Job Discussion Forums

[NuestroJuan]

Hello everyone. I posted here earlier and wanted to say a little something about my current job.

In a couple months, I'll be finishing my job at English First in Baku. All in all, it's been a good experience here. Like at all schools, you'll need to hold your own to a certain extent, and Baku takes some getting used to. Nonetheless, the general director and director of studies are great people that will support you in any way they can as long as you're reliable yourself, and it's a very friendly working environment with little to no teaching around the city. I teach general English, and my classes are split pretty evenly between teenagers and adults. For the most part, the students, including the young ones, are well-behaved and hard-working. As a former colleague and I used to joke about, the worst you'll generally get is "this isn't interesting."

Anyway, my job will be open after I leave, so if anyone is interested and would like more information, feel free to let me know. The starting salary for native speaking teachers (without a certification) is $2000. With a certificate, it should go up. They also pay for your first month's rent and reimburse airfare for a round-trip ticket to England, I believe. You can definitely save on this salary if you're good with your money and can find affordable housing. There are plenty of private students to be had in Baku, as well.

These days, EF is expanding a lot in teaching young learners, so if you're well-versed there, it might give you an edge. Regardless, we still have plenty of adults to teach, so if this position is attractive to anyone - or if anybody has questions about Baku in general - don't hesitate to send me a private message. Thanks.


John

[ecocks]

Why are you not re-upping for another year? Anything people should think of before considering signing up?

Of course, it could be for personal reasons unrelated to life in Baku but it seems an obvious question given the positive nature of your post about EF as an employer.

[NuestroJuan]

That's a good, perfectly legit question. My reasons for leaving after these two years aren't so much related to work. The job is fine, but I'm slowly making my way back home at this point. I want to do a short stint in Russia so I can gain a little more experience and study the language; then, I'd like to move back to the States.

Job-wise, I've been doing more or less the same general English work for a while, so I'd like to try something new, such at TOEFL/IELTS or business English.

I think the issue with living in Baku lies more in the town and culture itself rather than the job (or at least the one I had). It's not uncommon for a teacher to move here, decide he/she doesn't like it, and leave after a month. My perspective is a little lopsided because I haven't really worked anywhere else, but for someone fresh off the boat who's never experienced this place before, it can be a little daunting. Culturally, you're not in Kansas anymore, since it's a nominally Muslim society, and women's lives are more restricted (However, you can buy alcohol pretty much anywhere.). Azerbaijan also has oil, so plenty of arrogance comes with that. They're currently trying to turn this place into a post-Soviet pseudo Dubai, with constant construction and new, flashy buildings going up all the time. Language-wise, Russian works pretty well in the capital, but don't rely on English so much. In a nutshell, it pays to do your homework before you commit and move here. I can't speak for everybody, though, since some people like it, and some people don't.

Work-wise, I think the main complaint among teachers is simply getting thrown into the classroom without a whole lot of preliminary instruction or orientation. An English fellow I used to work with told me that when he first got here nine years ago, the director of studies showed him his apartment, gave him the key, and said, "alright, see you Monday."

If you're the kind of person who holds his/her own pretty well, Baku could be alright, but if you'd prefer a bit more support and camaraderie, you might wanna check out cities with more expat teachers (or schools with more expat teachers at that). This might be a longer explanation than you expected, but I thought I'd give some of the lowdown.