Job Discussion Forums

[Plisken]

Hello, all...

I've been looking to move to Europe and TEFL/ESL seemed like a pretty safe way to ensure work in at least a few countries...I have had many friends ranging from St. Pete's to Brno to rural Slovakia that have done it for varying numbers of years and they all said it would be a rather safe bet for doing so. My main concern now that I have a small amount of training and preparation under my belt is housing...and of course, many other tangential issues that I figured only expats teaching in my "target" countries could help me with.

So, after lurking here for many, many months I signed up and here's the Reader's Digest run down of my questions/needs:

Training:

100 hour TEFL certificate
Business English Certificate

Edit: I've come to the conclusion that these are both pretty much useless after reading a few responses from well informed and experienced people in certain countries. If that isn't the case for your current "host" country, let me know. I figure I'll be better off going for an on-site class in the actual country I choose, so any opinions/facts about ones you've been through/heard about would be much appreciated.



One other little thing that may help is the fact that I've quite a bit of bartending experience. When i visited Prague a few years back, I had offers for bar jobs in every "English speaking" pub I went to. Just a thought since one recurring theme in here seems to be "you'll have a lot of free time due to short hours".

Needs:

Another running theme I see in the Europe threads is "it's a nice place, but you can't save money". Here's the thing: I'm in D.C. right now, so saving money is on the same level as the tooth fairy for me. Given the choice between paying $1,000/mo. for a studio flat here and saving nothing or living in Europe and saving nothing, it's a no-brainer.

I would like to go out to the local bars maybe once or twice a week and I never eat out unless I have no other option. A high average for my daily food and beer (I know, I know...) expenses would be around $20.

I'll be going over with somewhere around $2,000 (+/- a few hundred, but probably not)...if that helps any.

Places I want to be:

Here's why I placed this in "General"...

Slovakia (my first choice if possible)

Czech Republic (like a lot of Yanks, my introduction to the area came through Prague...I know Praha is expensive nowadays [my trip was in 2002 - during the flood, before the EU - very cheap at that time], but I'd rather be in Brno or Plzen anyway.)

Budapest (where I started my trip - sometimes not the friendliest place, but overall very nice and I hear the TEFL work is decent...?)

Croatia (I've met many people from the area and a few have told me there are "lots of jobs for Americans", but I don't see it mentioned much in TEFL sites. Any information would be appreciated.)


Other countries/cities I have interest in:

Bulgaria
Greece
Estonia
Latvia
Moldova
Slovenia
St. Petersburg

Edit: Places I've written off for the near future:

Ukraine
Germany (I knew that was a pipe dream anyway...)
Lithuania

They all have attractive aspects, but I think I'll give it a few years.

Thanks SO much to anyone that can offer advice or at least reaffirm me that I'm not making a disastrous decision. I know this is a long and vague post, but I'm just trying to narrow down my options and getting information from some teachers I know is like pulling teeth.

Cheers.

[spiral78]

Well, your credentials won't put you at the top of the heap, but combined with a professional and responsible attitude towards the work, you should be ok.


1,200USD is very short for a start. Remember that you will be paid at the END of the first month you teach, and that you will most likely have to pay TWO (or even three) months' rent up front, plus possible an agent's fee. You probably need double or triple your startup cash - and always be sure you have enough financial backup to travel home if you need to. A little bad luck can run a long way if you're on a financial shoestring.

Also, you may be a bit confused about teaching hours. 20 contact hours per week is a full time job, because there are both preparation and travel hours involved. You can't teach 20 in less than 35-40 in most situations. It depends, obviously, on exactly what contract and scheduling details you end up with, but remember that the teachers who've been there for some time will always get the best schedules, so you can count on split shifts and relatively extensive travel time to your student's offices in your first year.

You might get in a bit of bartending on the weekends if you're willing to give up what's likely to be your only free time!

[BerlinCELTA]

Hi,

From my perspective in Germany, I'd agree in general with what Spiral78 has said with one or two qualifications/questions:

1) if your initial teaching cert had assessed teaching practice/practicum, then that should be OK for an interview in private language schools in Germany.

2) is the Business English Cert you mention a Business English Teaching cert? If so, that would also go down well here. If it isn't, then what is it precisely?

3) what teaching experience do you have? Are you straight post-cert? Berlin is becoming friendlier for low-experience applicants at the moment but the more experience, of course, the better.

Spiral78 is right about the cash reserves; people easily forget about deposits etc (though you may escape these by flat-sharing etc).

As a final tip, International House Bratislava (down the Danube from Budapest) was looking for teachers on contract recently and seemed a well resource school when I was there on a visit.

All the best.

[Kootvela]

In Lithuania it is difficult to start making money from teaching. You may have better chances if you consider staying for 2-3 years so you build your reputation and client base. If you come for a year or so, you will have enough money to cover your basic necessitities, food, some travelling inside the country, but not more.

