Job Discussion Forums

yaramaz · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 6:45 am Post subject:

Ghost was in Kayseri for a few days in 2003. He was in Antalya and Eskişehir the rest of the time. In Kayseri in 2003, you could live extremely comfortably on about 600 milyon a month, as long as your housing was provided-- and that included weekends away in Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia, etc, and eating out and taking taxis.

However Istanbul isn't Kayseri and it isn't 2003. But I still think 2000 isn't poverty wages.

Otterman Ollie · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 7:02 am Post subject:

I think as F.G.T stated this level of income can be best described as a starting point . Its not poverty wages but enough to allow a "modest lifestyle" without the trimmings . If you intend to stay a while and pay rent and buy your own fixtures and fittings or maybe run to the luxury of having the use of a car then its pretty clear savings are going to be about zero . Hopefully your employer will at least provide an annual plane ticket back home !

tararu · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 494

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

tararu · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 494

Sorry Ghost, l meant to write a manager in not the manager of. Then, l decided to write exactly what he does. He manages corporate clients like IBM, GM and American Express. These are contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

batukhan · Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 26

Thanks for pretending you didnt notice the Seinfeld episode that guides your life sir. Lets again be honest. You silly man ghost making rididiculous comments about situations you dont know about. We deserve more and Turkish citizen and native deserves more and you know this. Schools make money on the basis of the advertisement of native speakers and we all know this. You silly third person referencing nut. Jimmy likes to hear about the ghost. Jimmy wants to hear what the ghost is doing.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

scot47 is thinking about referring to itself in the third person. The Gollum was in the habit of doing this. The Ghost. Why not scot47 ?

samuraiwriter · Joined: 09 Jun 2007 Posts: 41

Samuraiwriter loves "The Jimmy" but perhaps Ghost is a fan of MC Hammer or other antique rappers who refer to themselves or their alter egos in the third person as well. Samuraiwriter doesn't think it's so bad. Samuraiwriter thinks he might just give it a go. Samuraiwriter shoots. Samuraiwriter scores! Samuraiwriter thinks it rolls off the tongue nicely.

Seinfeld Season 9, coming this November... order now.

Caterinamh · Joined: 27 Jul 2006 Posts: 140 Location: Istanbul

" what folks? - most of you only work 20 hours a week, and you earn far more than Turkish native teachers earn - and the native Turkish teachers also put in twice as many hours as us, attend teacher meetings, plus endless administrative tasks. Most (TEFLERS), on the other hand, go into their schools, put on their 'teaching show' for a few hours - and then go out to the pubs to pursue the decadent/hedonistic lifestyle.

If you want big money, then go out and work hard. Once again, earning 2000 new turks for putting in 3-4 hours a day of 'teaching' is more than we deserve in most cases, and many of us are essentially being paid for producing very little, by virtue of the fact that we are native speakers. " ghost

Personally I DO NOT WORK A FEW HOURS AND GO HOME! I arrive at 8:30am plan my lessons, check student work, advise students etc. I continue my day teaching, preparing other materials, helping with administrative duties etc. I leave for home at 5pm and arrive back into my apartment by 6pm. Not a short day in the least.

As far as qualified... I hold 2 Graduate degrees one in Teaching the other in Business along with a basic TEFL CERTIFICATE and 3 years of ESOL experience. I am personally offended at your assumptions of most TEFLers. Working as a teacher is my career and thus I take it quite seriously.

There is nothing wrong with wanting a decent salary and when you compare it with the salaries of other Turkish teachers within the same University area I work in they do not earn much less. Normally about 1700 ytl. ( straight from University). It all depends on your duties and experience.

