Job Discussion Forums

[cwbrown5]

Hello, my name is chris and I live in Victoria British Columbia Canada. I am interested in teaching in Germany. I have my BA Degree and a TEFL certificate but I have little teaching experience. I also have a UK passport. Is there anyone out there who could help me with finding a job in Germany or other european countries?

[Showem]

Hi Chris,

Some advice for you:

1. Most teaching jobs in Germany are on a freelance basis, so don't expect anyone to hire you full-time. Most of us work some hours here and there for different schools and companies.
2. It's unlikely that anyone will guarantee you any amount of hours while you are in Canada. You will have to come here to find work.
3. Some schools might be friendly enough to give you some tips on where to find accomodation and such, but nobody except you will be paying for it or looking for it. (In some big cities, it can be a real challenge to find a place that's affordable).
4. A UK passport is good, but not necessary to get the right visa to work for yourself as an English trainer.
5. Germany is suffering from the economic downturn and there isn't a lot of new work floating about. Most companies have cut their training budgets, so only experienced trainers are getting work.

This sounds all very negative, but sadly it's true. If you really want to come and teach in Germany, I would suggest learning basic German (increases your employability because you can teach beginners easier and it will make your life much easier trying to get settled) and get some training under your belt. Even if you volunteer with immigrants, it will make a big difference. I learnt more in my first 3 months teaching than I did in my entire training course.

Good luck!

Andrea

[Warlock]

Hi Chris,

I have recently returned back to Canada from Germany after 3 months of stay. Keeping in mind that this is just my personal experience, here are few of the things that I would like to share:
-During my stay there, I beleive I have sent out close to 100+ resumes to various schools and language institutions all over Germany and only managed to get 3 replies. (This still may seem like a positive sign)
-Of these 3 replies, 2 were offering freelance postions but their replies were full of emphasize on "we currently can't offer any hours but we will keep your name on our list".
-The last one called me for an interview but after the interview it took them almost 5 weeks to reply back to me and informing me that the "temporary" position was given to someone else from their own company (why they posted a job opening if they were going to use their own staff is still a mystery to me)
-When I inquired about the residency and working permits I found out that initially they issue a permit for 3 months and at the end of third month, they review the working conditions, finances etc. and make a decision to extend your permits for X amount of period. (A yellow form has to be filled by your employer stating the nature of your work, conditions etc and this form has to be presented to government)
-My conditions are a bit similar to yours, i.e BA from university, college degree in another field, TESOL cert, Canadian, 1.5 years of experience in teaching etc. What I observed was that a basic German language was preferred most of the time and E.U nationals were given the priority.
-Most freelancers that I met were working 2-3 jobs/companies to barely make the ends meet.
Again, I like you to keep in mind that these were my personal experiences and you might be in the right place at the right time. My advice to you is to try your best to secure something before you go, otherwise..........
Best of luck buddy

[harumaki]

Maybe I can be a bit more positive. What the other posters here have said is true and finding fulltime employment in Germany as a teacher of English is not easy but neither is it impossible. So you have a UK passport; this should help with getting preferential treatment when you go to register and get your residency permission. It will also make you easier for the language schools to "handle" in their paperwork. Having said that, I want to point out that at the language school where I have been working for three years, only 2 of the current 11 English teachers have EU passports.
It's true that most teachers here wil have a freelance contract and will work for several companies simultaneously but where I work, over the last three years at least half of the staff have been offered a quasi-full-time contract (i.e. you get paid for the hours you work, which could be anything between 5-60 per week and the school takes care of your benefits but there is no minimum salary). And don't worry about experience or lack of it; of the staff that have come and gone while I have been working at this particular school, only 2 or 3 have had any previous experience and, furthermore, experience doesn't mean you'll be paid any better than the rest.
It is also true that the German economy is in a bit of a state but there is still plenty of work. Forget about Berlin and M�nchen- too few jobs for too many applicants. Consider coming to the Ruhr area- lots of schools in lots of cities, all packed into a relatively small area filled to the brim with potential students. The schools here are always hiring.
It wouldn't do any harm to e-mail a few of the major schools to see what the situation is but, as suggested by a previous poster, it's very unlikely that you are going to get any sort of a decent offer from a school here while you are still in Canada. You need to get over here, stay with friends for a few weeks if you can, and be willing to put in a lot of legwork.
Hope it works out for you!

[PG]

Hi, I am also looking for work in Berlin. I do have family there, but I am wondering what the situtation for private tutoring is? If I went on a "holiday", for for 6 months or so do I have to register my stay? Is working under the table illegal? Do people still do it? I am thinking of heading over, and if after about a month I have not found enough to sustain me, I will head home. Also wondering about communting to other towns etc. from Berlin. Would this be ecomomical if there (is there) work in sthe surrounding areas? Is being Canadian an advantage at all?
Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

[scot47]

How do you propose to saty for 6 months ? Not as a tourist ! You might want to think about being a student there - at a university if your German is up to it. Otherwise enrol on a German Language course with the Goethe Institute (expensive) or one of the other schools. Then you could teach in your spare time (illegally). Germany is organised and if you try to stay illiegally or work at a job without documentation they will find out, but finding a few private students might be possible. Does Canada not ahve an official programme to send English Language Assistants to work in German schools ? The UK has had a cultural agreement for years allowing Uk nationals to act as Teaching Assistants.

[akeller]

Does anyone know of a similar cultural program between the US and Germany? I would love to find work as a language assistant in Germany. I have a Bachelor's Degree, a TEFL Certificate, and I speak German, but unfortunately, I don't have an EU Passport and I'm really hesitant to buy an airline ticket and go over there without any sort of job lined up. Are there any non-EU passport holders who have had luck with government-sponsored programs? What are the required qualifications for working as an English language assistant in a high school or university?

[scot47]

Check out with the Goethe Institut in your own country. There MUST be provision for you to go and spend a year in Germany. There certainly is for people from the UK and Ireland. It is normal to spend a year in Germany if you are studying German in a British university. Some do that (or DID) as language assistants in schools.

Good luck.

[dduck]