For all English teachers in Poland (who work for only $1000 a month)

Yeah, as a junior teacher I get only half the wages of the 'real' one.

A zloty per minute after tax was very much the going rate in Warsaw for in-company work when I got out of teaching in June 2006.

55PLN for 45 mins in hand is the going rate for a good school here in Gliwice. It depends on ur other contract. I have 2 contracts so the set up is a little different.

That's not bad. I wonder what the going rate is in Warsaw these days.

AGREED!
as well, maybe I'm just old fashioned but isn't putting your income up a little bit "gutter" or at least just bad form?

Not when it comes to letting people know what the going rate is for doing a particular job. Poland (and every other country in the world) is full of cheats who try to abuse unknoning people by paying them far below the going wage. Look at that b*tch from a certain school in Warsaw who was in a British newspaper claiming that 2400zl a month gross is enough to live the highlife in Warsaw!

ahh i guess we agree to disagree then. i guess i just see it as almost putting it in people's faces, but maybe i'm looking at this from a half-empty perspective. anyway i do see your point though.

I do agree that it is slightly bad form to talk about exactly how much one earns. But saying how much one can/should earn from doing a specific task (in this case teaching a 45-minute lesson) is rather different.

I teach english and I get 8000zl a month after tax.

finally some real numbers but a bit high IMO - I guess we wil never hear from you again

Another basic point, it's stupid to think in KANTOR terms. I was told early days in my stay in Poland to bash out that kind of thinking. As I've written elsewhere, think of it in terms of the minimum wage. 5.5 pounds in the UK and, let's say, the same in Poland (5.5PLN). 1 pound is 4.8PLN so let's say a 1:5 ratio. Now this doesn't mean that Poland is 5 times cheaper, a basic grasp of economics would tell u otherwise, but I really feel that my money goes much further here. I buy a lot of veggies which are EXCELLENT and cheap here. Getting over 5,000PLN after tax is really good here, esp without kids and a car

The question is how many lessons do you teach each week? For that kind of salary I'd imagine that you're doing in the region of 40 45-minute classes every week. That's quite a heavy load and not easy to timetable.

Are you working five or six days a week? Would you mind sharing with us the names of the schools you work for?

youtube.com/watch?v=sxcR-K1LWFg I found this hilarious

OK so its a bit off topic but I thought English Language teachers might like it.
This is a letter published from todays Guardian newspaper....
As head of modern languages in a comprehensive, I was interviewing a child regarding a piece of French coursework, which exhibited none of his normal sloppy grammatical errors - very suspicious, I thought (Schools sign up for software to tackle internet plagiarism, January 19). He was adamant the piece was all his own work, and he had not got it from the internet. When I said I was sure this could not be the case, he asked me why. "Because," I replied, "it is in Spanish, a language you do not study."

Debora Shaw
Norwich

I have heard actually that this is quite a con. There is a huge difference between a one hour lesson and a forty-forty five minute lesson because at the end of the week you have to prepare for far more lessons and have far more lesson plans. It sounds good having a forty five minute lesson but in fact its much more work over the full week. I am very pleased that I am not a teacher of English in Poland.

so am i, you wouldn't be a very good one

Pobably you are right and that is why I have never tried to take on such a thankless task.

I have to disagree Michał, the wide scope of the job allows u to branch out and u have a fair bit of leeway. Having to be very precise as some kind of specialist is more taxing on the soul. I agree with u in that, occasionally, the regularity aspect isn't there as students cancel (private schools) but u r usually able to make up your quorum by the end of the month. At the risk of sounding conceited, I often got thanked for my teaching abilities. For me, I just put my head down and get on with it but students like what I do. It's all laid out for me pretty much so how can I take pride in that?

I sometimes wonder though, if teaching the Poles is a good idea. I was in a restaurant today and we had lunch. It was dreadful and everything we ordered was finished and not available. A good looking Polish girl took my card for payment and she came from Bałystok. A cocky big headed girl, not my type at all. They are becoming spoiled and arrogant. Britain giving them leave to remain in England and work without visas was the worst thing we ever did.

