Job Discussion Forums

[Qaaolchoura]

So I figured I'd head to Istanbul in August, and apply for jobs in person. Though I've got some teaching experience, I plan to leave that off my resume, as I got fired for being boring. I certain don't plan to teach kids again, and want to find a job teaching adults.

So, some questions:

1. Is this doable? Can I find a decent job teaching adults (none of those 30-teaching hour or 60 hour workweek deals), with no teaching experience (officially).

2. Can I find an apartment I can by the month, or else a really cheap hotel, so I don't spend all the money I've saved on housing in the first month?

3. Assuming I spend about a month looking for a job, how much money will I need?

4. Can I find a place to get cover letters printed, or should I just go ahead and buy a printer the moment I arrive?

5. I've found a list of language schools here, but this doesn't include Universities, and may be incomplete. Does anyone have any other lists they'd recommend? Or any schools in particular I might want to apply to?

Thanks,
~Q

[coffeespoonman]

1. Can I find a decent job teaching adults (none of those 30-teaching hour or 60 hour workweek deals), with no teaching experience (officially).

- Sort of. You'll probably either have to work 30 hours a week and make decent money, or work less and make very little. You don't mention your degrees/certs. That could make a difference. Still, with no experience, you're going to have to start at the bottom.

2. Can I find an apartment I can by the month, or else a really cheap hotel, so I don't spend all the money I've saved on housing in the first month?

- Yes. Check craigslist. There are also hostels in the center for 20 TL a night (10 EUR)

3. Assuming I spend about a month looking for a job, how much money will I need?

- You could live on 40 TL a day (20 for hostel, 10 for food, 10 for transportation).

4. Can I find a place to get cover letters printed, or should I just go ahead and buy a printer the moment I arrive?

- There are lots of photocopy shops. They'll print from a usb key or email. Not expensive.

5. I've found a list of language schools here, but this doesn't include Universities, and may be incomplete. Does anyone have any other lists they'd recommend? Or any schools in particular I might want to apply to?

- No chance for unis with no experience, unless you've got some serious degrees/quals.

Good luck. Early Aug is a very bad time for job hunting, but late Aug is getting better. Sep is probably the best.

[Qaaolchoura]

Coffeespoonman: I'm aiming for mid-August, since I need to be in the US for no more than 35 days or pay income tax on everything I've earned. If you think I shouldn't even bother in August, maybe I'll head out to other parts of Europe or Morocco or something for a couple weeks.

I have a bachelor's degree in developmental psycholinguistics (a small sub-school of applied linguistics), and an SIT TESOL cert. So yeah, pretty standard except that I can teach grammar.

I'd rather avoid hostels, both because I'd be concerned about my stuff, and because I find it hard to sleep with the sound of heavy breathing/snoring.

Also, I know the Fulbright Y�K scholarship places people in Turkish public unis, so I wondered if I was possible to get some such jobs directly.

Thanks,
~Q

[coffeespoonman]

Or come here and just be a tourist before you start job hunting. The south is gorgeous, and the beaches are perfect in early August, if crowded.

That B.A. will help things a lot at the beginning.

You should have no problem renting a private room for the short term on Craigslist.

I doubt you want to work for public unis. The conditions can be good in terms of work load, but the salary will scarcely be enough to live on. In my experience, public uni jobs are for people who already have their hands in another cookie jar or two (language schools, private lessons), and are looking for some extra money / prestige.

[_smaug]

Thanks, you two. Good questions, good answers.

I'm also planning on arriving in early Sept and beating the bushes -- master of science (education), TEFL cert, 20 years classroom teaching experience, 2 years TEFL experience, good references -- what can I expect to be offered at a private school, pay wise?

Wait . . . forget what I'll be offered. What should I hold out for?

[coffeespoonman]

@Quaal - If you do end up getting a job in Turkey, or elsewhere for that matter, and get a residence permit (which you would here, or at least could with no trouble, even if you just apply yourself), you can claim foreign earned income exclusion based on the bona fide residence exclusion instead of the physical presence test. That way, you can spend more than 35 days in the US and not pay income tax on the money you earned abroad. As far as I know, that should take care of your problem.

@the big red dragon - you shouldn't accept less than 3500 TL, but you're certainly qualified enough to get 4000-4500. Jobs that pay that are a bit rare though; despite your quals, you may not find a job like that at all.

[_smaug]

Coffeespoonman � thanks for being so generous with your time and answering so many questions.

Are private school classes mostly in-house, or are you chasing around town to various companies?

[coffeespoonman]

There's a lot of chasing...

[_smaug]

I'm used to chasing. Not a problem.

Getting ready to book my flight. I'm using airline reward miles so I'm under a one-year-from-date-of-issue-to-complete-travel restriction. The only reason I bring it up is because I lost a $1,000 contract-completion bonus (by 10 lousy days!) in Prague when I had to either jet or lose my ticket.

Do Turkish school typically offer contract completion bonuses or no?

[coffeespoonman]

The bad ones usually do.

(that's not entirely fair, I know)

[_smaug]