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kalishnakov
Joined: 14 Dec 2010
Posts: 2
Location: tURKEY
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 Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 3:25 am Post subject: Getting paid in Turkey |
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New teacher suddenly getting questions of payment. I have a celta, but no experience. what should i really expect per hour???
aNybody??? |
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bulgogiboy
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 11:01 pm Post subject: |
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Hi,
Are you talking about a class in a school?
For an hourly school salary: Depends if accommodation is included, or at least an allowance for it. With no accommodation, or allowance for it, I would say at least 20 YTL per hour. With housing, I would say 16-18 YTL per hour approx, give or take a lira.
Fixed salary: 1800-2000 YTL with accommodation. At least 2300 YTL without.
If you are talking about privates, it varies dramatically depending on the student and whether or not they are from Kayseri.  My private hourly rate ranged from about 17 YTL up to about 40 YTL. I would go with a general rate of 25 YTL and be happy. There is a recession on, you know. 
I'm just going on the amounts I earned when I was there (outside of Istanbul), I'm sure others will have different opinions about what you should be earning...
Hope this helps. |
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coffeespoonman
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 512
Location: At my computer...
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| Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 12:31 pm Post subject: |
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Pretty much agree, except for the privates thing. I wouldn't do less than 50 unless you're doing a favor for someone (In Istanbul, of course). This is Turkey, and the less you charge, the lower the perception of your quality.
I once set up private lessons with a psychiatrist. After we decided to do the lessons, he said, "how much do you charge?" I said, "well, that depends on how much I have to put into preparation. For only speaking, I usually charge 60 an hour. For a more comprehensive program, I might charge 100. You'll probably be somewhere in the middle."
His reply was "So, 80? Well, I'll pay 100 then, because I want to be treated special."  |
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bulgogiboy
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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| So, 80? Well, I'll pay 100 then, because I want to be treated special. |
Wow, good going! That's some serious salary supplementation! Can I ask though, was that a case of just a couple of hours a week? I can't imagine many Turks could afford to pay that rate for lots of hours a week.
I understand what you're saying about Turks equating higher price with higher quality, but honestly a lot of the people who enquired of me about privates seemed to want ridiculously low prices. These weren't poor uni students either. I had a supreme court judge who asked me how many lessons a month he could get for 300YTL. We were going to do the lessons in his office, at the supreme court in Ankara. I ended up not doing it, not worth my while. Judges are notoriously stingy, according to my ex-gf who is a lawyer.
The worst, however, was some moron executive who needed English for his job, travelling around the world working for some huge company, probably on a very healthy salary. The monthly amount he offered me ended up working out at about 10 YTL per lesson! I politely told him to get stuffed! |
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coffeespoonman
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 512
Location: At my computer...
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| Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 10:01 am Post subject: |
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If I remember correctly, it was 3 or 4 hours a week for about 6 weeks, just to prepare for an upcoming conference in South America.
People who just want to "improve their English" might stay with you for quite a while, but they aren't usually going to pay more than 50-60 an hour. When I've tried to charge 70+ for regular lessons, it never lasts more than a couple of months, even if the students are rich CEOs or cardiologists or government officials.
Where the real money is is preparation. If the student is preparing for a special event (exam, conference, interview, meeting, etc.), you can get 100-150 an hour out of them, but they're obviously temporary.
These days, these are the only kind of privates I take, only because I'm very busy with my day job and it takes a good chunk of change to keep me away from my living room (or pub) after work. But if I had the time, I'd have no problem taking on privates for 60 an hour again. Despite what some say, I think that's a perfectly fair rate for general English lessons. |
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Kirkpatrick
Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 205
Location: China
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| Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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| In my opinion the pay in Turkey seems to be very low when compared with the cost of living. Also, it is low when compared to other countries with a lower cost of living. 2,000tlr with a apt. is nothing. Privates pay great but those are not so easy to come by. Not to mention the visa hassles... Thinking of bailing on Turkey.. |
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bulgogiboy
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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| In my opinion the pay in Turkey seems to be very low when compared with the cost of living. |
This was definitely true for the first 7 months or so of my time in Ankara. Eating out all the time, going to the nicest bars on a near nightly basis, getting pizza/kebabs delivered at least 2-3 times a week. My salary didn't last long. Turkey isn't a place to come if you want to give your bank balance a massive boost.
