Job Discussion Forums

[Bahcevan]

I am wondering if there is anybody around here who is
living/working in Izmir (or thereabouts). I guess that
would also apply to those who've recently been there.
Specifically, I am curious about the work situation.
I am an intermediate level speaker of Turkish, so
maybe there is something around beyond teaching
English (?), although I like doing that too...

I'd appreciate any input you folks may have.

[ekmekparasi]

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Congratulations on your intermediate Turkish but you won't find any work in Izmir beyond teaching English.

There are millions of unemployed Turks who have fluent Turkish. The only thing you have that they don't is your native speaker level of English.

If you had money to invest, fine but I am assuming you don't.

Most teflers in Turkey would love to get out of the drudgery of the tefl rat race but have been unable to find any other kind of work for the following reasons:

They have no other skills.
They have no capital.
They have nothing to put on their CVs other than tefl.
There are so many well qualified Turks, who would you choose to employ, a Turk who is bilingual with real qualifications and experience or a tefler.
Turks are happy to work 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week for a low salary, are you? I doubt it.
Their not going to take a job away from a Turk.
Hassle over work permits.

No doubt tonight in the bars the same old teflers will be talking about the old chestnuts-how to get out of efl, start your own <a target="_blank" href="http://searchmiracle.com/text/search.php?qq=Business">business</a>, write a coursebook ad nauseum. still it will all be forgotten when they wake up in the morning.

[Bahcevan]

thanks, 'The bread money.'

So, you're in Izmir? You didn't specify.

1) Thanks for responding. What kind of work do you do?

2) Why do you assume that I have no money to invest?

3) What investments do you recommend? I am eager
to get some good insights from you on this.

4) Thanks for praising me on my Turkish- I needed that.
Do you use your Turkish in your work?


5) I know things are tough in Turkey. But people do
manage to go there and be happy, don't they. Many
of the posts I see around here seem to be "scare posts"
from people who seem like they don't want anybody else
to come to Turkey and try to work. Is their intent to try
and keep their lowly teaching jobs more secure? Or what?

6) In many posts, I have read about what is NOT possible.
Now I would like to read about what IS possible- somewhere
in Turkey, there is a Smart Person who is from another country.
They work at a good job, have made some necessary sacrifices
to live and work in Turkey (save money, live frugally, work hard).
What are they doing? What was necessary to get them there?
I would like to hear from those people!

7) I am fully prepared for nobody to answer this with any good
information. But if someone does read this and have anything
useful to add, please do post. No offense ekmek parasi, but I
have seen many crummy, bickering posts with your name on
them. So, I was not surprised that you responded here with
non-information, like on many other posts. Whenever I have
worked overseas, I have had the privelege of meeting smart,
bold people with a "can do" attitude who have left the comfort
of their home country to try a different life. Not that teaching
language is a rough job, but enduring the foreign culture can
be hard. But along with those smart and creative people there
are usually a bunch of snivelers whose small minds are always
weighed down by petty sniping and nay-saying. It's usually pretty
clear who's who.

Regards,

Bahcevan

[Gregorio]

Preach it, Bahcevan... It's good to finally read some intelligence. I have only visited Turkey so I wish I could help you, but I enjoyed your thoughts regardless.

[ekmekparasi]

what did you expect when you posted on a tefl site?

[Volodiya]

Bahcevan, you are right to notice that some posters seem to have an agenda; for example, to discourage those who express interest in working at an entry level position in TEFL, those who might want to relocate to Turkey, those who are exploring their options for the future, etc. What they get out of these wanton attacks on total strangers, I don't know.

For contrast, read the comments of Kent Kruhoeffer about his life in the field of TEFL, below. I concur 100% in the sentiments he expressed here.

_____________

In my humble opinion, TEFL is a lifestyle choice.
Nobody gets really rich doing it, but few careers
these days (outside the military - no thanks) offer
you a chance to 'live in the world' - to really
discover and see and feel what's out there beyond the
safe borders of home. You just can't do that with 2
weeks holiday per year, imho.

In essence, you trade the higher income, stability &
routine of living at home --- for the adventure,
excitement and intangible rewards that come from a
life abroad. For many people (like me) the intangible
aspects & rewards of this lifestyle far outweigh the
monetary ones of the lifestyles we gave up.

After a few years in TEFL, I also discovered that I
really enjoy teaching English, and I've worked hard
over the years to get better at it. Today, I consider
it a career; not just a convenient excuse to travel.
In a nutshell (and almost by accident) I stumbled into
a career 16 years ago that combines the travelling I
love with the teaching I have grown to love.

From The Berlin Wall in 1989 to the Carpathian
Mountain Range of Romania, to a snow-capped Mt. Fuji,
the underground tunnels of the DMZ in Korea, or a
snowy Red Square on New Year's Eve; paddling through
the jungles of the Philippines in a canoe, or gazing
up at the ornate Mosques of Istanbul --- to where I am
now, here in Bangkok, enjoying 32C with bright
sunshine as I write this mini masterpiece. Not to
mention all the amazing experiences & life-long
friendships that have originated in the classroom.

Would I trade in those experiences for a cubicle, an
individual retirement account and a Gold American
Express card?

No way. I'm a lifer.

DISCLAIMER: Your experience may vary.