Job Discussion Forums

[Timetramp]

Hi everyone..

I have been considering moving to Turkey for some time now, I have decided that I want to move there by the end of the year/early next year, but, I struggle to find information. A lot of posts are quite old...

I am from South Africa, with degrees in Science. I also hold a PGCE in maths and science. I have been working in South Korea for nearly 3 years now, so I also have experience teaching ESL and Business English.

My questions are:
a) Can one get a work permit at a language school if you have a PGCE that is not related to English? I read somewhere that the new work permit requirements are that your degree must match what you teach?
b) Is it possible to organize a work permit IN Turkey? (Many employers seem to go down this route..?)
c) Is there anyone on this website that is happy with their job in Turkey? There seems to be so many negative comments! Can anyone recommend a good company please?
d) And I know this has been asked before, but on a budget of lets say 2300TL, could one save any of that if you do not go out too much? If one stay in free accommodation, how much of ones salary can you likely save in a city like Istanbul? (difficult question i know!)
e) Would it help at all to do an online TESOL certificate or something along the lines? Someone told me that online certificates are not generally excepted for a work permit. If they do consider it, can you recommend an online course please?
f) Can anyone give me any tips and advice regarding finding work in Istanbul?

Thank you in advance for any replies..

[ossie39]

Hello Tiretramp

I will try answer your questions. It is pleasing that you are thinking about working in Turkey which is amazing.
a) You would not get a work permit without a TEFL qualification or a mainstream teaching qualification for English, but yours is maths and science. Your quals may hold good in an international school here but not teaching English.
b) Yes I believe so. Money and connections can do anything. An education establishment can technically register you for any job title and give you something different to do, eg school librarian whilst teaching. Look carefully at this one and check with your embassy because this could be the most problematic if you don't go knocking on doors in Turkey.
c) I am sure there are people who are very happy. There are certainly negative comments (a lot justified) but they actually mirror the country. Ways of doing things by Turks can be very alien to western thinking but you want to have a fantastic and enlightening experience right? It won't disapoint. The complications are very often paper work or some social behavioural code. Better to have daves so we can judge comments for ourselves rather than being in the dark.
d) That is not a lot of money for Istanbul. Outside Istanbul- 800tl furnished flat, 100tl bills, 100 public transport, 800 food, 200 other and save 300pm.
e) Essential and yes they are accepted. Don't forget you are already a professionally qualified teacher, it's just the need to adapt to another subject and its distinctive methodology. INTESOL is great.
f) Can't help sorry. Fact is though language schools are franchises of big names but I am sure you could google schools. Good luck.

[wander&teach]

Ossie39's comments are very accurate. One suggestion is to consider other locations outside of Istanbul. Enforcement and qualification requirements vary greatly from city to city and most of the alternate places will legally (and illegally) bend the rules for you. They also tend to pay a higher wage with a much lower cost of living because of the difficulty in attracting English speakers to their locations.

[Timetramp]

Hi Ossie,

Thank you so much for your incredibly nice and detailed message. That is so kind of you..thank you for taking the time to write.

a) I have been looking for positions at international schools for a while now, but it seems they hire early on during the year. I read somewhere that positions may open up again for January/February...but it is already so late to organize a visa then (it takes 2 months outside Turkey someone said..).
b) Could a typical language school maybe also somehow get me a work permit as maths and science teacher. If I understand you correctly then that is a no, since there is no way they can pretend that my skills will be needed in a for an language institution (as supposed to a school). Could you maybe expand a little on the knocking on doors part please...
c) That is very true. Before I came to Korea I read so many bad things about things here...and it is nothing as bad as people made it out to be. There are bad things, of cause, but not everyone here is out to get you.
d) What I have seen on job boards so far is that the general salary at a language institution is between 2000 - and 2500tl. Many do offer shared accommodation however, which then means one could in theory save 900tl? I wonder if the sharing involves bunk beds however. Is a salary between 2000 - 2500 tl that includes accommodation reasonable for Istanbul (if not great).
e) Thank you for the INTESOL advice!! I looked at it briefly, but was wondering about the 6 hours practical... do you have any idea how one go about doing that?
f) It's ok! Thank you...I am googling like a mad person as it is.

Additional questions if you dont mind please:
g) If one is not happy with your employer, how easy/difficult is it to change to another? In Korea for example the company that hired you owns you. Changing employers are quite difficult. If one is stuck with a bad language school, do you have to stick it out till the end of the contract before you can move on to another employer?
h) I just came upon another problem area. As a South African, I only get a 1 month tourist visa. Someone told me because of this, I cannot do what many other people do from other countries, ie., I cannot just go to Turkey and apply for a work permit there (since it can take up to 6 months for the visa to arrive in Turkey). Is there then no way for me to go there and stay legally, without applying for a work permit first from outside Turkey? Can one not even apply for a residency visa when you arrive in Turkey, and then apply for a work permit. I thought the residency visa would make one legal while I wait for the work permit...regardless how much holiday time you have on your passport.
i) And I am so confused about the whole: translating ones degree and passport (and ??) into Turkish when you apply for a work permit. For example, I am in Korea now, who on earth can translate and notarize those documents here? How do one normally go about doing this?

