Job Discussion Forums

[BrettDM]

I am considering getting my CELTA certification in Istanbul and have a few questions.

What would be the best time to take the course, I am hoping to plan my completion of the course with a time in which many schools are hiring.


I am looking into the International Training Institute and the British Side English Language School. I am leaning more towards ITT because it has more classes available and is cheaper.

Also I am concerned with my ability to find work considering I have no experience. It seems that most schools require 1-2 years experience.

Also I am concerned about Visas, will it be difficult to find a school to sponsor a work Visa?

I received my BS in Business with a Marketing Emphasis from the University of Colorado. I want to work in Istanbul because I visited there once with an ex-girlfriend of mine who was Turkish. I liked the city a lot. It has a great nightlife and I love the look of middle eastern women. I think it would be a really enjoyable place to live and teach.

All your help is much appreciated.

-Brett

[coffeespoonman]

Hi Brett,

I don't think your timing matters that much, as long as you don't arrive at the beginning of the summer. With no experience, you'll probably be starting at a language school, and they hire year round (but not many classes in summer). It shouldn't be a problem to find a job without experience, but you might have to work for a less-than-stellar school for a while...

ITI can be very good, depending on the tutor you get - I've had good experiences there. Don't know anyone who has gotten a cert from British Side, so I can't comment there.

[BrettDM]

Too bad about the beginning of summer being a bad start. If I do decide on Istanbul I was planning to travel to Israel around May/June then possibly to Greece and Croatia, then go to Istanbul from there. So if I started my course around the end of June or August 1st. Those two course end on the 26th of July and August 26th. I assume the August course would be best because I would be ending at the end of summer. When do the schools start in Istanbul?

[coffeespoonman]

Well, language schools are open year round, but there aren't a wealth of hours to be had until around September, which actually fits quite nicely with that August course.

Plus, I know that ITI will help you find a job (sort of). Not sure about British Side; they probably do, but since they're a language school (while ITI is a training center), they may not be so eager to feed the competition with qualified teachers. Not sure.