Native English looking for a teaching job in Poland

And there's the key to the problem. Go direct to companies and you can be taking home 8,000zl a month for working four hours a day.


That's your opinion but it is in no way based on reality in Poland.


Even more so when some of those welfare queens spend every waking hour posting rubbish on the internet.

It is fact that English teachers and in fact all high school/grade school teachers make pennies in Poland. $1k a month (around 3700 z's depending on exchange) is considered a pretty middle salary for a teacher. Very rarely do they make beyond 5k 6k gross unless they are at the very top of their field and at a top school.. And as far as getting respect, well, most of them wouldn't understand what the kids and others say about them anyways. Teaching isn't considered the noble career it is in the west - not for grade school and high school anyway. For professors yes, but even they make very little money even by PL standards. I have 2 professors in my family (married couple) I'm well aware of the situation.

oh and also a cousin who teaches in a little rural school about a half hour outside of Wroclaw... and even in her like kindergarten or 1st grade or whatever she teaches there's a Chinese girl who is more than welcomed - Poles just are weary of Merkel's 'burden' ... she makes peanuts just like every PL grade school teacher but at least in Wroclaw the wages are amongst the highest in average in PL

a better job is studying criminal justice to work in a jail like another cousin is doing. after 15 years you are retired and receive a pension

Again, that's your opinion and shows how little you know about teaching, both here and in the 'west'.

No it doesn't but it shows that your opinion is different to his.

I have to agree with Dirk, because those are the facts. I have no idea why Polish teachers don't strike for more pay - maybe someone has theories on this? A somewhat misplaced loyalty to duty maybe, whereas successive governments ignore the problem, historically offering ridiculous carrots like a 13th months' pay, teachers' day, this and that adorned as bonuses, but in reality just awards and praise, and supposed extra holidays? (all of those archaic inducements designed to explain away why teachers don't merit higher pay)

I used to see the salaries every month at the English department of the university when I collected my 1.7 million, and I felt sorry for the career academics, with their paltry remuneration, amongst them my dearest friend, the greatest and most knowledgable anglophile you could ever meet; those who didn't have their names on the titles of colleges as university affiliates (those made fortunes in comparison to the "ordinary" lecturer).

Another long standing partner in crime still works there. Nothing has changed, and there are 50 applicants for his post when he is ultimately forced out, for that is the all too common fate of the university academic

As for schools, the salary levels are nothing short of scandalous.

That fact is teacher are paid peanuts in Poland - even in countries with a lower average national GDP per capita than Poland pay English teachers more - like China for example... Grade school teachers are basically are compensated a bit higher than the minimum wage which is around $450 while a 'native english' teacher makes around $1k at the most...1k is considered a high wage for a grade school teacher and would most likely only be given to someone with many years experience, a school in a city like warsaw, Wroclaw, etc. Most are given closer to 2.5k, 3k, 3.5k zl

Average Pay‎: ‎$500 - $900 USD per month
tefljobplacement.com/teach-english-in-poland

Your salary and working conditions will vary from school to school but typically you can expect to be paid an average salary of 2,500 PLN (£430) a month for teaching English in Poland

tefl.org.uk/blog/2012/march/teaching-english-in-poland

I know enough about teaching in Poland considering there are 3 teachers in my family. As far as the 2 professors, the wife still teaches Sanskrit and Indian history/culture, the husband has since gone into the private sector as even with 2 professors salary, raising a child and sending them to a good school once their an adult would be a challenge. Even their German colleagues, also professors, are paid 3-4x as much as the Polish. The professors get respect in Poland - no doubt. However, grade school and high school teachers in general, but even more so 'native' English teachers, get more respect than say a Ukrainian taxi driver but less than a foreign IT pro from India or wherever.

Teachers are paid very well in places like US and pretty decently in Germany, UK, etc. Definitely not Poland though. Actually, on average, wages for English teachers in grade schools are higher in China, S. Korea, Russia etc even than Poland. No one cares about English teachers in Poland.

Like I said, if you're willing to earn beer money while you're young and if you want to travel Europe its not a bad career. But for an adult - no way. Idk how a grown man could manage to provide and support for a family for $1k USD a month.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Even if one works only for a school and works only four and a half hours a day, that's $2,000 a month.


Good luck paying the bills in London as a teacher if you want to live in your own flat.

ROFL.... 99% of Polish grade/high school teachers including 'native English teachers' make under $2k a month...