However, when I took a more sensible approach to spending I lived a very comfortable lifestyle. The key is cutting down on eating out/drinking in bars. Twice a week at most, and the rest of the time eat at home. Once you pick up a few privates you can easily afford a nice lifestyle in Turkey, especially compared to the average Turk.
One thing that is true about Turkey, however, is that you are not going to save tens of thousands of pounds, no matter how long you stay there, like you can in the Middle East, or even Korea. The only way you could save significantly in Turkey would be to work yourself to the bone, and live a frugal lifestyle. |
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coffeespoonman
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 512
Location: At my computer...
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 8:13 am Post subject: |
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| Eating out all the time, going to the nicest bars on a near nightly basis, getting pizza/kebabs delivered at least 2-3 times a week. My salary didn't last long. |
Lol, but what a life you lived, eh?
Seriously though, I am going to have to disagree with not being able to save money here. It just depends on how you do it - and you don't have to have a frugal lifestyle at all.
Your average language school job pays like 2000 TL a month, right? Well, that's not enough to save much on, agreed. But after you've been here for awhile, you shouldn't be making that same entry-level salary. As long as you commit to TEFL as a career, take the steps you need to get yourself as qualified as possible, work hard and develop a good reputation among the right people, you should be able to double or even triple that original salary - and that's when your savings start really taking off.
Basically, I'd argue that if your goal is to just do TEFL for a few years and you want to make some cash, Korea is a good choice. And if you've got the experience and the certs and your only goal is to stuff that bank account as much as possible, the Middle East is great (saw an advert last month for 150,000 USD in Baghdad, for example). But if you're planning to stay in TEFL for the foreseeable future, and you want to put some roots down somewhere with solid career opportunities that is also VERY livable for a westerner, Turkey is one of the better choices out there. |
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bulgogiboy
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:30 am Post subject: |
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Are you in Istanbul? I think it would be safe to say that teachers in Istanbul have significantly more opportunities to make coin than in other parts of Turkey. In the job I had, which was in a decent school, the base salary only went up 100 YTL per year. The only other opportunities I had were from private lessons, which are sporadic and unreliable, as you know.
Anyway, can't argue with a man who charges 100 YTL per hour. You obviously have a better knack for making the shekels than I do.
Merry Christmas! |
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coffeespoonman
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 512
Location: At my computer...
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:43 am Post subject: |
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Yeah, I'm in Istanbul...
I'm sure you're right. With the possible exception of some government stuff in Ankara (not sure about that though), and probably very underpaid touristy stuff in the summers in the south, I can't imagine that there would be a lot of opportunities in most places in Turkey. Of course, sometimes I feel like I'd trade all the opportunities for some fresh air and peace and quiet.
Merry Christmas to you as well |
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Kirkpatrick
Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 205
Location: China
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 1:01 pm Post subject: |
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| I don't bar hop.. Way Way too expensive... A 6 pack of beer for 20trl is out right rediculous( at the local store).. The price of Meat is through the roof.... |
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bulgogiboy
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 3:31 pm Post subject: |
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| The price of Meat is through the roof.... |
Sounds like when it comes to living in Turkey, the stakes ('steaks') are too high.
And yes, beer isn't particularly cheap in Turkey, but it still beats taking out a bank loan for a bottle of Jack Daniels! |
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Kirkpatrick
Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 205
Location: China
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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| LoL.. You sure got that right..The same bottle of vodka that costs 74 trl in Bulgaria goes for 27bl..what a mark up..Didn't get all my salary today eather.. Really not happy about this... |
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bulgogiboy
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 10:31 pm Post subject: |
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Spirits are just a rip off in Turkey, even worse than in the UK, which has high duty on spirits compared to continental Europe.
I usually bought 20cl bottles of whisky/raki, as I couldn't afford the big bottles, at least not on a regular basis. Raki is probably the most reasonably-priced spirit in Turkey, and boy do I miss it. I really like Raki, about the only thing I have in common with Ataturk, but it's almost impossible to find 'lion's milk' in the shops in the UK! |
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