Job Discussion Forums

[pila]

So I seem to be of the rare breed of young females who aim to go to Poland to teach. I'm looking to do the IH CELTA course in Krakow at the end of August and look for a job either there, Gdansk or Wroclaw directly afterward. According to everything I hear, that timing (job hunting in September) is best in order to secure multiple offers.

That said, through my research I've noted how few females I've heard of on this board. I've heard this is fairly indicative of the actual situation in Poland, and while it's not a real concern to me, I am curious if I'll really be on the outside of a boys club looking in. I'm also curious if my being a young female (albeit an American one) will help or hurt my chances on job offers, or if it won't make any difference at all.

My reasoning behind Poland as opposed to other places is I have Polish heritage (and the last time I was in Poland felt very integrated as I apparently look very Polish.) I'm a slavic junky and the Central European location is ideal to me, and ever since my first trip to PL in 2004, I wanted to live there and give it a try. I suppose I'm just trying to gauge if I'll really be on my own socially there.

For the record, I hold a BFA in Creative Writing and have been working on and off on my MFA in Arts Administration, not that this makes any difference, I know. I've taught at the college level before, have been working in a corporate publishing gig for the past couple years and am in my mid-twenties. I've lived abroad twice before and New England is starting to make my skin crawl again...

Any input?

Many thanks..

[scottie1113]

Your timing is good. That's what I did and within two days of arriving in Gdansk I had a job. Others will tell you that big schools like Bell, where I work, pay very little to beginning teachers so it drives the overall wages in the area down. Don't know if this is true or not; I'm still checking it out. But I love Gdansk because it's on the Baltic and I can't imagine living inland.

I'm the only full time contract American teacher at Bell. We have another yioung couple who started last month and plan to move on at the end of the semester.

We have more female teachers in my school than male. Most are Polish, one is Ukranian, one is a Finn. It's a good mix. I don't think your age matters at all. Best of luck to you.

[nocturnalme]

Hi Pila,
I wouldn't worry about the supposed gender divide. I'd say it's 50/50. Also, TEFL teachers tend to be a friendly bunch. After all, we're all in the same boat. If you're fond of Eastern Europe, you should have a ball. Enjoy!

[ratsareeatingmybrain]

A lack of females on here - hadnt thought of it before, but you're right - just suggests they've got better things to do. Every (three) school I worked at had 30-70% female native speakers. Two of those were in krakow.

Essentially then, from my experience at least you've nowt to worry about unless you apply to Stairway in krakow which, when I applied two summers back, according to their website had 90% long term blokes working. But check it out and see for yourself. Maybe its changed. Its supposed to be a good school.

[scottie1113]

I should add that I started my CELTA around Aug 13, finished a month later, hung around Warsaw for qa week with friends, then went to Gdansk and got the job on a Tuesday. The following week was spent in orientation for all teachers but that was only 2-4 hours a day, and I got paid for it. Finished orientation on a Friday and had my first class the next morning.

You might want to keep your eyes on www.tefl.com You can search for jobs in Poland and it'll give you some idea about who's hiring and when but, as always, not all jobs are advertised so make plety of copies of your resume-oops, that's CV here-and update it with CELTA dates when you've finished the course. You should buy a mobile (cell) phone when you arrive and put that number on your CV as well as an email address so schools can contact you. It worked for me.

As a native speaker you shouldn't have any problem finding work.

Oh, do you know anyone in Krakow or are you just winging it alone? Will the school provide accomodation or help you find it? If you had decided to take the course in Warsaw I could have helped with some contacts but I have none in Krakow.

Off topic. Nocturnalme, Vlad said to say hello when we had a brew in Absinthe last night.

[pila]

Thanks very much for the helpful feedback. In regards to your question, Scottie, I don't have any contacts in Krakow (actually, none in Poland as I don't know my family there) but I'm not very interested in taking the course in Warsaw. When I was there it didn't really strike me as any place I wanted to spend more than a few days in. I'm not sure if IH Krakow helps you with housing during the course, but for some reason I think I recall that they do assist you. All my friends are in Scandinavia and W. Europe, so that's of no help to me

I've actually thought about doing the course elsewhere as well, like Berlin or Nice, but I'm assuming it helps to take the course in the area where you want to teach, right? (In order to help with contacts, orientation and all that?)

In response to the idea that females apparently have better things to do than teach English abroad, well, maybe they just aren't as interested in doing the whole solo gig thing? I don't know. I suppose me leaving a cushy, fairly prestigious publishing job in Boston isn't the obvious move, but it's certainly not because I have better things to do than teach in Poland. In fact, at my age, I can't think of anything that would be better.

And, for the record, I would have no problem working with a 90% male staff at Stairway

[ratsareeatingmybrain]

'On here', I meant the forum, not teaching.

IH Krakow does offer accommodation when you do the CELTA by the way, though it may mean sharing. Or least they did last summer when my wife did the course there. She had mostly very good things to say about the people there, though some of the trainers were better than others, obviously.

[pila]

Thanks for the clarification, rats. Good to know that IH Krakow offers housing as well. I'm assuming it's extra? I wonder if you can request not to share?

