Job Discussion Forums

[PyRoT]

Hi,

I am considering teaching English in Poland, potentially really long-term, and was wondering if I would have a hard time finding good work.

I have a BA in Psychology and Neuroscience with Honours as well as a Grad Dip in Economics, all from Monash University in Australia. I am 24 and have lived here in Aus for 17 years so would qualify as a native speaker. I have 6 months teaching experience in China. I don't have one but am willing to take on a CELTA course. Lastly, and importantly, I am Polish, can speak the language fluently and have a dual citizenship which enables me to just show up and start working legally anywhere I wish.

I am thinking of going to Poland as an alternative to China and was wondering if I could have a similar lifestyle there as China. As a simple example, in China, I could pay my rent with only two hours of private lessons a week. One hour would also buy me around 10-20 meals.

Could anyone kindly give me an opinion of my opportunities in Poland? Would my citizenship be an advantage?

Thanks

Tomek

[spiral78]

Yes, your citizenship and fluent Polish should be considered a strong advantage.

No, the lifestyle/income won't be equivalent to what most Asian countries offer. The economy just doesn't support such relatively high rates of pay for English teachers.

[dynow]

here in Wroclaw, a decent income, net, for a newbie, is around 3,000zl. a month. for an OK apt. within walking distance to your school and close to conveniences, you're looking at say 1200/month minimum. if you want to live in the center, 1800.

it sounds like you had it pretty easy out there in china. in Poland, you gotta work hard to make ends meet.

if your polish is fluent, and you're thinking long term, i'd consider something other than just straight up classroom teaching. look into translating. translating would pay a heck of a lot more and probably have a more user friendly work schedule. working in poland as an english teacher for the most part is a crappy lifestyle......classes at 8:00 a.m.......classes at 8:00 p.m. For most of us, it's what you have to do to make money, especially now with the slow economic times.

[Glenlivet]

[Jack Walker]

I did the 6:30am thing in 2004-2005.Some days I would satrt at 6:30am and get back home at 9:30pm with many gaps in between........never again!

[hrvatski]

[maniak]

Just advertise yourself as a native australian with polish citzenship, not the other way around. Inaczej cie traktuja jako Polak...

I kiedy ostatni raz tutaj bylesz? Duzo sie zmienilo, powaznie sie zastanow czy naprawde chcialbys tutaj zyc.

[Tracer]

[Blasphemer]

[Mojoski]

I started with a salary of 4000zl in Warsaw. After a year, I whined a bit about the 2600 take home, and the gen. manager said I could change the umowa o prace to omowa o dziela, get my own med. and skip the ZUS. That helped. Then I found out I could change to omowa o dziela autorska, since part of my duties was to create lesson plans for the company. That cut me down to 9.5% tax. Then, my school put everyone on hourly wages of 50zl, which added 500-1000+ zl to my gross every month and cut down my working hours, since I didn't have to stay just for the sake of being on site for 40 hours a week. I was on site more like 33-35 hours a week and making more. On the negative side, no holiday, vacation or sick pay, but I almost never use sick time anyway.

I lucked out and got a 30 sq m flat right on the metro line when I first got there for 1000. The first year and a half or so, I didn't save anything to speak of, but the last two years I was living fat. Without scrimping at all, and I loved spending time in pubs, by the time I left, I had almost 25,000zl in my bank account. I usually did 2 or 3 privates a week @60zl. I only took friends of friends because I liked my free time, and I had plenty of money. So, if you can do all right, if you work the system and have a little luck.