Job Discussion Forums

[Aramas]

I've been checking out salaries and cost of living in CZ and it seems to pay badly - around $500-$600 USD a month, which seems to be about what the rent on a 1 bedroom flat in Prague is. Does that sound about right? That would mean that TEFL in CZ pays about half what it does in SE Asia, and cost of living is about double?

Or am I missing something?

[spiral78]

Housing's always been relatively expensive in Prague, ranges roughly between 8,000 and 15,000 kc monthly, less if you live outside of the center and share a place with others. Teaching jobs don't support living in the center or a lavish lifestyle in most cases. Salaries are high by local standards, but it's not easy to save money or to finance a lot of travel outside of the country. Basically, you can still get by in Prague and have a great time, but it's much tighter than most places in Asia.
If you're really interested in CZ, why not consider living in a smaller place outside of Prague? The ratios are better in many cases between salaries/cost of living.

[denise]

If you find a school that provides or subsidizes your housing, you can live quite comfortably. When I was there, my salary was something like $300/month, with free housing. I could not go on lavish shopping sprees (not my style anyway) or travel much in Western Europe, but I could always afford to go out for meals, shows, etc., and I was able to travel around the country quite a bit.

d

[comenius]

My experience when living in Prague was about the same. I also earned around the equivalent of $300 USD per month. While travelling outside of Eastern Europe was not financially possible, I had a great lifestyle in Prague and was able to go pretty much where I wanted, do what I wanted, when I wanted, and to the extent I wanted, without any worries or concerns.

[Foster_520]

I constantly read on these pages about the poor rates of pay in Prague and Czech Republic but also constantly meet fellow teachers who jet off a couple of times a year on holiday and on a teachers wage.
Anyone reading these pages must make the clear distinction between the sort of people who work hard and , well, the others who don't.
I can imagine some of these teaching bums cancelling lessons when the hangovers on, getting round to teaching a handful of lessons a month and then complaining about the low wages
One of the teachers at the school where I work travels at Xmas to Egypt and in the summer to South America on the cash he makes during the year teaching.
Wages are relatively high here if you compare the local average wage and costs.
You have to look at it from a local level and not an international one.

[merlin]

Nonsense, Foster_520.
The Czech Republic is no longer a Poor Country.
People Who live in Prague have a considerably higher wage than the rest of the country. Language Schools in Prague should compensate for the high cost of living their teachers have. After all, they charge their students more than schools out in the boonies.

Making negative blanket statements to paint all English Teachers in Prague to be Drunken ne'er do wells does not reflect well on the school you are promoting (TEFL Prague). That is a problem YOU may have due to faulty management practices but this has no relevance in discussing the teaching scene in general and teaching wages.

13,000 crowns ($600US) a month for 20 contact hours is just barely adequate in most places in the Czech Republic - in Prague due to it's higher cost of living it's just exploitation, pure and simple. Oh, yes, that's for 2 weeks paid holiday in witer and paid summer break, just like state-employed teachers. Teachers with 9-month contracts should get considerably more.

[Cull]

I don't see how it could look bad on TEFL Prague if one of their graduates claims that many teachers in Prague are, well, lazy.
I also graduated from TEFL Prague recently and would defend their management indefinately. Had a great time, and having a great time now teaching through a job which they set up.
The fact is that the Czech Republic isn't Switzerland. Prices ARE cheaper there and compared with the average teaching salary life IS GOOD

If Stephanie wanted to express something then hell, let her. I'm afraid I agree.

Damn Merlin, U don't arf sound like U ave a bit of a chip on your shoulder. Ironically, most teachers in Prague ARE drunks ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[Cull]

Now that Merlin brought up a bit of criticism regarding the lovely folk at TEFL Prague I just want to say again that I had a great time with them. Their site is www.tefl-prague.com

Respect!

[merlin]

Yes, Cull, I do have a chip on my shoulder when it comes to pay and salary here. How many times does a director say "OOOH, that's too much. I can't aford to pay you THAT much."

Besides, it's all irrelevant what teachers do in their free time. So what if a teacher gets drunk at night? What kind of feeble argument is that to dock every teachers' pay? Imagine this, during the interview the director is thinking "Well, you look fine now but you'll probably be a drunk within three months so I'm going to offer you a lower salary." What sort of logic is this? It's baffling that any reasonably intelligent person could follow this line of thinking.

Now about Foster - It's been my experience that people who make duplicate posts saying how great a program is usually stand to gain financially. It's also been my experience that the only people who are in favor of paying teachers less are directors who have to pay them.

