PolishForums LIVE  /  Archives [3]    
   
Archives - 2010-2019 / Work  % width 19

Why are so many PF member in Poland working in education?


sobieski  106 | 2111  
19 Jul 2013 /  #1
This has already mystified me since I am active on this forum. Is it because they like it, the flexible working hours, never a dull moment, the pay...Or was it a last resort, because they did not find anything else? Which I suppose not, because as far as I understand you have to do teaching courses before you arrive in Poland.

I am living well over 9 years in Warsaw and have never worked as a teacher....And nor do the fellow-Belgians I know here...
If you guys could enlighten me ?
No trolls please.
jon357  73 | 23224  
19 Jul 2013 /  #2
This has already mystified me since I am active on this forum. Is it because they like it, the flexible working hours, never a dull moment, the pay...Or was it a last resort, because they did not find anything else? Which I suppose not, because as far as I understand you have to do teaching courses before you arrive in Poland.

There was a boom about 15 years ago to learn English and salaries were good - that brought many people from the UK, some of whom have settled down, with a partner and often kids and made PL their permanent home. Some of us from elsewhere in the EU have become Polish citizens and those who arrived a bit later soon will be.

Many still work in the same profession - some have moved on.
pam  
19 Jul 2013 /  #3
Is it because they like it, the flexible working hours, never a dull moment, the pay.

I don't think teaching is a job to be taken lightly, so I guess for those who have stayed in education, they must like it. I certainly wouldn't regard it as an easy option, and they're certainly not in it for the money!!

.Or was it a last resort, because they did not find anything else?

I think without knowledge of the language, working in Poland is difficult. Teaching is an option that doesn't require you to speak Polish, so it's obviously going to appeal to many people. You only have to look at the number of posters asking about teaching jobs on here!

Strange that you think so many of the posters on here are in education though. Thinking about regular posters off the top of my head, most are not employed in education.
OP sobieski  106 | 2111  
19 Jul 2013 /  #4
Strange that you think so many of the posters on here are in education though.

I had this impression...maybe the subject pops up so regularly, often of course potential newcomers ask if they can make a living out of teaching of teaching in Poland.

I don't think teaching is a job to be taken lightly,

With this I fully agree. I wouldn't have the stamina for it. I did not mean to look down on the "teachers" on this forum. It is only I often see people looking for an "ordinary" job in Poland, without knowing any Polish at all, and then starting to ask if they can earn a living on teaching.

I think without knowledge of the language, working in Poland is difficult.

I fully concur with this. Although for BPO jobs knowledge of Polish is not necessary at all.

some of whom have settled down, with a partner and often kids and made PL their permanent home

That sounds like me :)
delphiandomine  86 | 17823  
19 Jul 2013 /  #5
Is it because they like it, the flexible working hours, never a dull moment, the pay

I like it. It's a fun, varied job that requires a hell of a lot of thinking on your feet, combined with being absolutely required to be flexible. But it's worth pointing out that my day never starts earlier than 8am and never finishes later than 3 - and I only usually work 4 days a week. To have a 3 day weekend is great, and for instance - I managed to take a week off in May to go to Croatia because we closed the school rather than open for 2 days out of 5 that week.

But it's worth pointing out that unlike most English teachers working in language schools, I'm paid a set salary regardless of what I do - which makes a huge difference to my quality of life.

Or was it a last resort, because they did not find anything else?

At least in my case, it's what I always wanted to do. I dabbled with self employment for a while, I had a business idea that was working - but I was offered a great job in a school. It was a no-brainer - it would have been foolish to throw 60 hour weeks into self emloyment when I could do less than half of that in a proper job.

Teaching is an option that doesn't require you to speak Polish

Funnily enough, I think I'd be totally lost without being able to speak Polish. All the meetings and so on are always in Polish because most of my colleagues don't speak English - I was particularly proud a few weeks ago of having made quite a detailed plan with a colleague - all in Polish.

It is only I often see people looking for an "ordinary" job in Poland, without knowing any Polish at all, and then starting to ask if they can earn a living on teaching.

Indeed. It's often (at least for English speakers) all they can do - particularly for people involved in business that can only be done in the native language. I think it's madness to come here if you're already well established in your own country in a field that can't easily be transported to Poland, however.
smurf  38 | 1940  
19 Jul 2013 /  #6
I did it for the first few years.
Liked it at first, but then increasingly felt like I was becoming an English-speaking psychologist where people would dump their problems on my in English while I sat there and corrected their grammar when they said something wrong.

I just did it because I knew it was a way to build up contacts and get a foot in some places. Total last resort kind of thing. I did take it seriously though and not one single student of mine (private or from a class) ever failed an exam they were studying for.

But I've no regrets about leaving it. The hours nearly killed me. Sometimes I was working from 8am-9pm, with a break here and there during the day.

I've got a few mates here that still do it and they wouldn't change their job for the world.
delphiandomine  86 | 17823  
19 Jul 2013 /  #7
The hours nearly killed me. Sometimes I was working from 8am-9pm, with a break here and there during the day.

