Job Discussion Forums

[FGT]

If by "dershane" you mean language school, in what way is this better?

I taught in language schools for 14 years and taught motivated adults, had lots of coffee, health insurance etc etc. I also spent breaks with students but had breaks between (or before/after) classes when I was at home or shopping/meeting friends etc.

It must be something about the moon burgers - what are they? What's in them?

[coffeespoonman]

In the last staff meeting someone suggested buying remote control cars for the classroom.

The managers agreed.

That's pretty cool.

[Sheikh Inal Ovar]

Working all day without a break from the students ...

I'd want a bloody Roller not a pissy little toy car ...

[gigi13]

Merhaba Coffeespoonman Bey,

Can you give an update on your time with ALTA? Would you continue to recommend them? I'm in talks with them now. Did you work in the Besiktas or Caddesbostan location?


(Arriving in Istanbul this time next month - so, if you have leads/tips on decent places to check out, I'd surely appreciate that, too!)

Tesekkurler!

[Qaaolchoura]

I was just about to ask about this and I remembered to check first.
It sounds too good to be true. And reading the fine print, it probably is for an experienced teacher.

Though they claim that you can work less, they say that 45 hours (teaching or total, not sure) will be paid at 1770 USD. Take out housing and you net 1000-1300 a month, which would be standard for 25 teaching-hours with experienced teachers. Bonuses are very confusing, but I'm guessing that except for the contract-completion bonus, you probably don't get any of them. And I'm not sure if they won't fire you to avoid paying that one.

Not that I'm not going to apply. And yet as someone with no experience, it's still a decent offer if I understand it right. Only offer I got from abroad was a 1000-month, shared accommodation, 60-hour workweek.

I'd hope they do get their teachers actual work visas.

It would be nice to hear from someone who finished out a year there. The no experienced required, coupled with misleading fine print and urgency for getting new teachers seems a bit foreboding.

Regards,
~Q

[OverseasTeacher]

If Coffeespoonman says it is worth a look, I believe it. I've read his stuff and he has credibility in my opinion. Keep us posted Coffeespoonman.

[coffeespoonman]

Thanks Overseas

Assuming the situation hasn't changed much in 4 years, I'd still recommend it. It WAS a lot of work and really tiring, but the pay is on the high end for language school work, and you don't have to work every week. You can, for example, work 3 weeks a month if you want. I only made it for about 4 months there, but I could have stayed longer.

Yes, the method is dubious (It's not REALLY Suggestopedia), but the owner is really cool, and you're given a lot of freedom.

FYI, I was never offered a work permit, though I know that one guy was.

The bonuses are confusing, but you DO get them. Immediately. You get 750 TL (maybe more now, don't know) in cash every Friday, assuming you worked that week. Certain things, like good weekly evaluations, students signing up for another class, etc, can increase that by a few hundred. I'd say that a week where you don't get any bonus at all is uncommon if you're decent in a classroom.

Oh, and they've moved, so I can't comment about location at all. Sorry.

Good luck!

[Qaaolchoura]

Not getting a work visa could be a problem, given the whole Erdogan hates illegal immigrants thing, but yes, it does sound like a good situation, for someone who doesn't mind working extra. (And if the money's right, I don't.)

Thanks,
~Q

[nichtta]

Any recent updates with regards to ALTA? I was offered an interview with them. It seems they're still in Caddebostan, by the way.

[nichtta]

So, it seems their rates haven't changed since 2007, although the rates and prices of rent, transportation, food, and tuition have all gone up since then along with the lira losing its value.

They're still offering only 750 TL a week for 45 hours (9-6 either Mon-Fri, Tue-Sat, or Wed-Sun) with no breaks. That's 3000 TL / month for an insane amount of teaching hours, but yea there are bonuses given in really strange ways that seem to depend more on the student surveys than anything else.

It's definitely not worth it at all.

I took pictures of their guidelines with my phone to post here for others' benefits, but I'm not sure how to upload them. Anybody know how?

The "interview" consisted of being given like five pages of their guidelines and then left alone in a room to read them. Thereafter, I was asked what I thought. That was pretty much it.