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Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]
Oh, be careful mate.
I've lived here in Poland for 7+ years, and have worked for quite a few private language schools and in the end, to be honest, I've opened my own. (joshlangaugecenter.com)
and be careful mate, be careful.
As a foreigner, there are simply many things that we don't know. Every other school I've worked for - I've been taken advantage of. In the end, my contracts put me at around 20 zl/hr which seems ok, but as a professional and talented teacher it's an insult when the Polish teachers whose English is at a much lower level than my own - both in terms of language and methodology - earn on average 50 zl/hr in my town. I don't know what about larger towns, but that's generally the way it's worked here.
Last April while applying for my residency permit (again) I found out that my previous school had me sign something which obligated me to pay ZUS (social insurance, retirement, etc...) on my own. I had no idea about this of course - a new arrival here in Poland. 6 years later, I ended up with a fine and paying interest of more than 5,000zl. Basically - they screwed me over by lying to me.
If you don't need the money - then dude, just do private lessons in a pub as you'll meet people and you won't have to deal with the dishonesty that goes on with lots of these second-rate schools who are doing everything they can to make their last groszy off you.
Hope that helps.
