Job Discussion Forums

[luluchadora]

Hi everyone,

My boyfriend and I are interested in teaching in Turkey and have received interest from a public university in Duzce. Although I've visited Istanbul and have several Turkish friends, I've not been able to find much information on this region, which is several hours east of Istanbul and north of Ankara. Is anyone familiar with Duzce? What is it like? We are particularly curious about the cost of living there.

Our application process has been somewhat nontraditional--we were referred to this university by a Turkish friend with connections there, and so we did not respond to a specific job posting. Thus, we have been asked by this university to send our visa application and translated/notarized degrees without knowing a great deal about the nuts and bolts of teaching in a Turkish public university. For instance, I understand public universities pay less than private universities--what salary might we expect for teaching EFL to undergrads? Also, do public universities typically cover travel, housing, meals, etc. as some other employers do?

Although we both have BAs in English and MFAs in writing, and have taught university-level English for several years, we have been told by our contact at the university that we must have TEFL certification to be approved by YOK. I know most EFL teachers get this--because our grad school loans are still fresh, and the California economy has been less than kind, we were hoping (unrealistically, I know) to find work without it.

We're a bit hesitant to proceed with visa paperwork and a good (but potentially costly) TEFL program without having received a formal offer or knowing the terms of our employment. Do universities typically clear candidates through YOK before making formal offers? I understand the YOK approval process can take quite a while.

Many thanks for any advice or insight you can spare. This is my first time posting to the board.

Cheers,
Lindsey

[keitepai]

While I have not worked for a university this process sounds a little unusual for Turkey. Most visa applications are done at least after a contract is signed and more often once you are in the country. I just sent my copies of my degrees and they provided the notarised translation but this was after I had my contract signed and flights booked so I really believed them! Maybe it has changed...

I hope you didn't send too much personal information or worse any money?
Just be careful, especially if there is no contract in sight.
Hopefully someone else here can provide more accurate info for you.

[Dedicated]

Hello Luluchadora,

I previously worked at a public university, and unless you had TEFL qualifications, then you wouldn't have been given a contract, and wouldn't get paid! This happened to a fellow colleague, who worked 6 months before YOK finally decided they were not qualified. Maybe the situation is changing now, but I doubt it.....

As for Duzce University, check out their website www.eng.duzce.edu.tr. You can see from the photos, that the university was only established in 2006, and is still very much under construction. This is mainly because Duzce was hit by earthquakes in 1944, 1957, 1967 and the most recent 1999, when they had 2 earthquakes in 3 months of magnitude 7.2. Duzce was virtually destroyed.

The small province of Duzce is on the Black Sea coast, and if you are a nature lover or walker, or skier in the winter, you will love the forests. I used to go there quite often. There are some lovely places nearby - Abant (lake)Kartalkaya (skiing resort), Yedigoller, Akcakoca(seaside resort).

Duzce town is about 125,000 in population, and is a typical parochial, conservative town, but quite rich in diverse ethnic groups - Turks, Circassians, Kurds, and more recently immigrants from the Balkans. The cost of living is markedly cheaper than Istanbul, especially accommodation. There are good transport links to both Ankara (about 250km away) and Istanbul (about 230km).

If you really want to come and work at a Turkish university, then I think you could do better than Duzce (without meaning to offend anybody). It is still conservative, and people may frown on giving accommodation to an unmarried couple. If you went to Ankara, for example, you could concurrently study for your CELTA and work at Bilkent University (which is private).

I hope this helps a bit. Good luck!

[luluchadora]

Thanks keitepai and Dedicated for your honest and helpful responses. It's good to know that YOK requires TEFL. The working/earning CELTA concurrently option is definitely appealing.

Dedicated: If you don't mind my asking, what was your salary range at the public university? Did your employer cover travel, health care, and accommodations? At what point in your application process did you receive a detailed offer? I'm familiar with Duzce University's website (the region looks beautiful), and I think their English program is still quite nascent. My feeling is that taking a position there could be quite challenging, but I worry about being in over my head since this program is not quite established and/or feeling isolated.

Thanks, too, for the advice about our finding accommodation as an unmarried couple. Several Turkish friends have told me this might be a challenge, depending on where we go, and other Turkish friends have said we wouldn't be held to the same social standards as conservative Turks, so many thanks for weighing in.

All the best,
Lindsey

[Dedicated]

Hello again Luluchadora,

I was at a public university in Ankara, where I had some delightful, highly motivated and conscientious students - probably some of the best students I have ever taught!

To be honest, it was quite a while ago, so I cannot remember the salary scale, and it was before the New Turkish Lira anyway, so it would be misleading to even put a figure on paper now. However, I remember it was considered an excellent salary, as it was double what other Turks were getting.

I was given one return air ticket per year, a brand new, furnished, small flat for which I paid no rent, but had to pay utilities, and was covered by social security for sickness. In fact, I had to have an emergency, major operation which was carried out at Hacettepe University hospital - I only paid for the medication, nothing else.

If you go to a large city, such as Ankara, Istanbul or Izmir, then they usually have a far more liberal attitude towards an unmarried couple sharing accommodation. This may not be the case in Duzce, where you could feel isolated, as few foreigners around. Some Turkish language would definitely help. However, Turks are generally incredibly hospitable and friendly.

Hope this helps....

[NisaTex]

Run Bambi RUN!

[Otterman Ollie]

That seems to be the best advice so far, be afraid, be very afraid!

[Dedicated]

To Nisa Tex and Otterman Ollie,

I have tried to answer Luluchadora's questions frankly and openly. I'm not sure I understand your answers, and the relevance of Bambi - am I missing something?

[luluchadora]

Thanks, Dedicated. This is helpful. We're more or less trying to decide if we should get our TEFL certification over the summer in order to teach in Duzce in the spring, or if we'd be better off aiming for a university with an established English program. It's a little difficult deciding when we don't know the details of an employment offer we may (or may not?) receive from Duzce, such as a salary. I get the idea the positions they have in mind for us are in the process of being created, and that they have only two other non-Turkish employees, so perhaps the protocol for hiring from abroad is still being worked out.

Because of prior commitments in the US, we would not be able to go to Turkey until spring 2010, and my (uninformed) feeling is that most universities want to hire for fall start dates, so I'm not sure if it would be more of a challenge to find a job elsewhere for the spring.

Cheers,
Lindsey

[Dedicated]

Hello Lindsey (Luluchadora),

Whilst most universities hope to recruit native speakers to start in September, there are often openings for the second semester (Jan/Feb).

I think if you look around at universities that have established English programmes (such as Bilkent in Ankara, where you can do your CELTA training) or Middle East Technical University (Ankara), or Bogazici (Istanbul) and Istanbul Technical University, you may have more joy. The calibre of students would also be higher. Duzce University accepts students with a far lower entrance exam result, so the implications are the students would not be so bright.