Job Discussion Forums

ImanH · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 214 Location: Istanbul

I am not an EFL teacher but I am a teacher and could really do with some advice since I have never worked in Turkey and I know from months of reading these boards that many of you have had experience teaching in universities here.
I have had two job offers, one from a great state university but not exactly in my subject area and one from a private university which is in my subject area.
Leaving aside that particular issue there are other advantages and disadvantages associated with state or private universities. Given these which would you chose, and if you added a post with why, too, I would be really grateful. It's really doing my head in trying to decide and any new perspective would be extremely welcome.

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

Be careful of the Private Universities - most of them are refuges for the students who are not smart enough to pass the entrance exams to the State system.

In the Private Universities you get a lot of spoiled students whose behaviour is linked to the years they spent in Kolejiler, where all types of aberrant behaviour is the norm, because the parents pay, and the Admin. turns a "blind eye" because of the cash coming in.

In State Universities the quality is higher, because the students have studied hard to get there, and passed a rigorous exam to get in. They tend to be self motivated individuals who work hard, and they are much more rewarding to teach in comparison with the large numbers of babyish overgrown adolescents who inhabit the Private University corridors.

ImanH · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 214 Location: Istanbul

Thanks for that ghost. That's sort of the impression I've got from reading the Turkey forum. I should add, though, that there is a high number of scholarship students in the department of the private university and the ratio of graduates to under-graduates is very high by usual standards (40 of the former, 60 of the latter).
That's part of what makes it a more complex decision than it might otherwise have been.

ImanH · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 214 Location: Istanbul

Bump

yaramaz · Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2005 11:48 am Post subject:

Iman, I think the best option would be to be independently wealthy and open your own univerity where you could select your students regardless of their personal wealth or perfect high scores on those annoying standardised multiple choice exams. Loveliness and intelligence and curiosity could be the main criteria.

Shall we open this on the Aegean coast somewhere? With a big garden and sea view and on-site gourmet restaurant and vinyard.

ImanH · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 214 Location: Istanbul

Dang - forgot to add that option to the poll.
Actually Yaramaz this is not so far from a reality.
We have plenty of academics interested in such a project (should I add you to the list?) . We just need to find the money and the land!
Hey-ho - dream on.

yaramaz · Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2005 1:54 pm Post subject:

I'm already looking for land...

queenfrog · Joined: 28 Nov 2004 Posts: 29

Although private universities are essentially for those who didn't pass the "test" it also depends of which public uni it is. Does the university have a good rep. and location or is it a no nothing university that students with lower test scores go to?

ImanH · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 214 Location: Istanbul

It's a very good state university.

31 · Joined: 21 Jan 2005 Posts: 1797

So after months and months of this thread we now know the following:

You say you have had 2 job offers. One form Bosphorous which pays next to nothing, offers nearly no benefits and is not in your subject area but has lots of nice students. You have another offer from a private uni which no doubt pays well, offers some conditions but alas it is not in your subject area and the students are crap. Could you post the following:

your subject
name of private uni
your decision if the jobs do still exist

ImanH · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 214 Location: Istanbul

yaramaz · Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:59 pm Post subject:

Quoth Dave's post-making technology re: Iman's first post

Faustino · Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 601

To be fair to 31, it was more like seven days than a week.

31 · Joined: 21 Jan 2005 Posts: 1797

What with the holidays I have had a lot of free time recently so I have been on Dave`s morning noon and night. Iman`s post seems like it has been on for a month. Please reply to my Efes poll as it is doing my head in, whether the alcohol content varies.

vre · Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Posts: 371

Hi ImanH

Although there may possibly be some truth in the idea that state owned unis' students are better behaved and more intelligent, I really think it depends completely on each individual uni. I have heard horror stories from both sides and my own experience counters that idea anyway. Also, if your subject is not English, then it can be quite different from preparatory English programmes.

Which one are you leaning towards?