[scottie1113]

Pila, I agree with you about Warsaw, but I'm glad I had my five weeks there. The Museum of the Uprising was a highlight for me as I'm very interested in history but for the most part the city left me cold. I wouldn't want to live there. And Bell had a flat for me-no sharing.

You've probably already researched the costs. My CELTA was 4990 zl and my flat was 1000zl during the course. I bought a pass for trams and busses-that was 66 zl for a month-cheap. My only other expenses were food and beer which I would have incurred no matter where I did the CELTA. Still, it was cheaper than doing it in the US including airfare so to me it was a no brainer. The dollar was stronger then but I think it would be the same today.

I have no experience with IH, but the trainers during my course at Bell were outstanding and the professionalism of the school impressed me a lot. That's the primary reason I'm working for them now in Gdansk even though there may be other schools in the area which pay more. I'm very satisfied with my decision.

CELTA in Nice? Nice. I love that city. I chose to do the CELTA in Poland because I knew I wanted to live here and I figured that being exposed to Polish culture during training would be a good thing. It was. I have a friend there, another American teacher who is married to a lovely Polish woman, and it was good to see them on weekends.

While I was there I found out that Bell was looking for a teacher in Gdansk which is where I wanted to live and work. I finished my CELTA on a Friday and interviewed with the head of the school on Monday. It helped that she knew me from my course and had talked to my trainers about me.

No matter where you choose to go you'll be on your own socially. Gee, sounds just like the US. But teaching is a small community and you'll make friends quickly. Some of them might even be Polish. Stranger things have happened.

Just don't wait too long to apply to a school for the CELTA. I made that mistake in 2006 and schools were already full by May so I had to postpone my adventure until last summer.

You only have 90 days on your tourist visa so if you plan to live here you'll need a residency card. To get it you'll have to provide documentation from your landlord that you have a place to live, proof that you're working for a school, and a copy of your criminal record, which you can get from Officer Friendly at your local police station. Also a birth certificate and a copy of your university degree. I didn't know about the requirement for a report on my criminal record, so I had to sign a document that stated I wasn't an axe murderer and that seemed to work.

I've probably forgotten a few things: that happens with age and beer. Any other questions?

[scottie1113]

Dang. I'm not very good at typing and I hate it when I make typos. 66 zl for busses? No, those always cost more. I meant for a bus!

[pila]

Thanks for the info, scottie. Yeah, I think it would be great to do the CELTA in Nice or Berlin or Paris, but I'm not sure how much it would help me in the long run (plus, I KNOW I'd blow through tons of cash in any of those places as I have friends there and it's not cheap. Well, maybe Berlin.)

I'm hoping that if I do the CELTA in Krakow that I can take some time and go to Wroclaw and Gdansk to check out the scene and figure out which suits me best. I'm aware of these new Schengen regulations, but by the time your course is up and by the time you find a job/housing, won't the process of obtaining your residency card take much longer than the 90 day allowance? hmmm...

How are you liking your first year teaching in Poland? Will you be back for a second??

Thanks again..

[dynow]

[scottie1113]

About the residency card thing: you need to have 45 days left on your visa when you apply. I had to take a train to Germany to get a 90 day extension on my visa so I could apply legally. I got a proclamation in December that I would be given a card valid until October but still don't have the card. My school is checking into it for me. I guess you could go to any non Schengen zone country and start the 90 days all over again.

Good idea to check out the cities you're considering before you make your final call. I contacted the Polish National Tourist Organization and gor some pamphlets on Polish cities. I pretty much had already decided on Gdansk because of the Baltic but there were a couple others on my short list. Warsaw was not one of them but I flew there in July 2006 to do a face to face interview with the DOS at Bell and to finally meet Chris, another American who had been living in Poland for about three years.

Then it was off to Gdansk. My friend Jay and his wife Asia took me to Old Town-beautiful-and then Sopot and Gdynia. From the first hour I was there I felt at home.

I love teaching in Poland. Great school, great students, great fellow teachers. Will I be back for a second year? Yes and no. Yes, because my DOS nad I have already discussed this and he wants me to stay for next year's term. No, because except for maybe a short vacation this summer I don't plan to leave Gdansk. My school runs a summer camp for two weeks and has contracts with some companies to teach at their offices and if they continue the contracts through the summer I'll continue to teach them. Besdides, after a long Polish winter-it wasn't cold-I want to see this city in the summertime.

Let me know when you plan to be in Gdansk. I'll help you find your way around. Chris and Jay did that for me and it's the least I can do for a fellow American who's willing to take the plunge and move to Poland.

[pila]

dynow--

Thanks for the clarification on the Schengen rules. Despite your hostility, it is helpful to have them made crystal clear. Would scottie's plan of action (going into Germany and coming back out) still work to add time on, or would that be a futile move nowadays?

Scottie--

Thanks for your ongoing help. Your time in Poland seems to have gone really well thus far. Do many teachers leave Poland in the summer? How many hours do you generally find yourself working a week (with your time at Bell and any additional private teaching hours?) I ask because I work as a freelance writer, and hope to continue to do so, and am just trying to gauge how much time outside the classroom I might have.

Where are you from in the States?



Many thanks...

[dynow]

pila wrote: