Job Discussion Forums

kloke · Joined: 24 Jan 2007 Posts: 9 Location: Canada

Hey gang...

I'm sure this thread will gather a lot of rolled eyes, but I've got some basic questions here, that I'm sure others want answered as well...

I'm curious about acceptable wages in Istanbul...If you work a full week (30ish hours...) is 15 lira/hour a decent wage? What kind of style of living will this allow? About how muc is the cost of living in Istanbul?

Furthermore, what are we looking at for one bedroom apartments in Istanbul, preferably Taksim? Bear in mind, I'm going t'be sharing this place with another....

Any help from those who are willing would be very, very appreciated...

thrifty · Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 1665 Location: chip van

If it is 15 lira an hour I am sure we can all guess who the employer is. The money is crap-I was getting more than that 12 years ago and free accomodation.

kloke · Joined: 24 Jan 2007 Posts: 9 Location: Canada

I guess I wasn't being too discreet...

Though it's still early, I guess 15/hour is good enough for me to compare other schools to...Any other thoughts?

thrifty · Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 1665 Location: chip van

On 15 an hour and no accomodation you have two choices:

1. poverty, doing every hour God sends and sharing a crappy flat-the summer and all the holidays will be a nightmare since you won`t be earning. You will also be illegal so doing a visa run will cost you money in terms of lost classes and the cost of travel.

2. poverty,doing every hour God sends and sharing a crappy flat-the summer and all the holidays will be a nightmare since you won`t be earning. You will also be illegal so doing a visa run will cost you money in terms of lost classes and the cost of travel.

I will leave out problems such as no paid holidays, no sick pay etc.

Shalana · Joined: 08 Oct 2006 Posts: 150 Location: Istanbul

Ok, so I have to ask, thrifty, if you are willing to share, what were you getting paid back then and who gave you free accomodation? I am considering moving to Istanbul this July and I have not noticed any school there offering free accomodation.

thrifty · Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 1665 Location: chip van

I worked for English Fast 12 years ago. During the mid nineties I got about 600 pounds a month for 100 hours plus, sick pay, holidays, overtime and shared accomodation. Back then it was pretty standard. I am sure DMB and other old timers will back me up. When I started working for a private uni in 97 I got a little more and a housing allowance or free, shared accomodation.

The Crime have ballsed up pay and conditions at language schools. Just think -pay has not changed in more than 10 years and free accomodation and work permits seem to have gone. Also sick pay, holiday pay and proper contracts.

Sheikh Inal Ovar · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 1208 Location: Melo Drama School

Yes .. Mr Thrifty is spot on with language school conditions 10 years or so ago ... mine was Dilko ... though, rather out of character, he forgot the return paid flights ... one cinzano too many?

At the uni I moved onto back then teachers were (and still are) given their own one bed flat (albeit on (a pleasant and leafy) campus) ...

thrifty · Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 1665 Location: chip van

Well excuse me. As I am stuck again in my gated community-just me, the home brew and crap TV, I thought it only fair to indulge.

Seeing as everything else has changed-do you still get to fraternise with the students or has that dried up too?

As for ITU it is still 1000 dollars-with inflation, surely it should be 1500 by now.

Doctor on a Helicopter · Joined: 27 Nov 2006 Posts: 45 Location: Primrose Hill

15 ytl per lesson is at the low end, and for newbies. The average is a bit higher than that. Also some places provide accommodation or rent allowance including disreputable English Time and Dilko. But still, if you're guaranteed 30 lessons in a week - that makes about 130 lessons in a month and that makes 1,950 ytl in return - you can still make a reasonable living. Nice flats with 2 bedrooms etc cost about 1,000 ytl. So, you will have enough money to pay your bills and have some fun as well. Living standard is better here in Turkey than in Britain. So many foreigners go to Britain and do horrible jobs and pay awful lot of money for disgusting accommodation also have to put up with racism (this is true for the EU citizens, too, such as from Poland, Slovakia etc.) You don't get that sort of shite here if you are a foreigner! Anyway, good luck!

thrifty · Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 1665 Location: chip van

You are not going to get 30 hours a week for the whole year-that is one of the main problems. 30 hours from October to May minus the holidays and minus the visa trips. You will still have to pay rent and bills for 12 months yet only get 6 months "good" pay.

No language school guarantees 30 hours a week-they can`t for the obvious reasons above. If they could they would offer proper contracts and not hourly paid wages.

Sheikh Inal Ovar · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 1208 Location: Melo Drama School

My lord! It's all happening ... going back a step ...

At least here a can of Murphy's costs the same as back in the UK. Serefe!

ITU started paying in YTL a year or so ago and I can never quite remeber the numbers ... but you can be sure it's nowhere near $1,500 .. it might get up to $1,250 now and again depending on the weakness of the dollar ...

yaramaz · Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:53 pm Post subject:

EF pays salaries and housing allowance and overtime after 100rs/month. I'm currently doing 28 hrs a week (my choice) and am getting 35ytl/hr overtime.
There is work in summer and the salary is still guaranteed.

kloke · Joined: 24 Jan 2007 Posts: 9 Location: Canada

Thanks for the little bit of help...I've got some more questions, but naturally, I don't want to elicit anymore vague and mostly negative responses from you folks out there...

Is there anyone out there who wouldn't mind if I shot them a PM and took a minute to answer some more questions?

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Golightly · Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:42 pm Post subject:

Sheikh, which Dilko branch were you in? I was at B'koy from 94-99.