Job Discussion Forums

[Endless_Highway]

Hello to anyone living in Turkey.

I'm looking at heading there to look for a job in Aug and am trying to decide which city to go to.

Really, I only have a few specifics in mind. I want it to be a small city (lets say 20,000-200,000) and I want to be on the Med or Aegean sea. I don't really want it to be flooded with expats, but that one is pretty low on my priorities. I've looked at a few different cities, but most are really touristy areas and the jobs don't look very promising from what I've read here on Dave's. Here's a run down of my impression of these from what I know.

Bodrum (I know it's huge in the summer, but have heard they have the best diving)

Marmaris (also touristy, but, again, good diving)

Fethiye (touristy, but less so. Still decent diving)

Cesme???

Alanya (Size? Lonely Planet says 100,000 Wikipedia 400,000. Not a big issue for me, still under a million. Haven't heard much about diving there.)

Yes, diving is obviously a concern for me. I'm also thinking about just looking for work doing that. I'm a divemaster, but figure I'll be able to make it better as a teacher and do my diving part time.

I have a degree and a year of experience in Korea. I'm thinking about doing a TEFL, but haven't decided if it's even worth it.

Any advice on the cities or the TEFL would be great. I'd love to get the names of some schools if anyone lives or knows people who live in the Aegean/Western Med area.

Cheers!

[FGT]

None of the places you mention has much in the way of teaching opportunities, not in language schools anyway and you don't have the qualifications to teach in a high school.

I'm not sure what a "divemaster" is but if it qualifies you to teach diving then you may have more success in finding a job doing that if you want to be in the towns you mention.

Have you thought about living and working in Izmir and going away to dive at weekends? On the Aegean coast there isn't anywhere else that has many jobs in teaching. It may also be possible to commute from Cesme to Izmir.

There is also a language school in Canakkale and I believe the diving is good around there.

[Otterman Ollie]

cesme is cool for diving its about 50 miles outside of Izmir 45 minutes by car 1 hour by bus.
you can teach in a language school and if you leave it till the last minute before approaching a private high school you may get a pleasant surprise.

[happeningthang]

[Endless_Highway]

Thanks for all the replies and I'll look into those cities. I have considered Izmir, but was avoiding it because of its size. If big cities are where the jobs are, that's where I'll go, but I'm trying to avoid it if at all possible. I had planned on diving on the weekends, but was hoping that I could hook up with a dive shop and lead tours in exchange for free dives (a common deal). That's why the ocean is so important.

Do any of you live in or around the towns that have been mentioned?

[FGT]

If you are considering working illegally (ie without a work permit and/or qualifications) it would still be possible to avoid the visa run if you obtain a (non-working) residence permit. I believe that you need to show a healthy bank balance and an address in Turkey but that the permits are relatively easy to come by.

[Endless_Highway]

Hmm... I'll keep that in mind, but I'd rather not work illegally. It's too easy for a company to take advantage of you if they can hold that over your head. Less pay and no leg to stand on if they try to screw you over.

Is it legal to have privates in Turkey?

[FGT]

In order to teach legally in Turkey you need both a degree and recognised EFL teaching certificate.

Work permits are arranged through your employer. Most contracts prohibit teaching anywhere else.

Teaching privates is likely, therefore, to be illegal.