American with E.U. Passport Seeks Poland English Teaching Job Advice

Hello All,

As a new member of the forum, I was wondering if anyone would be able to provide a bit of advice regarding my prospects for finding work teaching English in Poland. Here is my situation: I am planning to move to Poland next summer so that my wife can begin a graduate program (she's been accepted to schools in Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, Lublin and Gdansk, so those would be my target cities). I am a 32 year-old American male with a European Union (Italy) passport. My academic qualifications are: B.A., M.S. (Management), J.D. including bar membership - for what it's worth (not much, I'd suspect). All of my degrees were obtained from regionally accredited, brick and mortar, U.S. colleges and universities. I am also planning on taking a CELTA course upon arrival in Poland.

As for experience, I previously spent one year working in Prague as a legal proofreader, 14 months in Poznan on an American Fulbright grant (where I gained some - but not much - experience teaching English at a state university), two years at a U.S. university advising international students and am now working at an office in Bratislava that organizes international student exchanges. I also possess two years of professional experience practicing law in the U.S. Finally, my level of Polish is adequate for short, every day conversations however much work would be needed in order to use it professionally.

I have investigated the forum going back until 2008 or so, and am in tune with the average wage and what I might expect in terms of an average work week in Poland. What I am most interested in, are opinions regarding my overall employability, and the possibility of specializing in either business or legal English (I would prefer legal). I am also keenly interested in suggestions regarding the best city for this undertaking. Any observations or suggestions (both positive and negative) would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Dan

[Moved from]: Any tips for getting English teaching contracts with companies in Poland?

Hi all,

I have been out of Poland for the past few years teaching English in Qatar. Myself and the wife have returned and I am looking to get myself some English teaching work inside businesses. What's the best way to approach companies? I was thinking of just getting email addresses of companies and using the fishing with dynamite approach i.e. sending off as many offer emails as possible. That said, I am considering calling companies instead and asking to be put directly in touch with the HR or training manager (if there is one or MD if not)

Or is there a more subtle way? I was thinking of maybe attending some business networking events. Any advice out there that people would like to share with a fledgling microbusinessman? :-)

"myself" is reflexive btw

Having EU passport and skills you should be able to find a good job (shoot for the biggest Polish cities like Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw, Gdansk, etc.).

Legal English is an extremely small market, however it's difficult to find people who can teach it well. You would need to be in Warsaw. You would also (generally true in Poland) need to be familiar with British rather than American English, since that is what is used most in Europe.

Work for yourself.
Rent an office or become mobile.
Working for a language school is okay for a bit of experience and guaranteed hours but in the long run isn't worth it.
Good luck