Recruiting

[robinturner]

Since a large number of my readers seem to be involved in academia in some way or another, I thought I’d mention that our department is recruiting at the moment. A few points of information:

• The school is an English-medium university in Ankara.
• Most of the classes involve teaching academic skills (with an emphasis on writing) to first-year undergraduates, though there are more specialist courses at other levels. (I usually teach two classes of first years and one class of either second years or postgrads.) Because the students are not native speakers, there is more language teaching involved than in your typical Freshman Comp course.
• We normally teach 13–15 hours per week to three classes of between 15 and 25 students, and are also expected to give tutorials and spend a lot of time reading papers.
• Students’ academic ability and level of English vary. They are generally very friendly and polite, though of course you find the occasional exception.
• Most courses use content-based instruction, which means that there is no textbook—you supply the content yourself. This involves a fair amount of work, but has the advantage that you can spend time reading and talking about anything that interests you and call it work; for example, I've done courses on the Matrix films, monsters and games.
• Since it’s in Turkey, pay is not wonderful, but there are plenty of fringe benefits, such as accomodation on campus and free transport into the city.
• Some teaching experience is essential, and experience of teaching non-native speakers is preferred. Your first degree doesn’t need to be in English, but an MA is pretty much essential (any subject, though English, Linguistics, Education or TESOL are preferred). A higher TEFL/TESOL qualification like the DELTA may be an acceptable substitute for an MA.

All in all, it’s not the chair at Oxford you’ve been dreaming of, but it’s better than most adjunct jobs, so if you’re interested, leave a comment (and feel free to cross-post this to any suitable communities).

Comments

[ironed_orchid]

It's kinda tempting, but I think I'll try to finish the PhD first.

[solri.livejournal.com]

Coincidentally, one of my officemates is currently finishing her philosophy thesis (she's transferring to the philosophy department next semester). Having said that, I reckon it's only worth trying to finish a postgrad degree while holding down a full-time teaching job if you've got most of it done already. I did my MA part time while I was teaching, and it was bloody difficult.

[ironed_orchid]

Yeah, trying to write a thesis is hard enough. I am missing the tutoring, though, haven't done any since Novemeber, and have decided only to accept tutoring work which matches my area, at least while I still have funding - this means I probably wont get any work for the next 12 months.

[rainswolf.livejournal.com]

Ha ha, you left out pay and benefits! What exactly is the pay versus cost of living? Are you up a creek without health insurance?

I might apply in a year or two or three. What's Ankara like?

Pay and Benefits

[solri.livejournal.com]

Pay varies according to experience and qualifications, though the differentials are small. As an example, with an MA and about 18 years of experience (13 of them here), my take-home pay is $1,500, but I don't think new teachers get much less. That's after all deductions, including tax, social security, and the rent and utilities for my flat. There is also private health insurance (in addition to the state insurance) and a modest private pension plan (in addition to the tiny state pension). So as I said, it doesn't look like a lot on paper, but if you add in all the benefits like health insurance and a place to live (not to mention the standard university perks like use of the library, sports facilities and a free Internet connection), it's not bad.

A lot of things are cheaper here in Turkey, though a few, like electronics, are a bit more expensive. Some very approximate prices:

A loaf of bread: 20c
A bus ticket: 70c
A kilo of fruit or vegetables: $1–$2
A bottle of decent wine: $10 (wine prices are inflated compared to other Mediterranean countries)
A bottle of local spirits (e.g. rakı): $13
A meal in a decent restaurant: $10
An LCD TV: $1,000–$2,000
A kebab off the street: $1.50

Re: Pay and Benefits

[mawombat.livejournal.com]

is this ODTU? or Bilkent?

Re: Pay and Benefits

[solri.livejournal.com]

Bilkent, FAE.

Re: Pay and Benefits

[solri.livejournal.com]

Oops, inflated the price of fruit and veg - it would have to be something very exotic indeed to make $2 per kilo.