But very few things are black and white over here, so you\u2019d better decide how much \u201cgray\u201d you\u2019re comfortable with before you sell all your furniture. For those fearless souls like us that have more enthusiasm than common sense, let us explain a thing or two about working in Italy as a foreigner.<\/p>\n
It should be mentioned that this particular type of experience is actually much more rewarding than that of the lucky few who can afford to finance their dreams without working.\u00a0 By immersing yourself fully into the culture by way of a job, you become an active participant in your journey rather than just an observer.\u00a0 From the start, you should view this as an advantage, and not just as a necessity\u2014even if it is. \u00a0(OK, yes, I\u2019d rather be toasting George Clooney\u2019s nuptials with him at his Lake Como villa<\/a>, but short of that, working for a living isn\u2019t so bad.) <\/p>\n Or perhaps you\u2019re one of those restless Americans who feel unsatisfied with his\/her successful career, generous salary, and comfortable lifestyle in The States.\u00a0 You long for a less complicated existence, something that holds that elusive quality of being more \u201creal.\u201d\u00a0 You want to live more deliberately, to take the time to enjoy simple pleasures like deep conversations, slow meals, and the pursuit of frivolous passions.\u00a0 In sum, your life won\u2019t be complete until you rescue a crumbling farmhouse in Tuscany<\/a>, right?\u00a0 That\u2019s OK, I\u2019ve read the book, too.<\/p>\n This seems like a sensible fantasy, but I can\u2019t tell you how many Italians that have asked me, \u201cWhy does every senior manager from Milwaukee want to pick up a hammer, call himself a carpenter, and move to Tuscany?\u201d<\/p>\n For many Italians, they\u2019d jump at the chance to abandon the family village, move to Manhattan, and never look back.\u00a0 Just a few days ago, in fact, I was checking into a hotel in Riccione and the receptionist, seeing my U.S. passport, told me emphatically, \u201cI like the America so much! I want that I could leave Italy for always!\u201d\u00a0 (Obviously, he\u2019ll need to work on his English first.)<\/p>\n Interestingly, an American could have the same \u201ccarpenter\u201d experience in his\/her own country if they really wanted to\u2014there are plenty of old farm houses in small American towns that need restoring.\u00a0 And it would be A LOT easier to accomplish (and cheaper) in West Texas than in Tuscany.\u00a0 But again, I think it\u2019s about being an expat in an \u201cexotic\u201d location, where you can put your past out of your mind and recreate yourself in a new, idealized version.\u00a0 Yes, there are even some crazy stories of Americans who left successful dental practices in Florida to teach English in Rome and write a blog about Italy.\u00a0 Madness recognizes no social or political boundaries.<\/p>\n Teaching English is the default choice for those of us who possess no other marketable skills\u2014like me.\u00a0 Sure, I could have tried to get my dental license in Italy, but again, like restoring a farm house, if I wanted to do that, I would have just stayed in the U.S. \u00a0\u00a0Fixing teeth is stressful enough without worrying about paying the pizzo<\/em> (protection money) to the local outfit.\u00a0 Teaching, while less financially rewarding, does not carry the burden of those pressures.<\/p>\n Speaking of finances, I should also mention that a teaching job is not<\/em> a wise \u201ccareer choice.\u201d\u00a0 In fact, it\u2019s not a career at all, it\u2019s a job\u2014a job with little or no hope of promotion or advancement.\u00a0 You can make enough to pay the bills, but that\u2019s about it.\u00a0 People like me do it for the experience, not for building a C.V.\u00a0 It\u2019s fun, low stress, and finding work is quite easy.<\/p>\n We are currently amid a very unique moment in history as globalization gains momentum and the English language spreads like a contagion across the planet.\u00a0 The Earth gets a little smaller every day.\u00a0 People throughout the developed world are realizing that limiting their career prospects to their own country is no longer a reasonable strategy for career success.\u00a0 The emergence of a global language has been a necessary outcome of this phenomenon.\u00a0 In 20 years it might be Chinese, but right now that language is English.<\/p>\n Rome presents a unique opportunity because it is a large international city in a country that has a history of poor English instruction in the school system compared to the rest of Europe.\u00a0 In general, their citizens are highly educated\u2014just not in languages.\u00a0 So when they graduate from university, they find themselves with an excellent education in their chosen field, but without the one absolutely necessary skill to compete in the international job market.\u00a0 English.\u00a0 Consequently the proliferation of private English schools in the last decade or so has opened up a huge market for native speakers.\u00a0 Finding a job as an English teacher in Rome is not quite as easy as falling off a horse\u2014but it\u2019s close.