Job Discussion Forums

laugh2 · Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 13 Location: Albany, NY

Any advice on the following would be helpful.

I have two offers from Poland for my first ESL position. Which do you think would best enable me to get a better job my second year of teaching? Or does it matter much at all? Both schools teach children, teenagers and adults - general and exam English.

One job is in Szczecin with ELS-Bell, the other with Lektor School of English in Mragowo (population 22,000) in the Lake Region. The hours and pay are better in the small town, but there is nothing in the way of teacher development. The only other native speakers will be the one or two other teachers. The former teacher testimonials on the school's web site positively gush about their experience there.

What I like about the city ELS-Bell offer is, of course, all that cities have to offer, plus, frequent teacher input/development. But teaching 4 classes on Saturdays is mandatory and it looks like there's potential to have to teach close to 30 or more hours a week.

I'm a spanking new teacher with no experience and will be a newbie abroad. I'm concerned about handling the workload without losing my mind, so the small-town job with less hours but no training appeals. But the city offer, with a large, professional-seeming school that gives support - maybe 30 hours of teaching wouldn't be so bad.

Any thoughts? And, again, might one or the other job better set me up to get a better job or one in a city I prefer the following year?

Thanks.

Chasgul · Joined: 04 May 2005 Posts: 168 Location: BG

As a bit of a newbie myself I'd say take the city posting because, despite the workload, having someone to talk to and bounce ideas off for your lessons makes a huge difference. It's also nice to be able to ask other teachers how they deal with x,y,z problems, problem pupils, etc.

Besides, if you make it through all that then you've no worries about future positions Cool

VanIslander · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 9:49 pm Post subject:

laugh2 · Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 13 Location: Albany, NY

I decided to take the small town with the small school. Year two I'll go for a bigger school and city. I appreciate the great input. Thanks.

Chasgul · Joined: 04 May 2005 Posts: 168 Location: BG

You're welcome, just remember that an oral contract is only worth the paper it's written on.

tedkarma · Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 7:41 pm Post subject:

Could be wrong, but I think Bell is a pretty large chain - and once connected with them you might find it easy to shift to a couple other countries. They also have a decent rep for some of their training programs in Thailand.

You say tomatoe I say tahmahto - this early in your career it won't matter too much except to get your feet in the water and see if you like it or not.

VanIslander · Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 12:23 am Post subject:

laugh2 · Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 13 Location: Albany, NY

Well, I do have a CELTA so I won't be so lost. Other than my concerns about handling the workload and implying my plans to stick with this if it goes all right, I didn't really state my priorities, which, you more or less said and are right -- are evolving. Anyway...if you're interested, see my latest posting under Poland.

Thanks again for all your thoughts. With everyone's help, I feel much more clear about what I'm getting into, and what I'll be missing, with my choice.

Ciao

cheeseandegg · Joined: 26 Aug 2004 Posts: 58

I have worked for Bell Szczecin. It's an organised school, supportive and a nice city. The other teachers are all great. The DOS who recently left was fantastic but the future is uncertain and the school director is sometimes a little disorganised and untrusted by staff who recently left (wether this is true or not is unclear). The pay cuts may mean you'll find it difficult to survive which is why many of the experienced teachers walked out.