Job Discussion Forums

[Saneya]

Hello-
I'm new.
My boyfriend and I are Americans. I have teaching experience and a TEFL cert. from Oxford seminars (60hrs) and he has a TEFL cert. from I-to-I (20hrs). We are planning to move to Prague this August and find ESL jobs for September. I keep reading that schools that would hire us from abroad are probably desperate and would therefore not be that great to work for. So, our plan is to just go, and try to get EFL jobs when we get there. I am wondering if this is realistic.

My concerns are:

How easy will it really be to get jobs? (We are not EU citizens, he has a 20 hour cert. and no experience. I do have some good experience but my cert. was only 60 hours. Does that matter to most employers?)

The working visa- I've read many conflicting explanations of who is responsible for getting it, and how it is to be obtained. Does anyone know the deal?

Other jobs. If my boyfriend or I can't get a job, are there any other jobs (working in a bar or restaurant... anything) that Americans can get? I'm just wondering if that seems reasonably possible or very unlikely.

Housing. We were planning on staying in a hostel until we can get an apartment. Is this a good idea? If not, does anyone have a better suggestion?

Those are my main questions for now. Any advice anyone has would be very appreciated.
Thank You

[spiral78]

Your short certification courses will not put you at the top of the newbie heap in Prague - you may be aware that there are quite a few TEFL course providers in Prague, all offering 120+ hours including supervised teaching practice on real students (I think some short courses do this with peer trainees - not the same thing at all!).

Employers in the city are well aware of this standard, and I think you will find that many employers will hesitate to send you out to their valuable, paying clients, without any clear assurance that you can teach to standard.

Further, you will most likely be asked to teach a demo lesson for any potential employer - this will be really stressful as you have not had supervised teaching practice in the past!

Regarding visas, you will need to find an employer who will help you through the paperwork process. You have just 90 days to get this started - you legally have to leave the whole European Schengen zone if you have no legal status in the country after this.

The hostel is an ok idea - finding a reasonably-priced apartment can take some time. Local contacts are also helpful - if you can land jobs, your employer should also be able to help get you started in the right direction with this, and a few offer housing directly to staff.

Overall, I don't think you're going to have the easiest time finding jobs in your case. Have you considered the possibility of doing a regular course in Prague? There would be lots of advantages -

[parrothead]

Hi,
How long are you planning on staying in Prague? What are your reasons for wanting to teach in the Czech Republic? Like the other poster said, you will have just 90 days to land a job and get your work visa. I'm not living in the CR at the moment, but from job postings I have seen there is a strong preference for teachers with an EU passport. And I can understand why, given the time consuming process in issuing work visas to U.S. citizens. I'm not saying you won't be able to find a job, just that you might be stressed to find legal work in that time frame, and in the process you'll be eating up whatever savings you have. Prague can be an expensive city for expats (see other posts on accommodation, food, etc), and it is especially grinding (especially on relationship) if you don't have money coming in. I'd keep my eye out for an employer willing to hire you from abroad and willing to do the necessary work to secure your work visa; even if, as you suggest, they are desperate. Just showing up and finding legal work isn't all that easy if you don't have an EU passport. If you are in it for the long run then I am sure you will be ready for the challenges, but if you are only thinking of living/working in the CR for 6 months or so, then you should give it some serious thought.

Good luck with your plans!

Here are a few current jobs posted online: http://www.expats.cz/prague/f-22.html?cat=34

[Saneya]

Thank you both for your insight. I think we may take a TEFL course when we get there. I'll give the other issues some more thought too.
Thanks again