Job Discussion Forums

[not_too_shabby]

Hi!

Is anyone working for IH Prague? I was thinking about applying for a job there but the salary seems rather meager to me and not exactly encouraging. Can you live on that kind of money? I am not interested in saving anything, I just want to know if I could have a decent lifestyle, i.e. eat out 2-3 times a week, travel at the weekend, that sort of thing.

Replies from IH Prague teachers are greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

[spiral78]

In case there aren't any IH teachers handy on line, if you'll give us an idea of the salary range IH is offering, there are several regulars on the board who can tell you whether it will be a living wage.

One piece of info that might be useful to you in case you're not already aware is that many (maybe most) teachers in Prague flat-share to save costs - this can really help in terms of disposable monthly income.

[not_too_shabby]

Cheers! The school actually offers shared accommodation apart from the salary, which ranges between 10000 K and 14 000 K with 20% deductions from the gross salary. Bills are paid by the school so that's practically money that you would spend on yourself. I wonder if it's enough.

[spiral78]

If your accomodation is included, it's do-able, though I'd definitely want to be at the top end of that scale if at all possible.

You mentioned travel at weekends - inside the country, you could probably afford to do this. But Czech koruna don't translate so well into Euro yet, though they are getting closer than a few years ago.

Good news is that there's lots to see in the CR.

[christine13]

I spoke to a former classmate from college who took her TEFL class at Akcent IH Prague, and who worked there after she finished the course. This is what she e-mailed me if it can answer any of your questions:

"I earned my CELTA at Akcent IH Prague (part of the International House brand). I really enjoyed my CELTA training, it was hard work, but I feel that it was definitely the best preparation one could get in 4 weeks. They have you teaching from day 1 (or maybe day 2). The CELTA is the standard for TEFL in Europe, so I strongly recommend it. I have heard of Trinity, but I don't know much about it's reputation. I would not recommend any other programs (ie: Caledonian, who's certification is really only recognized by Caledonian).

I was offered a job by Akcent after my CELTA, which made things quite easy. Typically, they offer jobs to the best people in each CELTA course depending on their needs. I did mine in January and I was the only one who went on to work for Akcent. But they typically hire a lot of people from the summer sessions (before the school year starts).

The main advantage of working for Akcent was that we were salaried, whereas most schools pay by the 'teaching hour' which meant that if students canceled you would not be paid for that class. At Akcent you were paid the same amount no matter what, but you were expected to maintain a certain number of teaching hours per month, so if a class canceled, you would need to sub for someone else to make those hours up.

The other advantage is that Akcent did my visa paperwork for me, although I did have to accompany one of the HR staff to Germany to get the visa issued. There were a few little things you wind up having to do without knowing much Czech (like registering your address with the police) which can be tricky, but we all survive. Honestly, going to the post office there can be worse It's my immpression that reputable employers should help you with your visa application. Where you may run into some challenges is with employers who prefer to hire Brits because it's easier to hire EU citizens. But at the same time, I think schools and students like to have both American and British (and Kiwi, and Aussie) teachers.

Overall, I enjoyed working for Akcent, but my last semester there, they made a lot of management changes for the worse. It resulted in us working more hours for less pay. I left in 2007 and I don't really know what it's like now. That being said, it's still probably a great place to get started in Prague. The staff is huge and I made a lot of friends there. "

[kirstyp]

Hi. I worked for a different school in Prague for 7 years, but did my CELTYL there just before I left last year. The IH teachers I met there are all very young, and for a young group they are pretty hard-working and have a good teachers room atmosphere. That said, the IH teachers do get less money than other TEFL teachers in Prague, even when you factor in there free flat. A lot of them were looking to either change schools or get an IH transfer to another country. But it did seem like a good place to get your first years experience and the tools of the trade.