Work Abroad

 

Working abroad as an English teacher or tutor is something you might consider doing for a variety of reasons, the most common being a desire to travel or live abroad. Whether it be for 3 months, 3 years or indefinitely, working at a private English course is not necessarily the most lucrative of careers. On the other hand, there are a number of countries in which obtaining a part-time or full-time work-schedule is not as difficult as you might think, especially if you plan ahead.


There are two common English-teaching certificates: CELTA and TEFL. These certificates can be earned through on-line programs and they are a prerequisite to work at certain companies. Still, it is not in any way essential that you have a CELTA or TEFL certification; depending on demand in the market you wish to work in, a college degree can be sufficient to getting hired. Other times you may be allowed the option of working while enrolled in the certificate program, or it may affect your salary. In my case it ended up not making any difference, but this is more an exception than a rule. I was lucky in the sense that I got hired at the first place I applied to, and ended up working there for nearly three years. 

Why Istanbul?

Although I don't know much about the European market, I can say that you are more likely to get a job in Istanbul than in most other European cities. That's not to say that you can't, but 

a. I can't personally be of much help to you on a direct level

b. There is more competition for jobs

c. I would guess the private market for teaching English in 

Istanbul is larger than any other other city in Europe, minus London.

The company that I worked at before I started my own business, is called EasyGo. When I first started, they had a total of 4-6 teachers, with hours ranging between 15-40 a week. Now they have around 20 teachers, not including staff they have working at two smaller branches they opened in other parts of the city. Still, they are far smaller than other companies such as English Time, which has dozens of branches throughout Istanbul and the world. 

Your experience working abroad could vary greatly depending on where you happen to get hired. In the case of EasyGo and English Time, one of the factors affecting your expectations might be certainty. As a general rule, companies like English Time have a shorter work-schedule, crowded classrooms, and set pay. At a company like EasyGo however, many lessons are private or small groups. Unlike at English Time, where the lessons are conducted on a rigid format, private lessons may call for your discretion and capacity at tailoring the lesson around an individual students needs. On the other hand, private lessons have a higher cancellation rate, and this will affect your income. 

I have never been to South Korea, but I know from experience that it is one of the other popular destinations for young American university graduates who want to travel but need to work as well. Remember, not every travel destination is going to be one where there is a market for teaching English. One of my friends and colleagues lived and worked there for nearly two years before he moved on to Istanbul. I don't know the figures, but I know he earned enough to supplement his stay, and  buy the ticket he flew to Istanbul with. 

As in Istanbul, one of the biggest differences between working through a contract, which can be anywhere from 3-12 months, and no contract, is housing. English Time and other private schools offer housing to full-time employees, but that's not to say that you can't earn more working somewhere that doesn't. 

If anybody has any other questions, feel free to ask. 

http://www.easygoedu.com/

http://www.englishtime.com/main.php#

(Sad but true: these sites do not include an English-text version, though to their credit, 

English Time has a non-working language selection button at the top right...)

This is the first e-mail advertisement we did. As part of an agreement with a national newspaper, we agreed to providing services in exchange for their emailing this out to their database of addresses. 

It was a good deal, but looking back on it now, I would have done it considerable different, specifically the style of the ad (sucks!)