Some cold, hard facts about teaching in Poland for newbies

You're a smart guy Sean US :-) It looks like you have them worked out, lol

ukpolska wrote:


you misunderstood me. i meant paying 800zl for rent and then paying 800zl for ZUS/medical, every month.

Nah, I just have my bases covered so no jacker can have a pop at me for this or that. Sticking with what they agreed to doesn't give them a leg to stand on if/when they moan.

FUZZY, try 890PLN for ZUS. It's fractionally over!

For me thats not a problem as I was born in Poland, but I'm currently a unregistered polish citizen.

Seanus wrote:


really? must have gone up recently. I always paid right around 800zl.

Do Polish schools include teaching structures with team classes, consisting of more than one grade? I observed my friend's classroom the other day. The classroom had groups of both 4th & 5th grade students.

FUZZY, it was 840PLN but ZUS decided that wasn't enough :( :(

Becksi, I teach at a private school so am not really best placed to comment on that. Pawian would likely know about such things.

Seanus wrote:


hmmm.....maybe my sketchy accountant out there was finagling the numbers somehow to get me down to 800.

the ZUS payments are just sick. i mean, i can understand charging for a universal healthcare system (assuming it's effective and the citizens are happy with what they're getting for the money) but all the money that gets raked out of that 840 to pay for someone that hasn't worked since they were 50.....it's unamerican ;)

That can't be done, IMHO. It's a fixed rate for a fixed period. Non-negotiable. The plus side is that you can count it towards the lowering of your tax, together with invoices that you submit to him/her. That way, ZUS/tax comes to 890PLN together.

I agree, FUZZY. I'd prefer to pay on an as/when basis as I'm a healthy guy that doesn't need to use the Polish equivalent of the NHS. They still charge you anyway :( :(

zus. how much ?

zus.pl/default.asp?id=35&p=1

Be careful and ask around to ensure that any action is valid and also that you are in compliance with what you need to be. Employers often take shortcuts but at your expense. The authorities will likely target you and not them so cover your bases.

Are you on about state schools/daytime schools? I've taught mixed year/grade classes before and I've known kids go from primary to gymnazium a year early.

Private language schools put whoever they can in a class to make up the numbers.

I'm referring to state schools (public school systems in the United States.) Supposedly, team teaching may be more cost-effective. Students who are more advanced in some subjects, may become a little bored. While others may have a tendency of falling behind, due to lack of knowledge or interest in a particular subject. These scenarios may exist, when there is a large age difference between students.

was the class made up of kids actually from K4 and K5 - or did they simply have a range of ages that covered expected ages for K4 and K5 ?

in my experience - from my daughter's class -- there can be a very wide range of ages in the same class year. Right now, my daughter is 13 - not 14 until July - but some children in her class have already turned 15.

Are schools is Spain and Germany etc more democratic to work for?
Obviously the money is much lower in Poland for teachers so why do Brits, Irish and American come here to teach in the first place.They cant all have Polish girlfriends..

Actually you would be surprised at how badly EFL often pays in Spain and Germany and how well it can pay in Warsaw if you work for the right organisation.


Not that many do any more. Here in Warsaw there is a fraction of the number who were here 10 years' ago.

Of those who are here, some are here long term and own their home, are married with kids, partnered etc and have deep ties to Poland. Some of the Americans who come have Polish blood and want to create ties. There are also others who are teaching EFL as a means to an end - they have a Polish husband or wife who wants to live here but either lack the skills in Polish to do anything else or are unimpressed by the salary levels in other jobs. Others are just washed-up here, without the drive, money or qualifications to go somewhere better.

But having said that,m some are here because they genuinely like the place and/or the work.

From what I understand the general process is similar in Spain and Poland (in terms of small private schools) though the preferred teachers to exploit in Spain are not native speakers but university students looking for spending money (and who don't know labor laws and are easy to push around).

Don't know about Germany.

Indeed, would one rather earn £15 an hour in London or £12 an hour in Warsaw? But I suppose it is still to expect Mark to know anything about what things are worth or how much people can earn.

Is being able to offer "invoices" or "receipts" a significant point of difference? Do people actually care, cuz its not exactly a business expense like petrol.

If you don't have the ability to offer invoices, you won't get any work from companies.

The class consisted of both 4th and 5th grade students.


Thanks for the information :)

...which is fine if you're going solo.

This may well be a stupid question, but is this discussion purely related to teaching English?

What about teaching another subject, even if you don't speak much Polish but know your subject well are there not opportunities? (most secondary school pupils understand English and in my experience the pupils (13-17 year olds) really like the opportunity to practice speaking English). However, most of my work has been on a volunatary basis, so have no knowledge of the pay scales.

Also at a university or polytecnika for example - does anyone know if the pay similar or better than secondary schools?

You would expect it to be better, but even here in the UK part time tutoring at a Uni is not very well paid (most do it because they have a passion for the subject) and I hear that teaching in general in Poland is pretty poorly paid across the board as well.

Poland is a poor country.

The pay may not be earth shattering but the holiday pay is useful. I think more and more places are running courses in English these days (I'm teaching Saudis English so they can study medicine in English in Poland).

That's a subjective opinion and dependant on your definition of poor.

Wages are not as high as western Europe I grant you, but then again prices are lower and more importantly the weather is better! It costs nothing to sit on the beach all day in Sopot! In Glasgow it rains all time and eating out costs a bloody fortune!

Anyway, what I meant was that teaching is poorly paid in relation to other careers in the Poland

gdj67 wrote:


I'd just like to point out that this is, quite simply, a horribly inaccurate statement.

Agreed as some prices are comparative to western prices and in some cases even more expensive. As to weather, well that is an subjective comment, and cannot really compare it to nothing as some people like different climates to others.

It's a perfectly acceptable business expense - how can training/education not be a business expense?


You don't get it. Many individual clients will want an invoice, for whatever reason. I have several students who want invoices - not because they have companies, but because their work will refund part/all of the cost of the classes. Invoices also allow you to offer pre-payment of classes - no-one is going to give a random stranger money upfront, but they will with an invoice.

Yeah ok...fair point.