So you're claiming that the countless esl//tefl related websites and Polish sites which are all saying the averages are closer to $500-$1k a month, are all wrong,... that grade school teachers make $2k... lololol and the only teachers that work 4 hours a day are professors... not grade/high school teachers as grading, office hours, plus class tiem easily take over 40 hours a week - just read delphs diary for exmaple

wynagrodzenia.pl/artykul/zarobki-polskich-nauczycieli
From 2011 - chart shows 1500 to 3000 zloty

Od 1 września 2015 r. minimalne stawki wynagrodzenia nauczycieli będą wynosiły od 1 513 do 3 109 zł. Średnie wynagrodzenie wyniesie od 2 718 do 5 000 zł. Identyczne stawki obowiązują w tym roku

portalsamorzadowy.pl/edukacja/minimalne-stawki-wynagrodzenia-nauczycieli-od-wrzesnia-2015-r,70867.html

Not to mention the TEFL sites clearly stating that earnings are closer to $500-$1K USD

I'm telling you from personal experience teaching in Warsaw and knowing people still in the industry that a decent native speaker who works for schools only can ask and get 120zl per 90-minute lesson. From there you can do the maths.


Yes, in the schools they'll place you in.

Of course, with that I agree - 120 is a bit steep for 90 mins but its in the ballpark. However, those tutors are perhaps doing a few tutoring sessions a week - certainly not all day, one after the other constantly, all week/month/year long.... To make 2k USD a month you'd have to be a full time tutor and make sure you have at least 30-35 hours of sessions billed at 70 zl per hour - which does not happen as most tutors are teachers who tutor on the side and will spend perhaps 5-10 hours a week tutoring, not 30-40 unless there's some sort of circumstance where they're perhaps a 'business english' tutor/teacher - which generally yes command higher wages than grade school teaches, albeit still small...

If I remember correctly from Dougpol's ad, he charges something like 70 zl for an hour of English tutoring so 120 zloty is about right for a 90-120 min session. However, teachers do tutoring and translating on the side to make ends meet. There are very few people doing private English tutoring as a full time job as you simply wouldn't fill 40 hours a week with only tutoring lessons 1-2 hours a time per student at most 2-3x a week.

First off, if a person is tutoring for a living, they'd be a tutor, not an English teacher which is what this thread is about. The title is 'native English looking for a TEACHING job in Poland.' I pointed out that native English teachers are paid peanuts in Poland - which is fact and backed up by sources which give a ballpark of 500-1k usd - with far more making closer to $700 $800 a month than $1.5-$2k a month.

And still... even at the nearly impossible $2k a month which could only be earned by a grade/high school teacher if managed to spend an extra 15-20 hours a week ON TOP of their day and were able to fill up at least 15 hours a week at 70 zl per hr. Only then, assuming your salary from a grade school is 4k zl which is at the very high end, plus the other 4k you'd make from supposed 15 hour a week/70 pl per hr tutoring, would you be at your 8k zl/bit over $2k usd a month

actually nvm I think dougs rate was closer to $12 - like 50 zl an hour...

as you can see, no one charges 120 zl for 90 mins which would be 80 zl for 60 mins - more than $20....

The highest rate here is $20 USD with others being between $5, $7, $10, $14, $15 etc an hour...

preply.com/en/skype/polish-tutors

Only specialists like for 'business english' would be able to command a $20+ hr rate...

Ask any Polish citizen if they think grade school/high school teachers, including so called native English teachers, are paid well and you'll get your answer.


2.5k to 4k zloty at the very most is what a native English teacher can expect in a Polish grade school/high school regardless of whether its TEFL or someone else placing you. The wages are what they are...

Are your maths really that bad? If somebody teaches 07.30 to 09.00 and then 16.00 to 19.00, that is four and a half hours and three times 120zl per day. That times five is 1,800zl per week, which is 7,200zl per month, which is $2,000.

Really, stick to the things you know about and don't post about topics which you have no experience in and which other people have been doing for more years than you've been alive.

Are you for real? 60zl for 45 minutes is what teachers can get from schools here! The schools will be charging at least 90zl per 45 minutes. I used to charge 120zl for a 60-minute class myself when I taught direct to companies. Right now Mrs Harry has a five-hour block in a company twice a week and is charging them 90zl per 60-minute lesson.