<\/p>\n For an American working in Italy, adjusting to the norms of Italian business and commerce can be somewhat of a challenge. You really need to downshift by a couple of gears and stop trying to impose your former work ethic on your current job situation. \u00a0Not to say that Italians don\u2019t work hard. \u00a0They do, but they go about their workday at a different pace than what an American would come to expect. In the U.S., employees are encouraged to be pro-active, self-starters, or at least try to look busy. \u00a0Italians don\u2019t appear to be troubled by such concepts. Don\u2019t get me wrong, some actual work does manage to interrupt the constant string of coffee and cigarette breaks. \u00a0But the project at hand is considered a mere annoyance, an afterthought, to the real task of discussing soccer or comparing family recipes for lasagna.<\/p>\n For a while I worked for a large American pharmaceutical company at their Italian headquarters just outside of Rome.\u00a0 I won\u2019t mention their name, because that would be indiscreet\u2014but let\u2019s just say that they sell a popular blue pill, used by middle-aged men, as well as actors in the adult film industry.\u00a0 Enough said.<\/p>\n Anyway, when working for a larger firm or international corporation in Italy, you can occasionally observe the unwanted intrusion of an American-style business philosophy. These companies even try to inject a fair amount of American vocabulary into the workplace, which can sound very strange to the Italian employee. \u00a0Terms such \u201cstaff,\u201d \u201cmeeting,\u201d \u201cproductivity,\u201d \u201ccompetitiveness,\u201d and \u201cshowing up to work on time,\u201d have now (reluctantly) found their way into the corporate lexicon. Nonetheless, the actual meaning of these terms still tends to get lost in translation.<\/p>\n More exasperating still is dealing with government workers who often regard your presence at the same level as they would a gnat or a persistent rash. You may get angry with this attitude and be tempted to take out your frustrations on the postal employee, for example, who is talking on her cellphone behind the glass. \u00a0However, this will do you absolutely no good. \u00a0She has a very secure job and has no qualms about telling you precisely where you can put that package you wanted to send. \u00a0Congratulations, now you get to take a new number and go back to the end of the line. Or better yet, just go to another post office at that point.<\/p>\n For small businesses, the workday isn\u2019t quite as brutal. Even if you put in a solid 2 or 3 hours of work in the morning, you still have your\u00a0\u201cpausa\u201d<\/em>\u00a0to look forward to. \u201cThe Pause,\u201d is the time of day in Italy when all of the local businesses shut down and the workers go home for their three hour lunch break. I suppose it is the equivalent to the Spanish \u201csiesta.\u201d I don\u2019t know where, when, or why this tradition started, but what I do know is that it can be quite vexing to the uninitiated American expat. \u00a0We\u2019re used to 24 hour access to everything. \u00a0We naively expect things to function efficiently and in a timely manner. The world is supposed to cater to our every need or whim. When doing business in Italy, you can forget about all of that\u2014just toss away your \u201cTo Do\u201d list, go find a sunny piazza, and have a glass of wine.\u00a0 NOW you\u2019ve adjusted to working in Italy.<\/p>\n I’ve written a few post on various work-related topics in the past. \u00a0Here are some of them:<\/p>\n The Schengen Visa and Other Bureaucratic Nightmares<\/a><\/p>\n Apartment Rentals<\/a><\/p>\n Teaching English in Italy<\/a><\/p>\n Healthcare in Italy<\/a><\/p>\n As usual, you\u2019ll need to visit my friends\u2019 pages if you want to garner any real information.\u00a0 Check out their blogs via my COSI links<\/a>, and collectively you\u2019ll have a pretty good overview of the job situation in Italy.<\/p>\n *A side note: this group is intentionally comprised of expats living in different Italian cities\u2014big and small, north and south\u2014in order to give a more diverse perspective on life in Italy as a foreigner.\u00a0 As a result, we don\u2019t often (ever) meet each other in person.<\/p>\n However, this week I have the honor and privilege of attending a very important travel trade show\/blogger conference with one of my accomplices, Georgette, aka The Girl in Florence<\/a>, at TBDI in Rimini<\/a>.\u00a0 Her presence ups the street-cred of this gathering by 200%, and I\u2019m left wondering why I\u2019m even here.\u00a0 I\u2019m not complaining, though, just keeping my eyes, ears, and notebook wide open at all times.\u00a0 Hopefully I\u2019ll learn a thing or two.<\/p>\n Read Georgette’s thoughts on the subject here: Living in Italy, what is it really like?<\/a><\/p>\n Rochelle, The Unwilling Expat in Sicily explains: How to pretend NOT to work in Southern Italy.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"working](\"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/farmhouse-300x187.jpg\")
But why teach English?\u00a0 And why Rome specifically?<\/h2>\n
![\"Teaching](\"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/bookcover3small.jpg\")
<\/a>The Italian Work Environment<\/h2>\n
![\"coffee](\"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/bengnini.jpg\")
<\/p>\nResources<\/h2>\n
COSI<\/h2>\n