Job Discussion Forums

[Hsinchuguy]

Does anyone know any details or have any experience teaching in Hungary? Specifically, does one have to be an EU passport holder to work there? How is the pay relative to cost of living? General conditions? Good schools?

[spiral78]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=89334

You might want to contact the poster in the thread above.

[Hsinchuguy]

[spiral78]

There's a Czech forum above. You do not have to be an EU member citizen, though it helps. It's a fairly competitive market and timing your arrival is important.

Region-wide: most of the 'new' EU member states allow non-EU member citizens to work as English teachers (think Poland, Slovakia, etc). The issue is that you must find a school willing to jump through the visa hoops for you.

Basics here:
CELTA or equivalent certification is the norm. If you don't already have one, there are lots around - Prague is a hotbed of training centres, and all are pretty good.
Jobs aren't normally found from abroad - you'll have to consider start-up costs of flying over to go the round of interviews, and to support yourself until you can get a job lined up.
Salaries are subsistence - level - enough to live and enjoy the country you are in (modestly) but not to pay off debts back home or save up.
Most teaching is through private language schools, and teachers are sent to the offices of their students, who are usually businesspeople around the city. Split shifts are common.

The country-specific forums above (Slovakia is usually discussed in the Czech forum) can give you lots of info - there are current threads already there on all the details.

[della]

I'll say that most of the non-EU teachers I've found working in Hungary were placed through the Central European Teaching Program (http://www.cetp.info). You do have to pay them a program fee (emphasis on program, this is not a placement fee) but they use your input to find a position for you, provide a week-long orientation in Budapest, and give you a built-in support system. Your school provides an apartment and covers utilities and you're paid a salary on top of that (mind you, it's not a large one, but it'll cover your basic costs sufficiently).

The great thing is the support you have available throughout your time in Hungary - something wrong with the apartment the school provided? CETP can work with you to help you fix it.

To give you an idea: I have yet to actually pay anything as I've been considering offers in Asia too, but I let them know my qualifications and what areas of the country I preferred, and they got back to me with two different firm offers of employment. I will be actually going through the application process and paying my fees because I'm sure it's worth my while.

I'll warn you that the program fee is $2500, and you will have to cover the cost of getting yourself over there in the first place, but if you really want to work in Hungary this is a great way to find a year-long position with a support network. It's a great way to get a foot through the door in Hungary.

[General Disarray]

You do require a work permit to work here, although I do know quite a few Americans here who have been able to gain one. The other Americans usually have a Hungarian wife with kids.

I spent the last 9 months in Budapest and had a fantastic time, then again, first time living abroad I was always going to love it. Budapest is different lifestyle to the rest of Hungary though, it makes up for nearly 50% of the entire countries population so you can understand why.

The pay for English teachers is 2,300 - 3,000 Forint an hour for new comers. That tends to be 45 minute lessons which come in 3 blocks getting paid monthly. There is a lot of work in Budapest with ample English schools. Most teachers I know have 2 or 3 private students as well for weekly cash. All the work is private schools and there is alot of competition for students so working for them you get a lot of support. Most teachers will free-lance between schools however with a few lucky ones getting the security of a full time contract.

Rent can vary from 40k Forints a month to 70k, it's the bills and especially the housing bill (communism tax a Hungarian put it to me) which push the price up. Look to spend 60k-80k per month inc bills, you could go a lot more cheaper rent living on the outskirts of the city or a really small apartment. Again start up costs, most landlords will want a deposit worth of 2 months. It is a renters market though with more property than people willing to rent so you have a lot of room to negoiate with.

Food is not as cheap as I would like, espicially ham and cheese (seem to be dirt cheap in Austria in comparison!) but the beer is, 250-450 forint for a Korso (0.5 litre to you and I!) depending on where you choose to drink.

I could live on 10k forints a week if I really need to (and had to last year at certain points). My biggest out going though (after rent/bills) is alcohol....I'd say 30k forints a week is more than enough.

Stay away from main stream clothes shops, they are the big rip-offs here, however there are plenty "second hand" shops here. Second hand means they didn't sell in the shops in England so various makes and shops such as GAP, Primark, River Island, Lonsdale shipped their clothes to Budapest to sell on the cheap.

It's a great country to travel from, train tickets down to Sarajevo is a mere 45 euros, although the 12 hour train journey is a bit of a bitch. Belgrade, Zagreb, Vienna (8k forints), Bratislava (4k forints) and Slovenia (can't spell their capital!) are all in a decent proximity though.

The standard of English in Budapest on the whole is good amongst the young generation. The older generation however for obvious reasons aren't quite as strong. Being 22 myself, I found myself talking to a lot of young people who really wanted to improve their English so were happy to speak to me.

On the whole you won't make enough money to save, but you will live a decent lifestyle with a couple of trips to near by countries here and there. You may even find yourself a Hungarian girl (if you are male) and end up staying there, I am heading back to Hungary in September for that reason! And because Budapest is a quality vibrant young city to live in at the moment.

Any more questions, please ask. First time I've been able to give some advise on this forum .

If you are looking at exploring other cities in Hungary then I'd advise Pecs, Szombathely and Szeged as good starting points. Debrecen while another big town in Hungary I'd stay away from living there, not the best of places.


P.s If you do struggle with a work permit, but still would like to come to this part of Europe, then Belgrade is still on your radar as well as Zagreb. I personally loved the city of Sarajevo and know a couple of Americans who work there. A really gorgeous city down there with a decent nightlife as well.

[Hsinchuguy]

Thanks for the info General, that's really useful. I would love to go there, and Sarajevo sounds good too but at this point in the game, I don't know if I'm up for such a struggle financially.

[toteach]

Della:

Did you actually choose to go through with CETP placement? Anything to report about your experience if you did?

[ETA]

Hungary, good people, great food, beautiful cities, yummy wine in Tokaj/Eger, beautiful women, and a great location in Central Europe. Yes go for it!