As long as you stay away from jokers like PL who pay filth money, as you would know from the word on the street Harry:)


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Mmm... that was 45 mins, at a quiet time of day, for what is a coffee table chat. Past tense, before Brexit:)) Definitely no teaching involved there! 70 zl a clock hour is the average here, more if one plows through the wind and rain to the office (though I don't have the nous to command Harry's fees). Seriously though, the OP should consider that for ESP, Brexit has done a lot of harm to demand in some quarters:(

Yes, and that is why a lot of peeps avoid the public sector now. Unless they want their ZUS payments diminished of course, but that's another topic in itself, and I don't want to throw up all over my shiny new Dell by thinking about all the contributions I have made to that criminal system over the last 26 years.

That's spot on. I was offered 110zl per hour by a language school to teach in companies. Now admittedly that was the top rate at the time that any English teacher could command through a middle man but 60zl an hour was commonplace for a one hour private lesson in your own or the student's home and it's up to 80/90 zl in Warsaw now. The best and most qualified teachers can still earn excellent money if they want to. Also if you have a wide social circle you find that you don't even have to look for students, they come to you.

Now, of course the distinction has to be made between people who are professionals with appropriate experience and training, as opposed to the casual 'don't speak any Polish so I'll have to work as an English teacher' vibe. But for the professionals, yes, the rewards are there.

I think there seems to be some confusion in this thread. When we talk about 'schools' and 'teacher's, a distinction needs to be made between language schools and EFL teachers which is a completely different kettle of fish to public sector primary and secondary schools and the Polish teachers working in them. As far as EFL teaching goes, yes, for the best candidates, you can still make a very good living at it.

There was a time when a native speaker with functional Polish language skills (good proxy for understanding how things in general work here) more or less had to beat students off with a stick. But I gave up on private lessons many years ago and when I did my focus was always getting them to the point where they didn't need private lessons (learning how to deal with authentic materials on their own).

Respect in Poland is not measured only by what money you earned by what car you drive. In fact even in the US there are many less superficial ways to gain respect.

Whether they are teaching in schools or teaching in businesses or teaching in private, TEFL teachers perform a valuable role and without them in the development of many other businesses would not have been possible. It is Far easier to teach a polish manager or businessman if you are able to send them abroad to work with his peers. That is only possible if they have a good Level of English.

And where you live, IME returning Polonia (especially from the US) are hardly well-respected and are often thought of as unsophisticated (from the emigrating peasant stock).

Working abroad for an international company while maintaining connections to Poland - good

Returning after emigrating and working in what are low status jobs in the host country - less so

@mafketis

100% accurate actually. Its in a way the same w those who went to UK after 04 but less so than us

Also id love for English teachers to be paid more in pl or teachers for that matter. I'd teach English myself in pl if the wages were on par with other countries. Teaching is a noble profession imo, but it is what it is... in pl grade n high school teachers simply aren't at the top of totem pole

@Harry

So we've gone from 120 zl for 90 to 60 for 45 lol. Except No one advertises those rates. Also.good luck getting say 6 7 students with 1 to 2 he tutoring all to fill 7 8 hours perfectly in a day let alone everyday during a work week. Simply impossible. Unless someone is billing biz and corporations say 20 bucks an hour he which is entirely possible for translator but not a tutor of students.

Face it Harry the most u can earn is 4 5 6k zl and besides even 8k ain't **** for warsaw. After taxes you're left for looking at a 3k z a month place unless ur operating illegally... Google in wroclaw pays even lower level sales reps $2k USD a month plus commission which is another 500, 1k, 2k per month as generally a good rep will.make 50%-100%+ of his or her salary in commission. Same w it pros. They make 10k 12k even as high as 20k zl a month. Unfortunately you can't make even 10k which is pretty much where an upper middle class existence starts for a single person and middle class for household income of 10k of say 2 adults n 1 kid and even that will b hard once the kid goes to college

Again were talking about mainly teachers not translators or tutors. The op is asking whether teaching in pl is a good career move. Financially, it is a terrible one as teaching grade school or high school in pl is a very low paying job by oecd standards. And even for.locals it's not much mone

Hey lets just agree to disagree and finish with the fact that its a dirty job but someones got to take out the trash.

