10 replies to this topic

[balladhyper]

Hello all--imagine my surprise and delight when, a few weeks ago, I started dreaming of going overseas to teach English for a few months and discovered there's a whole message board devoted to it! My name's Meris, by the way. I spent a few days reading back through some of the posts on this section of the message board, but I still won't feel well until I get my own specific questions answered.

1. How necessary is it to have a CELTA/TESOL certification? I looked into getting one here in the States and the local university that offers it only does so stretched out over a kind of ridiculous amount of time--ideally I'd like to be overseas by fall and work through the winter. I have a BA in History. (I'm not necessarily doing this because I want the money; I am just doing it for the experience. I've always wanted to go overseas.) I've seen lots of people saying they just moved to Turkey and started looking for a job without a certification but with a degree and bam! ended up lucky. Have people on this message board done that?

2. Like most everyone else, I'm assuming, I'd like to be in a big city. That's not necessarily only because of my own desires, but my family, friends, and significant other have expressed that they would feel better if I were in a big city instead of out in the hinterland. I was looking at going to Istanbul. How easy is it to survive in the expensive, big city on a teaching wage, especially if you have bills back in the States? I have things like student loan payments and my half of the rent on our house that I couldn't just stop paying because I lived in another country.

3. Speaking of affordability of a place like Istanbul, is it easy to find roommates in order to make living expenses easier? I speak no Turkish whatsoever, so I'd probably want some English-speaking roommates (or Spanish ones, as I speak Spanish)--is this realistic? What's the average rent for a place in a pseudo-decent section of town? Obviously I don't want to be living somewhere I'll be in danger, but I don't need to be living in a posh penthouse either.

4. If I'm not making enough money to cover expenses through teaching with a school, how easy is it to obtain "part-time work", such as private English lessons, or maybe tutoring? I've seen that some people do this and would have no objection to doing so--hell, I work two jobs at over 50 hours a week here in the States, so what's the difference?

5. Is it really necessary to just pick up and move to Turkey to look for work successfully, or is it possible and likely I could pre-negotiate a position from the comfort of my couch in the States? I think if I were a carefree college kid with no possessions and no bills I'd have no problem just picking up and going, but seeing as how I'm 27 and have a kind of established life it'd be hard for me to just pack up and run off without a guarantee of a job.

6. Something else that I've forgotten at the moment.

Like I said, I have a million and one questions and I want to get a multitude of opinions and answers--this is probably just round one of questions. It's late and I'm tired--I kind of forgot most of what I wanted to ask. ha ha ha! Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

[Abi]

Hi Balladhyper,

I will leave it to our teacher members to answer your question, but just wanted to take the opportunity to say hi to you.

[sunny]

Welcome to our forum Balladhyper.
People do get work without a Tefl qualification but if you want to get in a good school it is very desirable. If you do decide to teach without such a qualification, at least get yourself a good grammar book(s) intended for use with teaching like Essential Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy or similar so that you've got some idea of what you will be teaching. I know you speak English, and a lot of people think that is enough, but believe me, there are a lot of things that we use that we never think about and were never taught in school.

If you are hoping for a job in Turkey where you will be able to send money back to the US to pay your expenses there, forget coming to Turkey and chose a country where the pay is better. You can find adverts for jobs all over the world in Dave's ESL Cafe.

If you do come to Turkey and find yourself a job then, once you have established yourself, there are usually a few private teaching jobs to be found.

Most people do seems to chance their luck and just come and then look for a job and are usually successful.
When you arrive you will get a tourist visa which will allow you to stay in Turkey for 90 days. When you find work the employer should help you to get a Residence Permit before the 90 days expires and apply for a Work Permit on your behalf BUT not all employers do and you may find yourself hidden away if inspectors are due to visit the school. If you are caught working without a WP you will be deported within 24 hours. Most people work while a permit is being applied for though strictly speaking they shouldn't.

Clinky, a member on this forum and a teacher in Istanbul hopefully will be along later and may offer you some advice.

[atayavie]

I suggest doing your CELTA in Istanbul. It's fun and cheaper than other locations, and the teacher trainers will help you find a job. Plus, you'll meet other foreigners and can easily find someone to rent a flat with. After the course is over (some are just one month), decide if you want to stay in Turkey and teach, or use your CELTA in a more lucrative place, like China.

Best,
Emily

[balladhyper]

I had not known I could get a CELTA certification in Istanbul. I'll have to look into that--thanks, Emily.

What made me consider Turkey over other places was that I've always wanted to visit the area because of its fascinating history (I was a history major after all). I've also heard nothing but good things about the people and the country. I realize it may not pay the most out of some countries that I could go to, but I figured it wouldn't really be THAT much of an issue given that I make my life here work on approximately 1800 to 2000 a month USD. So really, by going to Turkey, I wouldn't be taking that much of a pay cut. This is why I was asking what some realistic numbers for rents and whatnot were, because I'm already used to living on a shoe-string budget--if I can do it here, I can do it overseas, and at least then I'd have the experience of saying "Hey, I lived overseas for a while." A friend of mine just moved back to the States from China after six years, and he actually recommended that I not look into China for teaching abroad; he said he never made as much money as he was supposed to and didn't have as much fun as he did in the West. Now knowing that I can get my CELTA in Istanbul, I may just do that and kind of feel out the place--plane tickets to Istanbul are much cheaper than some of the other places I'd looked at.

Thanks for all the advice, guys...I really appreciate it. I'd love to make my dreams of coming to Turkey for a few months happen, but I guess maybe we'll see how realistic they are when maybe some current residents of Turkey chime in!

[Abi]

Have you had any teaching experience at all in any subject?

[sunny]

Ha Ha, well done Abi, I forgot to ask that! It is a definite advantage if you have had teaching experience.

[balladhyper]

No, I haven't--but I do have some education classes under my belt throughout my college career. I was originally going to get a BA in secondary ed but dropped it from my degree, figuring I'd go back and get a master's. Well, then the economy crashed, I couldn't find a decent job, and I couldn't afford to take on more student debt. Oh well ha ha. I have no practical experience teaching, but like I said, I do have some educational courses under my belt.

I know this isn't the right forum for this, but how difficult is it to get other kinds of jobs in Turkey as a foreigner? I managed a restaurant for a while before I decided I didn't like working 65 hours a week for nothing--would I be able to perhaps easily find a job in a hotel or at a resort of some kind, even without knowing Turkish?

I told you guys I had a million and one questions. > They just keep popping up the more I research and think about things!

[Abi]

Forget bar or restaurant work as you will never get a work permit. Turkey protect jobs for their own, which is right in my opinion.

[sunny]

Abi is right. There are only two types of job that can be usually done, those are teaching English and working for tour operators where English is required.
If you try doing other jobs and are reported to the police, which seems to be happening more frequently nowadays, you will be deported within 24 hours and banned from coming back for 5 years.

[balladhyper]

That's cool that Turkey protects jobs for nationals--I appreciate that too. I guess it means I can't get a job doing any of those things, but hey, at least they're lookin' out for their own people. That's cool.

I guess I'll just have to look into the teaching English thing and see where I can go with it. Getting certified overseas sounds cool; I was looking at several programs that provide lodging while you certify and then have job placement assistance at the end, so that could work out too.