^ Only Polish girls in the UK are spoiled and arrogant? You know, many waitresses have bad days, especially when they have to deal with pricks like you. I would know, my girlfriend is a waitress and often has rude customers.

I share ur reservations Michał. I have had a few doubts of my own recently.

Hmmm, i think i'm choosing an interesting time to join this conversation... I've been living in Poland for 4 months now, and been having a really hard time learning the language. Going to one of the local pubs is great though, because all the barladies speak reasonably good english. Me and my Fiance (polish) have both worked in pubs (i've been in management), and sometimes staff do just have a bad day... being able to speak english is not going to affect the level of service you get.

As to the original point of this thread, i work less than 20 hours a week, as an english teacher, and i clear almost 2500 PLN per month. Hour-for-hour, i earn a hell of a lot more than i did while working (in management) in the UK. Teaching can be a rewarding job, but it can also be a really crappy job, depending on the motivation of your students.

Hi Bushman, raking in that amount is quite good. U r right about the motivational aspect but I've found that if u adopt a commanding presence, the students will respond in kind. I'm not an in-your-face teacher by any stretch but I've upped the ante a little as there is a danger that classes can go stale and u r the General in the class, so to speak. U can come out feeling drained but it is as the maxim/adage goes, 'no pain, no gain'.

'lo all.

I'm an English teacher (read native speaker) in two English schools in Warsaw. I started last year with no previous teaching English experience.

What I had going for me was: an American education, friendly personality and a good interview personality.

I work in-house in different companies: banks, power plants, insurance companies. In an average week I do about 20 hours per week (45 minutes each). After adding the time for getting to the companies and prep time it's about 30-35 hours per week. So about 75% FT. This nets me (after taxes, in hand) over 4,000 PLN per month.

I'm thinking of taking on a few more hours, but probably not any more than 30. 5,000-6,000 PLN per month range.

Is this good money? Yes. Very good. In fact, I get paid more than most of my corporate clients (vp's, HR managers, accountants) who make (and are very open about their earnings, apparently the topic of wages isn't a taboo in Poland) between 3,000 and 4,000 on the average.

Is it enough to survive in Warsaw? DEFINITELY.

My living arrangement cost me about 1,200 PLN a month. Granted I will probably never buy a flat here (not spending a million for a ******, dingy place in the concrete jungle), but my living's very comfortable and close to the center (10 minutes by tram). Travel card costs me 70 PLN per month. Bills: about 200 PLN. Groceries: 600-900 PLN.

Do the math: that leaves you 1600-2000 PLN per month for fun, savings (vacation time!) and fun with girls. :)

Hi all,
I'd like to thank all teachers of English in Poland for contributing to this thread. It's quite informative. Is there any possibility for summer employment? I'm a veteran teacher in the U.S. Thanks.

Absolutely, thanks for the offer, Lots of needy Polish children need English training from a obliging well wisher, I'm sure free rent will be enough will cover your services

You Americans are so generous..God Bless

That's quite interesting.

How did you find the job in the first place ?

My experience is similar to bushman's but I teach a little over 20 hours a week and take home just a little less. It's more than enough.

I did my CELTA in August at Bell in Warsaw. While I was there I asked if they had anything available in Gdansk and sure enough, they did. You can also check out tefl.com and view the current opportunities in Poland, or you can just go from school to school with yiour CV and see what shakes out.

Hi all, me again :-) nomyth36 mentioned summer work... this interests me too! Unfortunately in my town, the demand for english virtually disappears during the summer (and i'm not the only one with this hassle - the other native language speaker here is having the same issue). So, any idea's about where to get extra work in the summer? Camps, short courses, etc? Advice would be appreciated. - oh, Lady in Red: my fiance works at the same school. she organised me an interview last year already, and as i was the only native speaker in town, at the time, it was gift wrapped :-p i was rather fortunate to get it so easily, i will admit.

There is very very little teaching work in Poland over the summer. A lot of teachers go to the UK and work in language camps there. Standard pay is in the region of £250 to £300 per week and you get board and lodging thrown in.