Job Discussion Forums

[vallillo1983]

Hello! I am a newbie researching places I wanna teach to gain info before making my choice! Basically, I have narrowed it to Japan and Poland! I know that Japan has higher wages, but does it give a better deal? I am wanting to hear from you in Poland who have taught in Japan! What I am wanting to know is, where;s the better deal! I want to do my DELTA after a few years so looking at the place that will give me career advancement! also, I know Japan offers higher wages but Japan is expensive So, do the wages in Poland although lower go further than wages in Japan? Also, can you save in Poland? As I've mentioned, wages are high in japan but is that not due to cost of living, or do wages go far there?

PLz help!
Cheers

[Pollux]

I don't know about Japan, but you'll enjoy bright students here, you'll save no money, and you will be able to stare at cherry blossoms either way you decide.
I hope that answers your vague questions.

[vallillo1983]

thanks for your advice! can i ask, will i earn enough to have a decent life? (life in Uk is toooo expenisve!) what sort of salary shall I look for? most I see are for 2000ZLY a month! are salaries in general enough to maybe go on holiday (travel back to uk) once a year etc and afford a decent place to live? whats the best way of finding work in warsaw? is there more jobs or teachers?
Cheers!

[Brooks]

how much do you want to make?
do you have any debts?
What is your educational background?

I taught in Warsaw for a year, at a university.

[vallillo1983]

i have a 3 yr degree in TESOL and a CELTA, i want to make enough to have a decent life, be able to afford a decent place to live (not shared) maybe travel back to the uk once a year, be able to go out and enjoy life! I dnt want to be always skint! Cheers

[vallillo1983]

I forgot to add, I want to make my long term career out of ELT and invest somewhere!

[gregoryfromcali]

I do teach in Asia but not in Japan.

As far as I'm concerned you can't go wrong with starting out in Poland as far as being a new teacher goes.

Why?

1. Because Poles are quality conscious. Therefore you'll know if you have a good lesson or a poor lesson because the students will either smile or fall asleep.

2. Also because in Poland the students want it all. Good grammar explanations, lots of speaking activities and exam preparation.

3. In Poland it's easy to teach the same lesson plan again and again to different classes. Therefore you can take out the weak points and improve the way you plan your lessons in the future.

I'd simply go where you think you'd be happiest. I too wanted to go to China and Poland. I choose Poland first because it's a little harder to find work there and if things didn't work out I'd just go to China.

Yet I did find work in Poland after looking around for a long time and eventually settled in Poland for over 2 years.

Afterwards I still wanted to see Asia, so here I am.

[Brooks]

yeah, I would say Poland.
I make more money than I did in Warsaw, but I work more and get tired more easily in Japan.
Poland was definitely more enjoyable for me.
Getting from London to Poland is really not a big deal, especially with discount carriers like Ryan Air.