Job Discussion Forums

[Intrepido]

3 part question:

How necessary is a degree if one wants to teach English in Poland? I've read this forum a few months back and see varying answers. Are there schools that don't require this of their teachers? Is the only option to fake it? I'd prefer not to. For what it's worth, I did a few years of university and my English is as good as many graduates I know.

I'm considering either doing the CELTA here in the USA or doing it in Poland, preferably in Wroclaw or Warsaw. On the one hand, it'd be great to already have the CELTA before moving to Poland. I might be able to get some work here, so I'd have some hours of experience accumulated. This might make it easier to land a job in Poland. On the other hand, I read that it's very helpful to take the CELTA in the city you want to work in. It allows you to build contacts. Which benefit is greater? Where would it make more sense to take the CELTA?

In the long term it would be great to finish my degree. Perhaps I could do so Poland while teaching English on the side. I've researched this a bit, and see Warsaw has at least one university with teaching in English. Does anyone have advice on other universities in Poland with bachelors degree programs in English? I'm interested in many fields, including history, international relations, English literature, computer science, political science, etc.

[scottie1113]

I'm not in Poland (in fact we're almost neighbors) but will be there next summer for my CELTA in Warsaw with Bell Schools. I interviewed with their DOS last summer on a trip to Warsaw and Gdansk. Good city, good school, good guy. I have an American friend in Warsaw who got his CELTA there and recommends it highly. He has a degree in Chinese and landed a job in Warsaw within an hour of receiving his CELTA. Obviously he was making contacts before he finished his course. He's been there 3 1/2 years now and loves the city.

On the other hand I have another American friend in Gdansk who has neither a degree nor a CELTA but who has been teaching there also for 3 1/2 years. Both are doing well, but my buddy in Gdansk has interviewed with several schools who have told him that if he had the CELTA they'd hire him on the spot. He doesn't want to do it.

Both are married to wonderful Polish women. Neither considers himself an expat, just an American who lives in and loves Poland. Neither one of them plans to return to the US except for visits. As both of them told me, Poland hooks you, and they meant that in a very positive context.

I'll defer to the veterans on this forum to offer their advice to you on this particular subject, but I think a degree is a good thing to have in hand. I think it would be better to finish school where you are prior to going to Poland or any other country but as I have no experience with job hunting without one I'm not qualified to comment, and I certainly don't want to rain on your parade. Apropos of next to nothing, mine is in French.

Last time I checked there were about nine schools in the US which offered the CELTA. All required on site attendance and since none of them were close to me it meant that in addition to losing a month's income it would cost me tuition, room and board, travel expenses, etc. It's cheaper for me to do that in Warsaw, including air fare, than it is to do it it here in the States. The added benefit is that I'll be able to sharpen my limited skills in Polish-I'm learning it-and I'll be able to visit some schools in Gdansk where I want to teach. I visited one last summer. Even after factoring in the costs of returning to the US for the work visa, not work permit, which seems still to be a cloudy issue to many on this forum, it's at worst a wash.

I hope this helps a little and I hope others can help you more.

[redsoxfan]

[scottie1113]

Thanks for the good info. There have been a lot of conflicting posts on this forum about the work visa and although many people claim to know ways to circumvent this, yours is first with specific details.