Job Discussion Forums

[dannypoet]

Hi,

I am a newbie so please don't be too harsh!

I currently work in a decent paid job in IT in the UK but its not what I want to do for the rest of my life so I am looking for a break, to do something different, for a few years before I get stuck in the mortgage grind (I'm 24 so just on that cusp at the moment)! TEFL fits the bill to me, as I have both a desire to teach, I enjoy English, and I would love to live abroad and possibly pick up a foreign language.

I'm looking to do it right, I dont have teaching experience (outside of a bit of IT training I conducted in the Czech Republic) so I'm hoping to do a CELTA and then find work. I've been reading these forums as a lurker for a few weeks now but I'm still a little unclear on a few things so hope you don't mind me asking here?

I originally wanted to TEFL in Berlin but Ive heard the market is really bad in Germany, also the CELTA course is �1000 there rather than �650. I don't like Prague (too many tourists) so Im considering Budapest where Ive visited before (and thought was beautiful).

Sorry for the life story Ive just seen newbies get a hard time before so thought Id get all of the facts out of the way.

My questions basically are:

1.Is getting off a plane and doing the CELTA and then trying to find work in Budapest the best way of doing it?

2.Is it possible I'll be offered a job by IH after completing my course?

3.Are contracts common or will it most likely be freelance work?

4.How much will I be looking to earn (and for how many hours)?

5.Will an apartment/bills be included? If not how much would a flat share be and would it be easy enough to find with bohemian Worldy types (and also how much)? Any good areas I should consider?

6.Would there be any extra bonuses?

7.Will there be any tax/pension costs or are these deducted from my wage before I see it?

8.Is there health insurance or as a Brit is it free for me like it is at home?

9.Is there any factors I should consider as to what happens at home in the UK (regarding tax/Ni etc)

10.Anything else Ive missed?

11.Anywhere else I should consider?

Again apologies for the nature of my long post, Ive posted a similar thread on the Polish/Russian board so please don't be offended if you come across it, am also considering there!

[johnnyenglishteacher]

Answers to your questions.

1) Yes. You�ll quickly find work
2) Probably not by all accounts, but it�s always worth asking
3) Probably freelance, chance of a contract.
4) Don�t accept less than 2,500 fts per hour in the capital
5) Unlikely.
6) Maybe the students will bring you some cake.
7) The wage I quoted above should be after tax.
8 Just take your E111
9) You won�t have to worry about tax, but think about pensions.
10) What�s the food like? Good. By far the best in Eastern Europe.
11) Yes, Hungary is a beautiful country. Buy the Rough Guide to Hungary to find out about the different cities, and you can turn up to just about any university town and find work fairly quickly - just look out for language schools (nyelviskola). I�m in Gyor at the moment and it�s a superb place to be. One bit of advice is to check if a place is well connected transport-wise. You�ll want to travel once you�re here, so once again the Rough Guide is useful as it tells you about the connections (bus and train) from major (and not-so-major) towns. Alternatively elvira.hu is the Hungarian railways website, and is available in English.

If you want to know anything else, PM me, as I don�t come on here too often.

You should definitely come here though, this is a great country. And don�t worry about the political problems, the country�s not exactly in the throes of a violent revolution.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do,

John

[AllOne]

Don't expect to find a decent place to live (alone) for less than 85,000 or 90,000 HUF a month.

Expect the language schools to offer you 2100-2300 HUF per 45 minutes after tax, and to have to produce a legititmate Hungarian invoice to get more, for which you will have to hire a lawyer to do the paper work to get the tax number and then pay a professional accountant 10,000HUF minimum per month to do your books because the government won't accept you doing your books yourself (even if you could read the Hungarian tax laws), unless you want to be a sole entrepreneur which means fewer tax breaks and then higher tax - which is what all the protests are about.

Expect to do a lot of travelling to companies before and after regular working hours if you work for a school.

Don't expect paid holidays, sick benefits or scores of Hungarians ferrying you about their country to show you some hospitality - unless you manage to get a Hungarian girl to sleep with you in which case you'll be buying her drinks and dinner and expensive gifts.

Don't expect heated trams in the winter.

Don't expect air condintioned metros in the summer.

Do expect pork fat and hagymas on your kenyer in the bars.

