Job Discussion Forums

pdxrex · Joined: 13 Oct 2005 Posts: 2 Location: Portland, OR

Hey There,

Been checking out this forum for the past couple of months while I've been contemplating a job change and figured it was time to make a post.

About me. I'm a 38 yr. old guy from Portland, Oregon. Right now I am working as a tour leader for an Australian travel company. Been with them for nearly 3 years working in SE Asia as well as C. Europe. I've got a BS in Bus. Admin. and prior to my current gig I worked in corporate America as a sales guy for nearly 10 yrs. So that's the back ground.

I've spent the past 7 months or so leading trips from St. Petersburg down through the Baltics and into Poland and absolutely fallen in love with the region, particularly Poland and Lithuania. I'm pretty much over living out of my backpack and want to settle down for a bit and have been kicking around the idea of teaching english and would like to do that in either Poland or Lithuania.

So here is my plan. Take the CELTA course at Intl. House in Krakow in May. stick around afterwards to hopefully line up some work in June and early July. then head back to the states for July and Aug to do a bit of fishing as well as line up work visa. then return to Europe end of Aug. to start working at the beginning of September.

Just wanted to throw this out there and get some feedback on whether this seems to be a reasonable plan and what my chances of lining up a decent job in either Poland or Lithuania would be with CELTA as well as my work experience. Any and all feedback, comments and suggestions would be very welcome. Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Michael

YearOfTheDog · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 2:32 am Post subject:

Do you need a Euro passport to work in Poland???? Just a thought, maybe someone on here knows...

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

No, not yet. Although EU member citizens may be preferred, it's still a legal option for non-EU passport holders at the moment. Poland has a relatively high level of need for qualified native speaker teachers, and at this time it's likely that the original poster would be able to find a reasonable position.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

However, summer work is normally scarce and you may find that there's little going on for June and early July. Regular contracts are usually Sept. thru June....y�u're unlikely to find six weeks'worth of work - though I suppose it's not impossible if you're lucky.

pdxrex · Joined: 13 Oct 2005 Posts: 2 Location: Portland, OR

Maybe I should clarify...looking to do the course in May and then spend June and early July trying to line up work for Sept. not looking to work over the summer.

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

Check on the terms and conditions for Polish work-visas. You may find that your application will be helped along if you have a local sponsor.

While you're doing the course ask the locals in Krakow for advice.

lady z · Joined: 28 Sep 2005 Posts: 39 Location: India

Hi fellow portlander!

While admittedly, I have no first hand knowledge of what your chances are in Poland and Lithuania, I think that your plan sounds great. It seems like from your mail that you are adventurous, resourceful, and truly interested in teaching in the countries that you mentioned. Also, I think you will be able to make employment connections through IH in Krawkow if you do the Celta there. Good luck!

dajiang · Joined: 13 May 2004 Posts: 663 Location: Guilin!

hey wazzup!

I started out just like you Smile

Did some tours in Russia and China, and wanted to get into the ESL scene for a change, only I did it in China (gonna get back into tourleading next year though...).

You know, if you're still there in Russia or Poland, or if you're going to be in the area soon, just check with ESL teachers that work there already. It's best to get first hand info with folks you know work there already.

Anyway, your CELTA school should be able to tell you about job prospects, and visa arrangements etc. They are bound to have a job database themselves, so try to get as much info from them as you can.

Dajiang

nomadder · Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:13 pm Post subject:

Have a look on www.tefl.com. It seems that nowadays most ads for Poland say EU applicant preferred. They didn't before so I would say it could be difficult. There are still schools in the Czech Republic that accept nonEU teachers and possibly some of the Baltic countries. I'd do it soon as it looks like E.Europe could soon be a no go for North Americans.