/ADSL) | |||
Clothing and shoes | EUR | USD | GBP |
Pair of jeans (Levis 501 or something similar) | |||
Summer dress in a chain store | |||
Nike running shoes (mid-range) | |||
Men's leather business shoes |
With the lack of long-term, full-time contracts in Italy and salaries that can vary a lot, it’s useful to know how to maximise your earnings.
Investing in higher-level certifications, such as Advanced TEFL qualifications or a DELTA, can open doors to more lucrative positions, including teacher training roles.
Not only is private English tutoring popular in Italy, it’s also a great earner for teachers. You can usually charge around €25 (£21/ $27) per hour.
Resourceful ESL teachers can target business centres in Italy to find groups of corporate clients. Fees vary depending on the company's size, the intensity of lessons and where you teach, but rates are usually considerable. An advanced TEFL qualification in Business English is worth doing for this reason.
Permanent contracts in Italy, across various industries, aren’t the most common. This is especially true in teaching, where permanent, full-time work is rare. This is largely because full-time teachers get a range of working rights in Italy, and jobs don’t open up that often
While it can be tough it means you can diversify your teaching experience by working across different institutions. If you can work part-time at different places, you’ll be a more adaptable teacher with more money in your pocket.
Networking is vital for a TEFL teacher. Attend TEFL networking events and connect with professionals who can refer you to potential clients or job openings. Online resources like LinkedIn and Facebook are super useful, too!
Italy is a gorgeous, exciting place to live, with lots of opportunities for English teachers. What have we learned about the salaries on offer for TEFL teachers in Italy? Here are the most important things you need to know to make an impact in Italy:
Tucking into the world’s best pizza, sunbathing on the beaches of Sardinia, cruising down the canals of Venice or hitting the slopes in the Dolomites – when you teach English abroad in Italy, living la dolce vita is so easy to do.
An idyllic view of the Coliseum, glass of wine in hand, after a rewarding day of English teaching? Yes, life in Rome as a TEFL teacher is within your grasp: find out how!
Do you have your sights on Italy? Have you thought about teaching English as a foreign language? We have a number of courses & jobs that can get you there.
With dozens of beautiful countries to choose from, great wages and the chance to live that quintessential European lifestyle, it's no wonder so many TEFL teachers choose to teach English in Europe.
Here are some of the top questions about teaching English in Italy and the salary that comes with it.
To teach English in Italy, you’ll need a 120-hour TEFL certificate, a bachelor's degree (for most jobs), at least two years of teaching experience, and, in some cases, a teaching license.
Learning Italian will help you find more jobs locally and is particularly useful in state schools. As a TEFL teacher, you should try to learn the local language wherever you go. It’ll help you network and understand the people around you.
The best way to search for teaching jobs in Italy is through online job portals, like The TEFL Org Jobs Centre. Most English teaching jobs in Italy are found this way, though being in Italy to apply for jobs in person is something many ESL teachers do, too.
There is significant demand for English teachers in Italy, especially in smaller cities where they are more sought-after. Although the levels of English in Italy are relatively high, they could be higher! To start teaching in Italy, you need TEFL/TESOL certification, usually a degree, and some experience.