Do expect stinky drains in the street.

Do expect foreign speculator landlords to gouge you on the rent.

Anything I've left off?

Right, a job with IH....why on earth would you want to work for them? They are one of the lowest paying language corporations in the world. One thing I've learned in this business, the more prestigious a language corporation (they aqre corporations you know) appears to be, and 'look good on the resume' the lousier the pay and work conditions...really. All those full color, heavy weight glossy brochures and billboard size ads cost a bundle, not to menetion the offices they rent.

[johnnyenglishteacher]

Not having a good time AllOne? Sorry to hear about that, but life is better here in the provinces I think.

Maybe it's best to avoid capital cities as a general rukle of TEFL.

[ssimmons]

Alright, I'll see if I can answer any questions for you. I started working here last summer and I'm in my second year here. I'm an American though, so a few things such as the taxes and such might be a little different.

1. Yep, it won't be a problem finding any work. I would suggest reserving a spot in a CELTA course somewhere first though, and then coming over here. But don't work about classes afterwards.

2. I'm sure you could get a job with IH. But don't just limit yourself to one school. You're going to have to go out and drop off a lot of resumes and give demo lessons (Hungary is notoriously slow about getting back to you sometimes, so you'll want to be on file at as many places as possible)

3. A little of both. Most schools will offer you contracts, but then you'll also want some private students to get a little more income.

4. In BP, most places I've found offer 1800-2500 for a 45 minute lesson, with most places being at the lower end. And keep in mind that if you pay taxes you'll get a lot less (lose at least 18%, maybe 36% if you make too much in a year) and if you can't provide an invoice you'll get less too (but still more than most of the other Hungarian teachers make after taxes).

5. Nope, no apartment. Right now I'm living on the edge of downtown and I pay 50k before utilities on my own. If you want somewhere in the heart of the city, at least 80k. Good areas are Liszt Ferenc t�r, Raday utca, K�lvin t�r, Nyugati train station. Of course anywhere in the downtown is decent. Just try to stay away from the heart of the 8th district.

6. Don't expect bonuses. Sometimes the students bring gifts for Christmas and birthdays though.

7. As I said, I'm not sure how it works with EU citizens working in an EU country. I'm strictly under the table, so no advice here.


8. Again, no idea.

9. No idea.

Things to consider. Hungarians are incredibly friendly to foreigners and will go out of their way to help you in anyway you can. But once you come off as another Hungarian, (or should I say Budapestian) they will treat you like they treat each other. Little eye contact, occassionally rude, not moving out of the way, etc. But I've heard this is just the city, and that if you get away from BP it's very different.

And Hungarian food is amazinglz good, as long as you don't mind onions, potatoes, paprika, and lots of fat.

Hope this helps.

[DesertDawn]

I know this is an old thread, but I couldn�t resist. Based on 6 years (about 4 spent teaching) in Bp�

As far as what I�ve experienced and heard from others, I would agree with the above tips on job hunting, taxes, and contracts.

[johnnyenglishteacher]

It seems like Budapest isn't the best place to go for teachers. Here in Győr, I'm being paid 2,000 forints per teaching hour (45 mins), so I feel sorry for anyone getting about the same in the capital.

I share a flat, and we pay 35,000 forints each (rent and bills). I've heard quite a few people teachers complain about Budapest students (there's a particularly bitter post somewhere on this forum) but I've not got a single problem student.

Having said that, Budapest's nightlife is a hell of a lot better. If you do end up there, check the A-38 nightclub - it's on a boat on the Danube and it has some excellent concerts.

[dannypoet]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm still hoping to do this starting in the summer. Perhaps I need to visit some of the other cities in Hungary first though, The idea of paying 35k for rent is much more appealing then 50k + Thanks again.

[Track2370]

This thread has got some really great information on it. I recently was offered a job at a good public high school in the XVIII district. I realize this is really the outskirts of the city. Do any of you Budapestian expats have any advice on this or any of the other not-so-mainstream districts? I can't seem to find much on them.

[johnnyenglishteacher]

Just another thought to add to this thread. Schools tend to charge businesses around 6,000ft/hour (according to my students and office colleagues) I'm sure you could easily undercut schools and double your wage by selling your services directly.

I've now left Hungary, and I'm really missing the place.

[jdenn]