Job Discussion Forums

[philyyy]

Me and my girlfriend are both planing to complete a CELTA in Wroclaw with IH in August. We then have a vague idea that we'd like to stay in Poland and both get our first ever teaching jobs there. Unfortunately she's not a graduate, but has more brains than most I know. I was just wondering if we are best trying to get jobs when we get there or applying beforehand? Any other info at all would be greatly appreciated. i.e. where not to go? what is impolite in Polish? anything really.

Thanks in hopeful anticipation
Phil

[gregoryfromcali]

[Alex Shulgin]

I have known people working here (in good jobs) who didn't have a degree. But they all had a few years of experience as well as a CELTA and that got them the jobs. Plus a couple of people who just claimed that they had graduated but in reality just had fake photocopies of degree certificates.

Your wife might find work at some of the less attractive schools and then work for a couple of years to get the experience good schools will accept instead of a degree.

[joshsweigart]

If you really want to teach in Poland without a degree it is probably best to get a few years experience and then come back. I know several people who work here without degrees but they came over long ago when anyone could teach. Now they have the contacts and reputations to work in the "good" schools.

It is also probably not a good idea to come without having a school lined up beforehand. You may find that you have to work in places where they disregard formalities like workpapers and paychecks.

[Martin P]

As you've got a UK passport, you're over the main hurdle in finding work in Poland.

The degree thing may be a disadvantage with some schools, but since you're doing a CELTA with a centre that has a good reputation, that'll take you a long way. If you perform well on the CELTA, you should be able to find work with any schools which values teaching ability over previous education.

I know several teachers without degrees working at decent schools.

[Tumteetum]

[stephabee]

Another question along this same line.... I have a college degree as opposed to a university degree, and will be taking a TESOL course in Prague in August. Will having just a college degree cause me a lot of problem when searching for a job in Poland?

[gregoryfromcali]

(This is an email I wrote to someone else looking to get started in Poland. I though this may help any other new teachers looking for work.)

The best and easiest way to find work in Poland is by being here.

There are a lot of foreigners here and it doesn't take a school very long to find a teacher, especially if the school is in Cracow, Wroclaw, Gdansk or Warsaw. Therefore a lot of schools don't look for teachers over the internet.

If you would like to live in Poland I would recommend taking the CELTA there if it is possible for you. In Europe the CELTA is the most prestigous of the certificates simply because it is certified by Cambridge and the Cambridge exams are what most of the students are preparing for especially in Poland.

The way I did it was by coming to Cracow for the CELTA. Then afterwards I continued to rent an apartment from International House, got a list a schools by searching the net and then went door to door dropping off my resume.

I did this every couple of weeks, because I came in March of 2003 which is a bad time to look for work, I also emailed my resume to all the schools on Sunday nights so they would see it first thing Monday morning. I eventually started picked up a few hours and summer work. Then I got a job at Bell because they suddenly needed a new teacher.

But if I wasn't in Cracow there was no way I would have been hired by Bell as there were a few other teachers who were being interviewed for the job and it is a tough place to find work as most teachers stay there year after year.

I was very lucky as at Bell they continue to train their teachers and there is a lot of support, that is other teachers like to help each other out with new ideas.

If you arrive in September that would be good as most schools start their year in October.

Also it isn't what I did but I know of people who hung out in bars and talked to other expats and found out about jobs that way. You can also teach privately at your apartment. I recommend the Inside Out series for teaching.

Although I don't enjoy teaching privates, Inside Out can make privates much more fun than say your average FCE exam book.

You will find work in Poland once you're here but you may want to have some extra money to hold you over until you find work, which shouldn't be a problem as it isn't expensive (outside of Warsaw.)

You can find work over the net but you'll never know what the school is really like. But then again you can always take a job and if you don't like it you can quit. However after September & October it is a little tougher to find work.

Although I think you may be able to find a job through the net in a small town, which I would recommend if you really, really, really want to learn Polish as in the cities a lot of people speak English. Most young people have studied English for a number of years and it's tough to reach a level where one's Polish is better than a Polish university student's English. Unfortunately unless you've been raised on Polish it is hard to learn as an adult. But people do it.

Good luck,

Gregory

[gregoryfromcali]