@polishinvestor

That's what I'm saying it's a noble career world over but in pl the financial incentives simply aren't there. In us China Japan Korea Kuwait Saudi Germany France teaching English is a good paying job by oecd orcs and local standards, not so much in pl

I'm astounded at either how bad your maths are or how little you know about teaching in Poland. If somebody earns 120zl for 90 minutes, how much do you think he earns in 45 minutes? And how many lessons in Poland are actually 45 minutes long?


The good jobs aren't advertised. And with a good reputation as a teacher, students and schools will contact you. Those are the rates a good teacher can ask and easily get, as has been confirmed on this thread by people who have actually done the job (i.e. not you).


A half decent translator will be charging a lot more than $20 an hour. A good translator working full time will be making about 15,000zl a month. Even tutors who haven't graduated from university and are tutoring subjects such as maths or chemistry want at least 50zl per hour.

@Harry

Right. Then why aren't english speaking it pros switching to tutoring and translating? 15k zl for a translator is laughable. That just shows how little you know about polish society, considering you don't speak polish and aren't a citizen it's understandable

Again the thread is about teachers, not translators or tutors.

Omg that's a good one rofl. Over 1k USD a week for a english/polish translator job in Poland. Oh man that's rich. Show me two sources that show even 10k... most translators are making 5k 6k z s a year, not 10k 15k and that's a fact.

Yes. 50z an hour/45 min part time. No tutor is able to fill a full 40 hour week every month all with tutoring lessons. Considering people work or are students most tutoring sessions take place around the students time not the tutors, which would be either before/after work/school and weekends, unless they have a contract to tutor several people at a business or corp amd even only the person/business owner receiving the contract is making the money.

And besides even at 50z an hour x a full 160 biz hours a month, assuming 40 hours a week are all filled w sessions which would be near impossible is 8k zs. Not much money...

Yes, people like Doug who advert 70 zs an hour... thatd be 11k z assuming 160 hours of sessions a month. No tutor is filling a full 40 hours every single month with sessions all at 70 z an hour. It simply is impossible due to scheduling.

I've taken tutoring for subjects and world over most tutors operate part time on nights or weekends unless they're hired by like a tutoring corporation in which case they may earn good money but not thr same hourly rate theyd they charge independently. Tutors like lawyers charge a lot per hour bc they're rarelt able to fill 2080 business hours a year.

Most probably, as you would realise if you knew more than the square root of sod all about the topic, because the job require a very different skill set and, as well as talent, you need double-digit years on the job to become good enough at it to get the best jobs, very much like teaching English, which is something else you know nothing about.


Easily higher rates than that for those that can teach, as has been confirmed here by everybody who actually does teach, i.e. not you.

@cms
Money power respect women all go hand in hand. Same in pl, same in us, same in uk, China, saudi etc

Again the thread is 'native English looking for a teaching job in poland.' Anyone who either teaches in Poland or knows about modern polish society will tell the op that yes although a noble profession, by oecd orcs and polish standards it is low paying and an educated English speaker can get a far better paying job

You're right - I am not an English teacher/tutor/translator. My experience and knowledge come from being a Polish speaker, Polish citizen and having 3 family members who are professors/teachers along with the experience of many posters here who are teachers. For example, Doug advertises tutoring for 70 zl an hour. In order to make 15k zl a month, he would need to have 214 hour long tutoring sessions at 70 z's an hour within a month. Considering a work month is usually 160 hours (actually 173.33 if we're going by 2080 hours/12 for average month) and tutoring is a part time job, such a wage would be impossible.

But yes, there are people who are employed by corporations and small biz and even government to tutor, translate, etc. Those were the 'business english' people I referred to earlier which I also stated command higher wages than the average English teacher in high school/grade school and an English tutor of children and adults. However, they are not making 15k - such a salary is the top % of Polish salaries and is usually limited to those working in management, IT, high level government, successful small biz, finance, etc.


Again, there are people on this forum who are teachers, translators, etc. I pointed out Doug as an example as I am not an English teacher. Furthermore, labor statistics and surveys confirm that the average teacher in a Polish grade school/high school makes $500-$1k a month.

Even if you go on indeed.com and look for translator polish/English jobs in uk the most they pay is 20k pounds - which is more than they'd make in Poland.

To those people who live in Poland, ask a few people today how much Polish teachers, tutors, etc make. They'll tell you even as low as 2,200 zl for teachers, up to 4k if they're lucky for grade schools/high schools, $6-$20 tops for part time independent tutors, and around 5k 6k up to 8k with a lot of experience for translators.