Job Discussion Forums

matmac · Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 6

hey, i was hoping someone could break a few things down for me. i am currently living in prague and looking for a job here. its been a little ugly. i feel that the market is completely oversaturated with teachers, costs are rising and pay is falling. thats my take, i am sure people could argue back and forth on that for days - but i think i am going to get out of here.

so i am looking at poland and i was hoping i could get some advice from all of you. krakow immediately pops into my mind as the place to go, but is it oversaturated as well? how about gdansk, wroclaw? if you were starting out, where in poland would you want to teach and why? thanks for your feedback.

elblagski · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 24

generally go for smaller cities. Preference depends how small you wam to go.

You get better money and you don't get so much the expat crap you get in bigger places. Also try to go for Polash owned schoools and not chains like IH, Bell etc as they just generally take the piss as there are so many teahcers who want to work for them. Personally I can't htink why.

Elblagski

Mary 55 · Joined: 16 Nov 2004 Posts: 5

I hear Kracow and Wroclaw are similar and worth a visit

scottie1113 · Joined: 25 Oct 2004 Posts: 375 Location: Gdansk

culfy · Joined: 17 May 2004 Posts: 41

randerso · Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:36 am Post subject:

Hey - not sure what you guys meant by IH, Bell 'taking the piss'. I certainly never got made fun of by any of the satff. I worked at a small town IH for a year, and on the whole had a good time. The more established schools (like chains) seem to be more on the level, and are much easier to contact and seek emplyment in. The Polish owned schools are fine, but it's harder to find them, especially in smaller places. Byd. is an OK place, a little industrial. Torun is also really nice, historical and lovely. Look north if you want to stay away from competition. Krakow, Warsaw, Poznan are pretty swamped. Might want to try Gdansk. Maybe it's swamped too, but there do seem to be a fair number of schools.

Also, chain schools tend to be better resourced and better connected (i.e. jobs after Poland). Good luck and have a couple pierogi for me. Damn I miss that Zubrowka!! Cool

biffinbridge · Joined: 05 May 2003 Posts: 701 Location: Frank's Wild Years

I'm in Poznan right now on holiday as I actually work on rotation for an oil company.I'll tell you this for nothing;Poznan is bloody expensive now compared to 4 or 5 years ago.The chain schools, as has been stated do indeed take the pish financially.I worked for IH Bydgoszcz back in 96 and their salaries were and are atrocious, almost at subsistence levels.Put it this way and I'll make my point using the Jack Daniels Price Index.As a new teacher for IH Bydgoszcz you will be paid 1500 Zl a month,which is 50 Zl a day.One Jack Daniels in a bar in Poznan is 25 Zl.You can have 2 a day if you don't eat or need transport.Go for a university post, if you can as the room is free ,you'll have no bills and the work load will be light enabling you to earn real money doing privates.You'll also get paid during the summer and have free medical care at designated hospitals.I must confess though I knew a couple of Bell teachers in Bydgoszcz and they were really happy there and seemed to have the best deal in town.If you end up in Bydgoszcz you'll have a ball.All my friends in Poznan are really struggling financially even with their privates and it's the same situation in Wroclaw and Gdansk.

Will. · Joined: 02 May 2003 Posts: 783 Location: London Uk

Glad to see the Biff is back,
ELS are advertising here (UK) in the Guardian for people to go to Libya.
You might find the post on their website...if you are interested in knowing who is where. As you are on the spot you might be able to offer a bit of help to them on the consultancy side??? integration of new teachers to Libya? some local input they don't yet have. Information is power and vastly and commercially viable.
I have a colleague here after going for it so could you give us the lowdown on teaching in Libya for his benefit. He is Sud Af and Muslim so...
All the best
Will.

Harri · Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Posts: 5

It does seem to be true, not only in Poland but also in other similar countries, that you will be better paid if you work for Bell, rather than IH. One thing with Bell is that generally you have to pay your own rent from you wages, whereas IH will pay that for you. Still, after all that you will have more money at the end of the month if you go with Bell.

Alex Shulgin · Joined: 20 Jul 2003 Posts: 553

^ Plus there's the added benefit that if a Bell school really start to annoy you, you can just hand in notice and find another job. If your school also rents you your flat, you will be looking for a new job and a new flat at the same time. Not fun.

Martin P · Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 16

The point about a flat tied to the school is a good one, but frankly it's never *that* easy to just 'hand in your notice'. There are a limited number of decent schools out there and you have a strange mid-term end of contract to explain to the next one.

Far better to check out a school thoroughly in advance before and not get into that situation! (Easier said than done, I know)

Getting back to the chain schools, it all depends what you're looking for. They don't offer the highest salaries, but many of them offer solid training (sometimes superb training) which will set you up nicely for that DoS job, DELTA, teacher training post etc. Assuming that's your goal, of course - if you're more interested in the nightlife, they're not such a good choice.

Alex Shulgin · Joined: 20 Jul 2003 Posts: 553

^ Depends who you were working for. If you were at an EF or a Callan then nobody will ask a thing about why you stopped work in the middle of the week. And right now, in Warsaw at least, the demand for teachers is a lot higher than the supply.