Sigh.

Thank you again for all your help! I appreciate it very much.

[Timetramp]

Hi wander&teach..

Thank you for your comment and advice as well!

I have been to Istanbul - and really liked it there a lot..hence why I would want to move there. It felt fairly open to foreigners, and quite a few people spoke a fair amount of English...which is nice. I have not been to any of the other cities...which ones would you recommend? I really would like to live somewhere with a bit of a night life, where I can meet people etc. I struggle a bit with that here in Korea...

[wander&teach]

Of course Istanbul is considered the New York City of Turkey so if a hyper-active social night life is your top priority it's a good choice, at a cost. But there are many other other areas in Turkey that offer a similar atmosphere on a smaller scale and a better value (salary vs cost of living), IMHO. Ankara, while a fairly boring government city comprised of office buildings, modern shopping malls, universities and traffic, offers endless teaching opportunities, lots of history, and has a very active night life (bars, clubs, music, hipster scene) in Tunus (or Tunali). Fethiye is another area that offers a very lively tourist (party central style) spot and a heavy ex-pat British community on the sea around the Ölüdeniz Beach area with your typical bars, clubs, and seaside junk shops. The same holds true for many of the coastal towns on the western and southern coasts. Finding English Speakers in any of these places is very common.

[ossie39]

Hello again.
Well INTESOL offers (like some other language school trainers) a 2 week block teaching practice in Cheshire, England. It is possible in other parts of the world and with other companies but I wouldn't do with the company 1;1 look for ACTDEC accredited. I beleve for assessment purposes it is 6 hours of teaching. Remember though that you have transferable skills from your PGCE so do you need to do a TEFL practice? Depends I suppose on years of experience in maths and science.

A noter notarises the qualifications once they are translated, and the noters and translators are linked by each Turkish city to be valid. You do not have to have your qualifications notarised and translated for a language school, and a language school will do the bizz. Bring your originals but demand them back. You can with a school member to the local inspectors to present the originals, back in a couple of hours.

Pending, for a language post your application must go to the labour ministry and the education ministry and the police. Technically then you get a residence permit and on the extremely rare chance you get asked, your details are being processed, pending, maybe 3 - 8 months. Quite usual. This for mainstream too. University teacher does not need a work permit but simply waits for YOK acceptance (the national university body).

A language school may offer an allowance of average 400TL monthly instead of a higher wage or instead of shared accommodation.

Once you are official you are assigned to that school permit speaking but in reality if the chemistry between you and your employer isnt there then I guess you would both be happy to part company. You could get work with that same visa but keep quiet about it. Your 2nd language wont say too much either.
Once in Turkey you can apply for a non-working residence permit. For each month of intention to stay you should demonstrate funds of 900 TL (300 pounds UK) monthly plus proof of a place to live. Freelance teachers often survive on the non-work permit if they cant get a full time employer. They are entitled to look for work! Proof that you have that money is by bank account statement or a receipt from an exchange office.

Hope this helps.

[Timetramp]

Hi Ossie!

I am sorry! I was waiting for another message notification via email…which never came. Only saw now you guys replied.

When I make it to Turkey, you both are invited for drinks.. this has been so much help.

Ossie, wow, you answered almost all the questions/doubts I had up to now. Thank you. I was actually looking at accreditation last night, so the ACTDEC advice is very handy. To be honest with you, I am a tiny bit annoyed that I even have to look at these TESOL courses. How schools and training centers can prefer a quick online course over a PGCE, is beyond me, but ok. I do agree with you about the practical component, so I am going to opt just for a normal 120 hour accredited course. A degree + PGCE + a TESOL certificate surely should hopefully be good enough. I am still hoping I will find a maths/science teaching position, so the TESOL is my backup option if I can’t find anything. I have nearly 6 years experience now..

So I can do all the translations/notarizations in Turkey? That is excellent news! It seems like quite a process to find someone here where I am..so this makes it a lot more simple.

I didn’t know that Uni teachers don’t need a work permit! I will look into this too… I read on the forum that some teachers quit and make a run for it during January/March, so maybe I am lucky..

Your last paragraph was highly illuminating, and something I have been unable to get a clear answer to so far… I was wondering how one can get a residency permit if you don’t have a work permit. So but when one apply for a non-working residency permit, don’t they ask questions when you say you plan to stay for lets say 6 months? It is a seriously long “holiday”.  And just to confirm, all I need is money + proof of accommodation? That is it? And just one additional question related to this…if I move to Turkey, can I immediately open a bank account even if I don’t have a job or visa/permit? I am a little unclear about the bank account statement that you referred to…or do I just get a statement from the bank here in Korea before I fly? Could you also please explain about the exchange office…not entirely sure what it is..

Ossie! Thank you so much again! You won’t believe how much this helped. Thanks again.

[Timetramp]

Hi W&T!

Thank you so much to you too for all the recommendations! I will definitely look into these other options too now. A coastal city would be nice I think…I am from cape town, so that sounds perfect. As long as there is a bit of a night life, then I would be happy… especially if there are some English speakers around. Where are you at the moment if I may ask?