Job Discussion Forums

[hvmac]

Hey everyone, Ive got my sights set on Turkey for 2015 and I'm researching all available options/routes/locations....

Since most people who tend to post comments about a company are people who have had problems with them I am interested to know if anyone has any positive experience with Teach to Travel or Teachers in Turkey?

It seems to me that these 2 companies are quite far reaching and have a lot of benefits (supposedly) and offer legal work with visa & residency (supposedly). For me it seems like a good option to get in, get set up, and stay legally.

If anyone is able to share their positive experiences I'd be interested to hear your story.

Cheers

[mysterytrain]

I assume based on your OP that you have read these threads already:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=107063


http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=108689


and are referring to the fact that the opinions offered therein, for the most part, were negative (there was one comment from a poster who apparently did not work for TiT directly, but knew several people who did, who was not overtly negative ... that is, s /he implied that those friends might have some positive things to say).


I have just edited my post on the first of the two threads linked, about the relationship between the two agencies / companies and will re-post the edit here for you, for what it may be worth:

Although they are separate agencies / companies, there is a relationship between TTT and TIT. Teachers in Turkey is a Turkish company which places foreign teachers in schools around Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey. As I understand, the contract is signed directly with Teachers In Turkey (I actually worked for them, briefly, under a different name - theirs, not mine), and not with the schools. TIT will get you interviews with different schools until an offer is tendered and accepted (or not). Your salary would then be paid by TIT, who would also handle issues about your accommodations, if provided, or any other benefits provided under your contract, as well as issues about your obligations thereunder.

TTT is a British-based recruiting agency which apparently is being used by TIT to recruit teachers for them. As another former employee said here, after being recruited, they were sent to TIT and the relationship with TTT was basically over, so they are NOT the employer, just a recruiter.

(end edit)


Now, as far as positive experiences go, all I can tell you is this. I went to Turkey (on a bit of a lark, as I was actually on holiday and in the middle of a one-year contract in China at the time ... shhh ... don't tell) to work in a ten day winter intensive English camp at one of the schools that contracted with them. I arrived at Ataturk International as per the info I gave the school, there was nobody there to meet me as promised, I had no phone, hung around the arrivals / greeting area just inside the exit for close to an hour, finally gave up and was about to take a train into the city when in a bid of desperation, I flagged down a non-officious looking bystander and tried to explain my situation (speaking absolutely no Turkish). I showed her the numbers I had been given, she dialed the first and said it was a fax line, second number she apparently got through to the staff of TiT, who was by this time at the airport trying to find me and from this point we were soon united, thanks to the efforts of the good Samaritan.

(It was explained to me that "traffic sucks here" and I am sure that was no lie.)

I was taken to the company office, made to wait a while, had a brief talk with the office manager, brief chat about me, the job, etc, signed the contract, was taken to a budget (but fine) hotel in Aksaray for the night, got a few hours sleep, had to be up very early the next morning to be taken to the other airport for flight to my designated city with three other FT's.

From there, things went pretty smoothly (not forgetting this was just a ten day contract): our hotel in the "host city" was quite decent (nice buffet breakfast), we were taken to the school every morning in the school's minivan by a polite and friendly driver, the classes were easy to teach, the kids were (what I take to be typically Turkish) a bit on the bratty side but nice enough, one day we were taken to see some of the local sights in the afternoon, had free (minimal) lunch in the school, at the end we got paid in cash as promised, flight back to Istanbul for three of us (one was a full-time teacher with TiT and he went on to another camp in another city, by bus), taken back to the hotel (on our own dime from this point on), where I took in the sights of the Blue Mosque etc for a day and bought some trinkets before shipping out the next day ... end of story.

But ... my roomie at the hotel (in the town where we worked) was the guy who worked for them full-time, and had for several years. He said that in spite of the seemingly haphazard and "semi-organized" way things got done, (which, again, seems to be fairly typical Turkish style, from what I could tell), overall it was not a bad deal working for them (his full-time job was in a private high school in Istanbul), other than a few minor hassles. I have tried to contact him since, but no luck, maybe he just changed his email ... don't know if he still works for them or not.

I would consider them, as a way to get your foot in the door in Turkey (I still would, though I might try other options first, if available). Like someone else said, get that first job (it's only a nine or ten month contract, at the most) and if it sucks, look for something else before it's up.

Regarding the accusation that they take 1000 lira (monthly) out of what the school pays them for providing the teacher's services (I think that is probably not exactly the same as, as it has been put, "taking it from the teacher's salary", but yes, if the school hired a teacher directly, they would not be paying anything to a middleman ... that doesn't necessarily mean they would pay you the same amount as what they pay to the agency, though ), I can't comment on its veracity or lack thereof.

Also, I can't comment on whether they provide - or help you to acquire - all necessary legal permits and papers or not, though they imply / say that they do ... one poster said on one of those two threads that they helped the teachers get work visas, but not residence permits (or was it the other way around?) which caused serious problems, ie, the agency got scared about a round-up and let a bunch of teachers go summarily.