It has also been my experience that if a moderator clicks on the little IP button of multiple people praising the same previously unheard of TEFL program he will find coincidentally that they are using the same computer. In CZ this is particularly suspicious because few directors allow their "drunken teachers" free unlimited internet access.

Nothing personal and have a nice day, cull.

[Cull]

I think you are looking at it from a biased perspective Merlin.

Some schools in Prague of course do pay their teachers the lowest possible wages. Berlitz is the most notorious one I think.

BUT, the majority pay very reasonably. The competition among language schools in Prague is fierce and to win new clients some schools have had to offer financial discounts to their clients. OK, so a school sets to make lets say 30-40 Per cent from each hour the teacher works. I believe this to be the average. You must also consider taxes, general costs, and then you are left with quite a low profit margin.

I'm not going to comment on the remark you made to multiple posts except that can't two TEFL Prague graduates have got together during their course? And no, I'm not talking about a professional relationship

I hope I didn't upset you when I said you had a chip on your shoulder. No worries eh

[Cull]

The last thing I'm going to say is that this forum was set up so that people could write in with tips. Steph and I both had a great time at TEFL Prague and wanted to let people know on this forum that it was a TEFL school which delivered exactly that which it promised. i.e, a great service and a highly professional service.
We are not being paid, we are not related to the management and we do not set to gain if someone mentions our names when they sign up for a course.
I never expected to receive such negative feedback and just wonder where it is coming from and why.
My message to anyone thinking about doing a TEFL in Prague is to do your research and choose a TEFL school which you feel comfortable with. There is also alot of TEFL competition in Prague and I guess some schools may not like it when graduates from another school are satisfied with a TEFL school and want to give it as a tip for others.
As i said, I'm not going to get into any heated arguments with anyone on this forum as I do have better things to do.
TEFL Prague did it for me so try them and see
www.tefl-prague.com

[merlin]

The negative feedback was to this:

[Cull]

My brother teaches in Japan and earns an absolute fortune. He is always complaining that he never has any cash because it is so damn expensive there. I on the other hand teach in a country where the wages 'suck' and I could afford to go out every night if I wished and incidentally I have just booked my ticket home for Xmas. All on a Czech wage. I could also eat every day in restuarants too if I wasn't worried about my weight so much.

The average wage in the CZ is 13,000 before tax and the average in Prague is 17,000 before tax. This month I stand to make just over 20,000. Yep, that's only about 450Pounds. That 'sucks'.

Well, it would suck if i was living in London. But I'm not. I'm living in Vinohrady and 20,000 before tax means that I enjoy a pretty high standard of living here.

What Steph was trying to express was that yes, on an international level it is a pretty bad wage. But here it CAN be great. If you are motivated enough to make it great. Many teachers in Prague are satisfied.

I am a little disheartened that a so called moderator would fail to explain this simple equation and further more that the verb 'sucks' made its way into the critical 'analysis'.

Merlin, I don't know what situation you are in. You may be Czech or an expat. You may be content or frustrated. You may be good or bad. We found it very biased and misleading that the teachers life in Prague was painted in such a bad light and that the schools were seen as corporate hellholes that sucked the very last blood out of their teachers. If this is your experience then I feel for you but it is definately not our experience and we wanted the right to express that.

Any reference to drunken teaching bums was made as a tangent and not meant to insult or distress.

Dobrou noc (goodnight)

Cull and Steph

[merlin]

I will repeat, the wages for teachers here suck. I make about 25% more than you, work from 7-7 most days, sometimes stay up late into the night developing myself professionally, live in a less expensive area than you and I still say my pay sucks.

You can convince yourself otherwise and that will work perhaps for two-three years, but don't twist the logic. Bad pay is bad pay.

Now if you say you're in Czech for other reasons, I'll agree with you - there are a lot of reasons to live here. Social life, professional development, personal growth and so on.

But no degree of verbal sleight-of-hand can change the simple fact that the pay is terrible.

Oh, yes. Have you heard that Prague is one of the most expensive cities in Europe?

As for me, I've gone through every high and low imaginable here. Currently I'm on a high. I agree that I am a bit sensitive on the pay issue, mostly because I've seen directors go from rags to riches while their teachers still wear rags. OK, fair enough. It's their business. But on the other hand I don't have to support them 100%, either.

ps

[matmac]

cull,

you are smoking crack. your defense of the wages english teachers are paid here in prague are weak at best. you haven't been here long enough to know what you are talking about - imho. but thats cool - stick to your guns and see how things work out. prague is a great city and that is why most of us are here...not for the wonderful wages.

later.