Job Discussion Forums

[dbvt]

Greetings, all. Semi-clueless American newbie here with a few questions (I posted this over on the Poland board but thought I might have better luck here).

I'm looking into getting a CELTA or similar qualification this summer so I can teach overseas, and Poland is at the top of my wish list, as I am of Polish descent (though sadly know only about five words of the language - I'm sure you've heard this story before, my dad grew up in the '50s, his folks thought the kids should be "real Americans," blah blah).

I originally wanted to go abroad four years ago, but world events intervened. Now I'm wondering whether Poland is no longer an option for Americans due to its newly minted EU membership. I see from perusing the boards that a number of Americans just go over there and work without a visa, but I'm a little leery of doing that - I would prefer to apply to take a course at IH or similar so I'd perhaps have a bit of a network (and hopefully a less difficult time finding a job). I've got a BA in journalism and work as a newspaper copy editor, and I think that with the help of the CELTA, my skills would transfer well to the classroom.

The answers to this question seemed to vary in previous posts, so I thought I'd throw it out there again and see what people's thoughts are. Some of the past posts indicated it wasn't that difficult, but I'm wondering whether 2005, being the first full year of EU membership for Poland, will be a turning point, and jobs for non-EU folks will really dry up. (NOT that there is anything wrong with that - I am a fan of the whole EU concept, though the growing rift between the US and Europe does frustrate me.)

Many thanks in advance. If Poland is no longer a realistic option, I know Latin America still is (and I DO speak a little Spanish).

[grahamb]

You mentioned IH. Try emailing them and see what they say about work permits.
Your Polish ancestry might entitle you to a second passport (a topic that pops up now and then - see Naturegirl's posts on the Romanian forum).

[dbvt]

I was thinking my ancestry was probably too, well, ancestral for that - my great-grandparents (who died before I was born) were born there but came to the United States in their twenties. (I know my grandfather's parents never became US citizens, but he and my grandmother were both born here.)

At any rate I will go ahead and e-mail IH ... thanx.