Job Discussion Forums

newtefler · Joined: 23 Jun 2006 Posts: 80

...however, i'm looking at TEFLING for a year. There are four places i'm considering - 1. ?Dubai. based on being able to bank some money.. I earn a very decent salary at the moment so a TEFL salary will mean a big drop and at least I'd earn enough there to avoid a reposession order on my apartment :0) 2. Turkey. Somewhere where I love the culture but suspect I'll get shafted on pay, have to work too many hours to see anything other than work / the washing machine (hmm.. i'm hoping there is one) / my pillow.. call me cinders :0) However, I could quite happily live there till I pop my clogs (if I was on the money i'm on now!) 3. Poland.... really not clued up on this.. how many z to the GBP�? How much do you need to live on?.. How much can you reasonably expect to earn? Poland would be a sensible option as my city has had a huge influx of Polish workers within the last year and when I come home I'm doing a secondary PGCE but would love the opportunity to keep the ESL going.. maybe volunteering with immigrant kids as it must be so scary for them. 4. South Korea.... money again ...

Really worried that if I do this I could end up losing my home... anyone managed to TEFL whilst meeting financial commitments at home?

Grrrmachine · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 265 Location: Warsaw, Poland

All of this has been covered before, and you dont need us to tell you the exchange rates! (www.xe.com?)
Im aware of the mortgage prices back in the UK though, but you'd still need to give us a clue as to how much you want to send back to the UK every month to cover your mortgage. You can make a decent wage in Poland comparable to what the rest of the Poles earn, with higher wages in Warsaw compared to the other cities, but you'd still really have to grind your nuts off to make the same as you would in the UK.

A nice rule of thumb is 50%. Beer is half price in Poland, cinemas are half price, and therefore so are wages.

newtefler · Joined: 23 Jun 2006 Posts: 80

wages half price of what job though?? McDonalds or without being an @rsey g1t prime minister?... whats the average TEFL wage?... p.s sorry about not being clued up on previous posts?

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Central/Eastern European jobs generally pay enough for you to live all right while you are in the country, and do some traveling around the region, but not to pay debts back home. Zlotys don't translate into much hard/western currency.
You mention Dubai, but you will need serious qualifications to get into the Middle East. They generally want MAs in related fields.
Korea might be your best bet, frankly.

gregoryfromcali · Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 1:23 am Post subject:

Exactly.

Poland is great but it's not where the money is at.

After paying rent and groceries, the money you have would be meaningless in the UK. (Which is why Poles are going to the UK to make money in the first place.)

It's pointless to lose your home while at the same time some school in Poland is making money off you.

You can also try Taiwan. The money's good and you get to learn the most used language in the world.

newtefler · Joined: 23 Jun 2006 Posts: 80

cheers chaps .. i suspected the pay wouldn't be fantastic. I've had an offer of a job in Thailand today and I think I should be able to break even on the money they are offering with a fairly decent standard of living. Thanks for your advise it was really helpful.

newtefler · Joined: 23 Jun 2006 Posts: 80

I meant advice :0)

joricho · Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 7

Have you thought about renting out your property? Most mortgage lenders will give you consent to let for a year or two providing you aren't making a huge profit out of the deal. If you do this you could cover your mortgage that way and then wprk where you actually want, rather than where the best wages are.

philyyy · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 93 Location: Wroclaw

My girlfriend rented her house out last year and will do the same again for next year. It just about covers her outgoings. The bank said they'd review her situation in 2 years basically.

freudling1000 · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 50

Poland has some positives and negatives. The money doesn't translate so well to established countries, and TEFL out here is hit or miss. Some classes are great others are horrible. I have seen many people leave after about 1 month but I have also seen some stay for over 10 years. I guess just ask yourself why you want to come to Poland and if the reason is powerful enough, try it out. You can always quit and leave.