Job Discussion Forums

[Golightly]

*puts on stupid generic Northern accent*
Eeee, I remember t'days back in t'90s when come payday you'd be handed a great big clump o' different coloured pictures of Ataturk, or Billy as we used t' call un, an' off we'd go spendin' our Billy Pics, happy as a hat, all day an' night, an still have change, and we used t' live in great big mansions on t' Bosphorus, paid for by t'bosses, and we all used t' be in t'newspapers and telly an' all. Come t'next day, though, and we'd 'ave bugger all.
*resumes normal service*
The pay in TEFL was, is, and always will be crap. I am earning at an FE college in the UK now, in real spending terms, what I was earning as a DOS in Turkey seven years ago. Until TEFLers become as rare as hens' teeth, this will remain so. Unfortunately, there are too many inexperienced TEFLers lurking round where they are not needed, and thus pay remains low.

[ghost]

[TheLastNick]

You people are really fastidious!
Do you want to know what I get for teaching an hour in Germany?
12 Euros! (my rent is about 400 Euros!).
And with a Phd in English Lit + TEFL I don't regard myself as underqualified.
There are so many unemployed academics over here that one cannot allow oneself to be fussy about wages.

Earning 2000 YTL in Turkey would be heaven for me!

[dmb]

I agree^ look at the other boards here and you will see that Turkey is one of the best countries in europe to work in. It seems that many teachers have to teach 40 hours a week to break even in countries like Spain.

[samuraiwriter]

12 Euro an hour and you have a PhD?



Speechless. Well... nearly.

[ghost]

[tarte tatin]

I think Ghost has a point. When I was in the UK recently I read in the press that now unlike the past people who joined the workforce at eighteen are predicted to earn more in their lifetime than those of us who went to university. Factor in the debt that today's students start out with and education is really not worth it financially.

BTW the commas are not working on my computer - I do know how to punctuate really....

[dmb]

Maybe if you hadn't have gone to university and learned a trade instead you'd know how to punctuate


Btw has anyone seen Thrifty's chip van? He hasn't been round my way in ages and so I am starving.

[dagi]

Teaching TEFL in the UK or German as a second language in Germany is completely underpaid. Last week "die Zeit" featured an article about a 32-year old German language teacher, teaching immigrants. The women taught 40lessons a week and had 1000� net at the end of the month. That is topped off with no social security since it is all freelance work and you need to pay your own health insurance, too.
The women was married to an American and they now planned to go back to the US where she hopes to be able to teach at a High-School.

"Pay remains relatively low, because TEFL is not a 'real skill' which is in short supply."
TEFL is a real skill and imho the real problem is, that the job market is flooded with lots of unqualified people who see TEFL as a way to travel the world and are happy to pick up an underpaid job here and there. Which keeps the wages low for everyone.
I once applied at a language school and was told that part of their expectations is that their teachers come in sober, are well mannered and well dressed.
I think that says enough.

[ghost]

[misterkodak]

ESL in Germany is a racket. Now that the EU has tightened things up on NonEU people, I suspect it's going to get worse. I'm fortunate that I started here first and went there when I did't know any better. The last place I worked at in Eastern Germany was bizarre. They didn't care about qualifications as long as you had a passport from an EU country and were willing to work for 11 Euro an hour. It makes me laugh when they advertise how "things are cheaper in the East". Aldi is still Aldi and Krankenkasse is still krankenkasse.
I was in Koln when the Euro came. 100% inflation overnight! Talk about a nightmare......

[billybuzz]

So when Turkey goes into the E.U (whenever) does it mean that all those foreign workers without Euro passports will have to leave ? Just a thought !
On the subject of salary , having never worked at a Language school I can't remember the last time I worked for less than 2000 lira .I have never , ever , done private lessons and I have always made a point of haggling over my annual rises . In the past when we were paid with dollars or marks or euros the bosses pegged the salary for the whole year to the exchange rate and over the year you lost out , these days I insist on TL only with a rise in line with inflation which bosses readily agree to , this way everone is happy .
I do take exception to remarks from some posters about this TEFLER vs TEACHER issue ,we are all on the same side trying to do one of the most difficult jobs there is ,in a foreign country ,with a different culture ,in less than favourable conditions ,regardless of how many bits of paper you have or letters after your name it does not prepare you in any way to survive in this industry ,those of us who have carried on where others who were regarded as more qualified decided to leave are the real heros and to say there is little or no skill in what we do and achieve with our students is nothing more than a slap in the face to the whole teaching profession . As a final note ,we earn every lira or penny we get, so just don't sell yourselves too cheaply , and work hard and play hard .

[dmb]

Nice post billy. However, by the time Turkey gets into Europe we will be in TEFL heaven(hmm new post)

Turkey can't even vote in its president at the moment. Gul will get in by default!!

[dagi]

ghost, you are spot on! The only reason I want to do a M.A. in Ed. is to have more chances on the job market once I want to leave Turkey. Right now, here it doesn't make any sense at all, moneywise.
In Europe it would make sense, cause there are many countries that would let you teach in the state school system (if you have the teaching qualification) and that pays a lot better than the language schools.

misterkodak, if you speak German you might be interested reading that article in the latest "die Zeit" edition!

[JZer]