Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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 Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:03 am Post subject: Re: ESL in Vancouver |
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| VanKen wrote: |
| Gordon wrote: |
| VanKen wrote: |
| ls650 wrote: |
I haven't taught in Canada but I can relate the experience of two other teachers who have: a couple of my co-workers have taught ESL in the Vancouver area.
Both agreed that it was relatively easy to get piece-meal with private ESL schools, but not full-time work; schools do not want to pay full-timer benefits. In both cases, these folks had temporary contracts to teach 10 hours here, 15 hours there, etc. They then supplemented those school hours with private 1-on-1 tutoring. Typically the hourly wage was about $20; when you factored in travel time, planning, prep, it was difficult to get more than about 25 hours per week. If you do the math, that's about $2000 per month.
Rents are expensive in the Vancouver area, so a small apartment plus utilities would take about half that money. These two both said that one could make a modest living but have little extra to put into savings or 'luxuries' such as a car, house, etc. |
As somebody who has taught in Vancouver (and currently in Calgary) I'll say your comments above are spot on! The jobs are difficult to break into with a regular paycheque. The market in Canada is seasonal, so the big challenge is how to survive over the first winter (layoffs) at a school, if you ARE lucky enough to get a regular class during the spring/summer months.
The big difference I noticed in Calgary (where I am, anyway) is that it was possible to get "fulltime" work from the getgo, if you consider 25-30 hours a week full-time. My guess is that there are fewer qualified teachers here than in a city like Vancouver so the competition for each position is reduced. I'm not really sure though, as I don't see the resumes that arrive. |
By f/t work, do you mean language schools or universities/colleges?
I have never seen an ad for f/t ESL work in a college/uni in the Vancouver area. It takes many years to work up to f/t hours. |
ls650 spoke of private ESL schools, as did I. I have seen the odd ad for full-time college work at Cap College, Langara or VCC but in all fairness they were either for sessional (i.e. summer) work or as a mat leave replacement. Not what you could build a career on. You're right Gordon, those f/t uni positions are mythical! |
Yes, you're right. f/t for 1 semester only. For VCC you need to be a sub for a few years while getting some p/t sessional (1-2 month) contracts thrown to you like a dog and a bone. I was there for a few years and got tired of the uncertainty. |
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