Job Discussion Forums

[lizapierce]

I'm a 27 year old single female looking to move out of America to teach ESL. my preference is Poland but i am open to anywhere.
i have a bachelors degree and a masters degree, but neither are in teaching English. i have traveled quite a bit around the world and have taught English classes on a volunteer basis for a few weeks at a time, including Poland. i have taken a 16 hour workshop on teaching ESL, but i know that doesn't mean a lot compared to a TESL certificate. here are my questions (and i am really sorry that some of these might be repeats from other forums-i tried to scroll through but its a little overwhelming)

1) is it necessary to have a TESL certificate to get a job in Poland?
2) how much can i expect to make and is it possible to save money while living and working in Poland?
3) is housing usually provided by schools?
4) is it possible to get a job around december or january?

i would apprecaite any information you can give me!

[gregoryfromcali]

Hi Liz,

Since it's that time of the year anyway, I'll refresh a thread called "Steps to Finding work in Poland."

I think it may answer some of your questions.

Good times,

Gregory

[Pollux]

I think the first question is, are schools likely to go through the hassle of arranging your working visa when it's so much easier for them to hire a EU citizen? This may be a hurdle for anywhere in the EU.

Does anyone know of a school willing to do this?

[cheeseandegg]

Yes. ELS-Bell School (Gdańsk, Szczecin, Gdynia, Ł�dż and Warsaw) have no problems hiring US teachers. Their salary is so low at Bell that they have to employ anyone. Most EU teachers have the choice of any school in Poland for much better salaries and conditions so increasingly more and more of Bell's teachers are from the USA, Canada and Australia.

[Kymro]

Cheeseandegg, go to your inbox.

[Pollux]

Kymro,

There is such a thing as a PM.

Could you help a young lady out since you are a employER?

[gregoryfromcali]

Some schools will and some won't.

A lot of schools will allow you to go through the paper work though.

It's a pain, but it can be done.

[knurri]

Hello i have a few questions as well.

1- how much money should a new TESOL teacher have in a bank account before arriving in Poland? could $2000-3000CAD or 6000-9000PLN be sufficient? I was there to visit a friend in April 06 and have a good idea on the cost of living there.

2- according to the information obtained from the Polish Embassy, they require 100PLN a day in your bank acct to sustain you during your tenure. How strict are they about this?

3- would it be adviseable to just buy a one way ticket to a European city from Canada, then take a train/bus to the city i plan to live/work in? Thus saving 1000's on a flight home.

4- From what i have read in this forum, it would be better to secure a job in my homeland (Canada) for the processing of a VISA rather than just showing up in the city of choice and trying to find a job. I've read that i might need to return to Canada to process the VISA. WHat have been your experiences on this?

5- Do most schools pay your medical coverage? and should i take out a travel insurance policy as well for piece of mind?

6- I don't think that i will be able to make the Sept school year start, would arriving in January be a bad idea?

I have loads more.... but need to get to bed, thanks for your answers!!!!!

[cheeseandegg]

Knurri,

I can't answer all of your questions but I'll attempt some of them:

1- I arrived in Poland with only about 1000zl in my account. If you're not an EU citizen then it's probably a good idea to bring more. If you can arrange accommodation in advance with a friend then you'll save lots.

5- Most schools used to provide medical insurance but as Poland is now in the EU they often don't bother. Technically EU people living in Poland are entitled to the same health care as other Poles. If you can face the morals of buying private health insurance then it may be a good idea.

6- January is not a great time for teaching jobs. You will find many but they won't be advertised as much as jobs for September/October. I would advise you to try for September/October.

[jinji]