Working for language schools can be a tough issue. As far as I am informed, chain schools pay 20-35 litas per academic hour whereas there are many small ones that pay only 7lt (yes, that was seven). 1 USD is about 2.5 litas here. Many teachers take private students to substitute their income, so you can try and get conversation classes if you're a native speaker, they pay well if you find the right people. You can get a contract with a language school to cover your rent and air fare but then you work full time+ do summer camps+ admin job when you have to.

The city is beautiful, the weather is generally unfriendly, the people can be odd and the food is one man's poison another man's medicine but it's experience you're looking for, I take it.

You can try and hunt down a job in a summer camp here or wait until end August when the schools hunt for teachers when the high season comes. Summertime is low on students and work.

[jonniboy]

There's definitely a big demand for native speaker teachers here in Latvia. It would cost you more than Lithuania but on the other hand, Riga's a bigger city with far more going on. The main problem here is costs which are rising fast, though that's happening throughout the region. 1000 lats (about 2200 dollars) a month is doable with a full timetable (about 28 clock hours) and you could save some of that. I've been able to support two people and still blow 1600 lats this year on travel.

Downsides: the climate can get a bit depressing, the people aren't very open or friendly and the language isn't the easiest - the fact that only two million speak it doesn't do much for the motivation either!

[Plisken]

[Plisken]

[Plisken]

[Plisken]

[GF]

If you are planning to do this for a number of years and want to work in places like Germany, then why don't you get a degree and become more competitive? Without one, you will always be at the back of the pack and employers will use it as an excuse to pay you less than the next guy or gal. Also, the more 'elite' (read, rich) privates tend to frown on a 'teacher' who has less education than their children.

[spiral78]

Plisken, first of all, we appreciate your responses to our posts. All too often, newbs post a series of questions and never bother to reply to the answers at all.
Secondly, you've got a realistic attitude and I'm sure you can meke this work out in the long run.

I want to clarify one thing - if your certification did not include that hands-on, supervised teaching practice on real students (I am assuming it was ilkely an on-line qualification as these are the ones usually offering a choice of 'specializations') you will be at yet more of a disadvantage. You say it was a 100 hour course, but you don't clarify whether it was on-site or on-line.

The thing is that, in the Central European region you are targeting, there are many, many teacher training centres offering the regionally-standard training: 120 hours on-site, including at least 6 hours of supervised teaching practice with real students (as opposed to peer trainees). Many, maybe even most, reputable employers region-wide expect this qualification as a minimum. This is CELTA or equivalent. That's why BerlinCELTA asked whether your cert had assessed teaching practice.

This is not to say that you can't STILL find work - but you are, unfortunately, not going to be near the top of the newbie heap.

Also, you are unlikely to find anything other than private language school employment with your qualifications, and they don't usually offer 'school housing' until the checks start coming in...I don't think you can count on cheap housing being available to tide you over unless you have friends coming through.

My take on your situation is that you can probably work it out, but it's very useful that you are planning carefully, because your resources are somewhat limited. I expect that you'll have a tough year one in whatever location you land, with lots of work, a bit of worry, and still the exhilaration and satisfaction of doing something challenging and rewarding...and years two and forward can be getting better and better.

[spiral78]

I'm harping on this point because you will very possibly be asked outright by potential employers. It's best to anticipate this, and, in the case that your cert was on-line, to have some acceptable responses prepared.

[Plisken]

[Plisken]

[ecocks]

I was in Prague for a couple of months and have friends from several nationalities working there as TEFL teachers. They make ends meet but don't seem to have much of a margin for error unless they take on 3-4 rommies and really beat the bushes solving the housing situation.

Personally, my choice was that while the more industrialized countries are a bit more comfortable, they are also higher cost of living and the EU work rules make things tough for non-EU member citizens. So, I wanted Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, etc. I ended up in Ukraine. Simply, a $2k stake should be fine as long as you are aware that you are building for the future. If you come in here, find a decent place to live, pay a couple of months rent and then use the rest for food rather than hanging out in expat bars drinking and eating in restaurants you have your 2 month cushion. Getting a roomie anywhere is a problem - Detroit or Odessa makes no difference on that score. You should reasonably expect to be making about $1200/month after a couple of months if you work at it. There are jobs available everywhere but they (generally) won't hire a newbie from overseas and they aren't going to tackle you at the airport, thank you for coming or shower you with gifts for gracing them with your presence. If you have classroom skills and a teaching presence/mentality, you will survive. Oh, watch your timing, coming in June wouldn't be smart, you should plan on getting here in early August and have some interviews setup for jobs which would start in September.

Remember, there are very few reports of dead TEFL teachers. A couple who lost weight is all I really can recall.