I couldn't do it - the combination of late nights and early mornings became a killer after a while. I remember taking the bus to work rather than driving just so I could sleep for half an hour on the bus - not healthy!
teflpuss  
19 Jul 2013 /  #8
Last semester I taught academic writing to about one hundred university students. That's 100 essays a week on subjects close to the hearts of the young people of Poland. Fascinating stuff, which makes me, and people like me, pretty well informed about what Poland is going to be like in the future. I can tell you, the extreme right-wing pseudo Poles on PF are not going to like it.
smurf  38 | 1940  
19 Jul 2013 /  #9
Same as man, my first year I wasn't driving so was always catching 40 winks on public transport.
No a good way, but as you well know, I was on one of those crappy contracts where I wasn't getting a red penny for holidays so tried to work as many hours as I could.

Still though, I met some great friends while teaching and am still on contact (i.e drinking buddies) with a few of the peps I've taught over the years.
Varsovian  91 | 634  
19 Jul 2013 /  #10
I spent years as a schoolteacher (the last 3 were great!) in England before my wife dragged me over to Poland. With my peronal background in England and 3 school teachers in the family in Poland I can see that language school teachers like Delphi generally have little idea about schooling in Poland.
OP sobieski  106 | 2111  
19 Jul 2013 /  #11
I can see that language school teachers like Delphi generally have little idea about schooling in Poland.

And why is that, according to you?
delphiandomine  86 | 17823  
19 Jul 2013 /  #12
I spent years as a schoolteacher (the last 3 were great!) in England before my wife dragged me over to Poland. With my peronal background in England and 3 school teachers in the family in Poland I can see that language school teachers like Delphi generally have little idea about schooling in Poland.

So you spent time working as a teacher in the UK. What relevance does that have to the Polish educational system, given that the two are very different? What's your experience in schools in Poland approved by the Ministry of Education?

Teachers are always moaning in Poland - and if you actually knew anything about Polish education, you'd know what the problem is with them.

For what it's worth, I don't work in a language school.

I can tell you, the extreme right-wing pseudo Poles on PF are not going to like it.

Not a surprise. I supppose the view of Poland from a basement in another country is different to our view.
Harry  
19 Jul 2013 /  #13
Why are so many PF member in Poland working in education?

I was asked to come here to work at a university training teachers, that's why I worked in education in Poland.
pam  
19 Jul 2013 /  #14
It is only I often see people looking for an "ordinary" job in Poland, without knowing any Polish at all, and then starting to ask if they can earn a living on teaching.

It staggers me the amount of people coming to this forum thinking they can find employment in Poland without language skills. Not impossible if you work for a foreign company, or if you have specific transferable skills which are needed in Poland, but I'm sure people think if all else fails, they'll try teaching.

Funnily enough, I think I'd be totally lost without being able to speak Polish.

It would definitely be an asset, and personally I can't imagine living in a country and not trying to speak the language, but everyone has a different set of circumstances. As an English teacher though, I'm sure you would be speaking English and not Polish in the classroom? Be a bit counterproductive otherwise.
OP sobieski  106 | 2111  
19 Jul 2013 /  #15
It staggers me the amount of people coming to this forum thinking they can find employment in Poland without language skills

BPO / callcentre jobs as a rule do not require knowledge of Polish. Still how you want to integrate here without speaking it....

if you work for a foreign company

But then most likely one would belong to the Mon-Fri club, and for them Warsaw is the place where their desk is, nothing more.
jon357  73 | 23224  
19 Jul 2013 /  #16
It staggers me the amount of people coming to this forum thinking they can find employment in Poland without language skills. Not impossible if you work for a foreign company, or if you have specific transferable skills which are needed in Poland, but I'm sure people think if all else fails, they'll try teaching.

Agreed. Poland is great for a holiday, and for me great to live in. It's by no means easy though and the peaceful forested place that someone comes to in summer can become a hellhole in winter - especially if they're short of cash.

This idea of 'teaching' if they can't do anything else is bad enough in markets like Thailand or China - in Poland it's got much harder, with the learners more demanding in terms of quality and very well qualified, well experienced and highly competent teachers chasing the same work - especially in the bigger towns.

Poland without language skill

Scary. And some people barely bother to learn.
Meathead  5 | 467  
20 Jul 2013 /  #17
I can tell you, the extreme right-wing pseudo Poles on PF are not going to like it.

The extreme right-wing pseudo Poles are devout Catholics and the politics of Roman Catholicism is fascism. it's true today as it was in the 1930's.
xzqbq7  2 | 100  
20 Jul 2013 /  #18
Last semester I taught academic writing to about one hundred university students. That's 100 essays a week on subjects close to the hearts of the young people of Poland. Fascinating stuff, which makes me, and people like me, pretty well informed about what Poland is going to be like in the future. I can tell you, the extreme right-wing pseudo Poles on PF are not going to like it.

Please share some of the stories if you can, very interesting. From what I know most young people just want to graduate and leave. They don't see any future for them in Poland. Is that what you mean by 'right-wing pseudo Poles on PF are not going to like'?
kaz200972  2 | 229  
20 Jul 2013 /  #19
Simple reasons why so many of the PF posters are connected to education.
Some people have a vocation for teaching, want to travel and really love languages, teaching foreign languages in different countries is an ideal career. This group are usually very professional and do the job well,

sometimes marrying a local and remaining in the country for many years, if not forever.

The second group are just those looking for an easy way of making money and are out to exploit whoever/ whatever and see if they can chalk up a few notches on their bedposts! You can usually tel the cowboys, they are the ones who shout about and criticise fully trained, better educated locals who teach English etc....

Such a shame about the second group because there is nothing worse than a teacher except maybe a bad doctor/nurse.

Archives - 2010-2019 / Work / Why are so many PF member in Poland working in education?Archived