Again I choose not to live like a backpacker and thus refuse to be called greedy because I hold a skill and would like to be paid for it. Why get training then if you expect nothing in return. Education is an investment. I am a REAL teacher that works REAL teacher hours . I don't just walk into my lessons unprepared to speak my MT. Stereotype!

batukhan · Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 26

Asking for higher wages is imperialism or colonialism. In what way shape or form is this imperialism. I not only advocate higher wages for Native speakers but I advocate higher and equal wages for Turkish teachers. I believe that we all are entitled to a higher life standard. This when in Rome do as the Romans do is nonsense. I dont think any turkish professional would disagree with the idea of getting more money for the work they do. If you really want to talk about exploitation talk about the companies that pay bargain basement prices for professionals in order to maximize profits. These large companies of course use their profits for the benefit of Turkish society as whole.lol What development do development issues have to do with getting a decent wage and having a decent lifestyle. Being the expert economists that you are. You should be aware that the money that is made by teachers would be spent in the local economy and in local business' thus enhancing the profitiability of small business' here. Additionally you would also be aware of the concentration of wealth in a very small and privileged elite in this country. Giving them more wealth at the expense of professionals that work for them really doesnt address the issues surrounding development in this country.
If teachers(Turkish and Native) became organized and recieved better working conditions and experience this might set a precedent for other professionals to do likewise. Most importantly I would like to see the working class of this country organize and do the same. Height of colonialism quit talking out of your buttocks.
If you want good wages then work harder. This was the arguement that the industrial moguls of the nineteenth century used to exploit workers during the industrial revolution. Please tell this to the workers of this country that if they want to have decent clothing and food work harder. Absolute nonsense. Advocating for workers rights is not imperialism. Slightly communist but not imperialistic.

dagi · Joined: 01 Jan 2004 Posts: 425

"I don't share and I don't want to and I live in Kurtulus (close to Taksim and Metro--- but a lot less than 1100ytl for rent, but still very nice and big and sunny and clean) and I can still do fine on, say, 2200. I get a bit more than that these days but if I only got 2000, it certainly wouldn't change much except how much I can save. Maybe we all have different needs and expectations, but I really don't feel in any way deprived and I never feel limited in what I can do or buy. Seriously. I buy funky new clothes; I buy tons of new books; I love eating out and meeting friends for drinks at the weekend; I just furnished a 2 bedroom apartment from scratch without any taksit...am I doing something wrong? Seriously. Am i? "

You can indeed live a reasonable life-style with +/- 2200YTL a month, but I doubt one could save much and I don't belive you can furnish a new flat from scratch without any taksit, unless you have a decent amount of savings in the bank account for the start-up costs.

coffeespoonman · Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Posts: 512 Location: At my computer...

Not sure I should really get into this, but...

If you're making 2000 a month and not happy with it, get some privates for god's sake. You're probably working around 20 hours a week. Add an extra 2 hours a day of privates at 50 YTL an hour, and you're making about 4000 a month, which nobody in their right mind would complain about. Use your regular job for insurance and stability, and make your profit in your free time.

I'm not going to brag about how often I go out for sushi, or how much money I've saved this year, or which beach resorts I've been spending my time at this month, but I will say that if you're not satisfied with your salary in Istanbul, you've got no one to blame but yourself.

For us, this is the land of opportunity, and I'm having a much better life here than I would be in America, and making a lot more money for that matter. You've just got to get out there and make your money.

There's gold in them thar hills, folks.

dagi · Joined: 01 Jan 2004 Posts: 425

imho that is quite right. It seems like lots of teachers supplement their teaching with privates and I have the impresseion that if you are into TEFL it is easy to find private students.
No matter how some people moan, I too think that for many people Turkey is a land of opportunity. Lots of TEFL (if not almost all) teachers are not vey well qualified, for many there is no way they could teach in their homecountries (where you usually need an M.A. in Ed. to even teach in a High/Secondary school) and if one looks at what kind of salaries and lifestyle these teachers can have here, it is an opportunity.
I mean try to get into a (good) school in Europe with a degree in something and a few weeks TEFL training, they'll laugh at you.

misterkodak · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 5:23 pm Post subject:

Dagi, I agree with you there. I think it depends on the living standards people want to have. Alot of teachers here tend to take things foregranted. 2000 a month for 20 hours a week is pretty nice compared to the 1,500 Euros I used to earn for about that much time. After paying rent, krankenkasse, etc. there wasn't much left over. Even when I worked in private language schools, I brought home more than 2,000 but then again I was working more than 20 hours a week. I do go out for a drink now and then but it's not a regular occurance. It depends on focus. The areas around Taksim are more expensive. If people constantly want to play, they have to pay.