Job Discussion Forums

[amooseindahoose]

I've been reading several of the threads with this forum, and I have a few questions that were almost answered, not answered or the information skimmed the surface. This is my attempt at a thorough post, and I'm hoping to avoid some of the confusion, speculation and ire that tend to plague these forums.

My situation is this: I have recently graduated with a B.A. in English from an American university. I was born and raised here in the States, and am currently what most folks would call a young'n. In about two weeks, I am beginning my CELTA certification intensive course at ITI in Istanbul. I've seen that a few posters work for or have worked for ITI, and I hope that they will post replies for this thread as well.

My experience is this: I do not have "years of experience." I do have over a hundred hours of experience teaching and tutoring adult ESL learners. I also took an ESL curriculum design class during my time at uni, where we practiced drafting lesson plans as well as studying classroom environments and teaching methods. To sum up, I have some experience, but these activities aren't what many applications would call "years of experience."

Now, for the questions:
1. With those qualifications, what availabilites for teaching are there for someone like me in Turkey?
2. What are the salary ranges for said positions?
3. What are the teaching environments of said positions?
4. Are there any foibles or quirks that I should be aware of when signing a year-long contract?

Note: I am familiar with the businesses of English Time and Berlitz. If you reply to this thread, please do not take this as an opportunity to insult or heap praise upon these institutions. First-hand experience is best-hand experience, but a pound of opinion is worth less than an ounce of fact.

That all being said, if you have made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read my post. I'm just trying to get as much good information as I can before I hit the job market after the certification process.

[Shalana]

I would say you would have no problem gettıng a job at ET or Berlitz. Starting salary will be 16 or 17 tl (Turkish lira) per hour.

I started out in Istanbul at ET with a year teaching experience at 16 lira per hour and was able to afford my own furnished 2 bedroom apt. at 900 tl per month, but this was working 30-35 hours per week and having almost no debt and not going clubbing most weekends. It is pretty easy to find shared housing here for a lot less. ET will get you a resident and a work permit and basic medical insurance, unless that has changed.

You can probably get a job at most language schools without years of experience. Once you have a CELTA or DELTA you might be able to get a job at English First. Language schools will require you to work evenings and weekends and probably split shifts.

It will be difficult to get a job at a primary or secondary school without at least one year of experience and really difficult to get a job at a university. But, don't let that stop you from applying. All they can do is say no or ignore you.

The best money though is with private students and you can probably find them regardless of experience. I know someone that has private students and she does not have a university degree or a TEFL certificate. Teachers here charge anywhere from 40 to 150 tl per hour for private lessons with the majority charging from 50-80 tl. However, many private students are not reliable and have a tendency to cancel lessons with little notice.

Hope this was helpful. Good luck.

[Shalana]

I forgot to address your number 3 and 4 questions. Number 3 is difficut to answer.

There are many different environments here - the good, the bad and the truly ugly. Best advice - do your homework and try to talk to at least one native English speaker at each place. Also, see if you can get an idea of turnover for teachers at each place.

In language schools, if you don't know your stuff or if a student doesn't like you, chances are they will complain about you - this could have no consequence or they may talk to you or if many students complain more than once you could get a class taken away from you.

At private primary and secondary schools, there are rich, spoiled kids who may not want to learn and may be disruptive in class. For public schools, classes may be overcrowded. For universities, I have no experience. Basically, any place you go, you will have good students and some not so good - the same goes for your fellow teachers (both foreign and Turkish) and for the administration.

As for what to look for in a contract - the more details the better. Make sure salary amount and when you will get paid are spelled out. Also, look for insurance, housing allowance, holiday pay, sick leave, flight reimbursement and if or how you can terminate your contract early, and minimum and maximum teaching hours per week, and any school meetings or functions you will be expected to attend.

For jobs, also check out these websites - www.tefl.com, www.seriousteachers.com and www.eslemployment.com

[Misstanbul]

Our situation is/was pretty much the same. Same degree, from the same country, with the same lack of experience. I am not familiar with ITI but will attempt to answer your questions.

1. With those qualifications, what availabilities for teaching are there for someone like me in Turkey?
There are plenty of jobs for people with your qualifications. I came to Istanbul to do my intensive CELTA. I had an extremely small amount of teaching experience,and immediately after finishing, found a job at a private school. The others in my CELTA group all had similar experiences with finding jobs.

2. What are the salary ranges for said positions?
That really depends on if your want to work at language schools or private schools. I have never worked at a language school so I will let others comment on that. In my job search I have seen offers between $1700-$3000 a month (with lots of extras) at private schools. You work Monday through Friday 8-5 (sometimes less and with breaks).

3. What are the teaching environments of said positions?
The teaching environments can vary drastically from school to school. Ask to be put in contact with a current teacher before you make a decision.

4. Are there any foibles or quirks that I should be aware of when signing a year-long contract?
I do not think I have anything to add that Shalana did not already cover . I will just reiterate how important paying attention to the language in the contract is, and ask for clarification if needed. Also, I once found out the hard way that, if you are not given a work visa (and are not working legally ), a school may change your contract and you can either leave or live with the changes. No use reporting it with out shooting yourself in the foot

Wish you lots of luck!