ESL Jobs Forum

[Curica]

Hello everyone!

I am presently an ESL teacher for preschool children in Croatia. I work in a prestigious private school in Zagreb. I was very much surprised why the salary of an ESL teacher here is so low. Actually, salaries in this country is by and large lower than the neighboring countries. I won't be shy to admit that I only receive 700 EU a month. I tried to scout for a possible ESL jobs as well through the internet and I found out that in Italy there are some schools offering something like 800 EU only. It isn't too much almost like 100 EU higher than my present pay.

I am wondering if you have the same salary as mine? Is this the regular expected pay for an ESL teacher? I am thinking of changing career if this is how far this will only go. Just kidding

Any insights or reply is appreciated. You may email me at curica41@yahoo.com

curica

[english-test.net]

Dear Curica,

Many ESL trainers or teachers in EU countries are from the US, the UK, Australia etc. and they work as free lancers which means they don't earn a salary but charge a rate per teaching unit. So, your income as an ESL teacher is determined by a variety of factors such as the current economic situation in the country, the number of hours you can get a contract for, the pay rate you are able to negotiate with your contracting school(s), your expenses, your individual tax and social security situation etc.
I think it's very difficult to get a permanent contract as an ESL teacher in a EU country if you don't have a state school teacher's degree.
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ESL Blog

[Curica]

Thank you for your input. I was also informed by some ESL teachers in some areas in Europe like Italy and some others that the average rate of pay is just a little higher than mine. So I guess, that I am getting the average.

All the best!

Curica

[dcklondon]

Hi there - It's been my experience that salaries can vary wildly from one country to the next. I've seen jobs in Spain going for anywhere between 800 and 1100 euro, sometimes with accommodation included and other times not so that can make a big difference to the overall pay package. Sometimes, if you have to teach at various companies the school pays for the transportation costs, but in other schools that's an expense you have to bear yourself, so that too can make a difference in the overall rate of pay. At present I'm working in Latvia where the average monthly salary is approximately 300 euros. As an ESL teacher I'm earning about 2.5 times that, but I also know of other teachers here who are only on about 450 euros a month. In Sweden you could get about 20 euro an hour, but then the cost of living is so much more expensive and tax rates are much higher too. In the end, I guess it all depends on so many different factors that it's hard to say what's an average. Hope this helps. What's Zagreb like, by the way? Have been to Croatia and loved the country, but haven't been to Zagreb.

David

[Curica]

Hi there David!

With what you just said, I guess I should be counting my blessings then. I am earning something like 750EU excluding health insurance and pension. Those are provided by my employer. Zagreb is beautiful no sky scapers though if you are expecting to see those as this is the capital of the country. ( Well I was expecting that before ) But they can offer more than what I was looking for. The city offers a lot of historical places , museums and architectural designs of buildings reminding of the Astro Hungarian Period as part of their history. And the city is so peaceful and relatively quiet.

I admire you for going as far as Latvia to teach English. If you want to share your teaching experience with me, I would be very glad to correspond with you. You may email me at curica41@yahoo.com

All the best!

curica