Work /
International House - Kracow school - any chances of being offered a job there [59]
Haven't taught there myself, but I know it well. There should be an excellent chance of work, if not there, then somewhere just as good or better. It's very easy to find work around Poland - small and medium-sized towns usually have schools that are gasping for teachers, in Warsaw/Kraków they increasingly prefer people with experience, but you should still be able to find a job there.
I don't know much about the going rate in Kraków etc., but in Warsaw a 'virgin' teacher, fresh from CELTA should expect 3000pln upwards (net - at that wage level, and for new teachers, there may well be accommodation thrown in. IH often do that). IH are notoriously bad payers, but usually fix accommodation and give excellent in-house training and teacher development which appeals to some people.
If the school-owner is Polish, they may try and pay you 'on the black' without tax. Don't go for that - now Poland is in the EU, either you or they or both will be caught some day. The Polish tax office are getting increasingly tough on language schools, and can get back tax off you even after you've returned to the UK. Unfortunately.
Some people (usually in out of the way places) get about 2500pln plus cheap or free accommodation. It should be very possible to live on that, especially if you're not a high-roller and get some private lessons which are usually easy enough to find. There are people in bigger places getting not much more than that, though those who stay generally wise up after a while! Most teachers get plenty of offerss ofprivates, and language schools somewhere are usually recruiting.
Teaching medical/legal English is very specialised, and most law firms/doctors who need it tend to go to an established provider (not least because they would want an invoice, which a teacher working on the side can't give). But privates are easy to get. Remember the amount would vary depending on where you are.
Being in small-town Poland can be very rewarding, if you don't mind being a bit isolated. There are expat communities in big cities, but there's something special about spending a couple of semesters in the back of beyond. Kraków is awash with native-speaker teachers and people from all over the world chasing teaching work. This depresses the wages and makes really good work a bit harder to find. IH usually want people at their branches in South West Poland, and the franchise that runs them is quite well thought of. Not all IH franchises have the same good reputation.
You should check out the job forums on Dave's ESL cafe which has quite a bit of specific information. Remember, there are a heck of a lot of language schools and teachers, and the market is changing all the time, particularly with regard to wages in different places and the legality of including accommodation.
And by the way, whenever a teacher or ex-teacher mentions salary levels on an internet forum, there's usually somebody who says the amount they've mentioned is either way too high or way too low. Poland is a big market, lots of towns, schools, teachers, payment methods etc. I'm just speaking from my own experience.
