ESL teaching jobs in Helsinki?

[aleigh0726]

I am an American recent college graduate looking to teach English in Helsinki. I have a Bachelors degree in English and a TEFL certification to teach English overseas. The only problem is that I can't even begin to think of where to look for jobs! Can someone help me out?

[leisl]

Don't you know how to google? Or spend even five minutes looking at this forum for info? Here. http://monster.fi and http://mol.fi

Oh, notice any problems on these websites? How good is your Finnish? I already know the answer, by the way.

Who is your competition for jobs here?
1. Finns with a master's degree and qualifications to teach English.
2. Finns who are fluent in English AND Finnish and you are not (that will be 100% of people with a bachelor's in English or teaching, here)
3. As it currently stands you most likely do not have permission to work here.
4. You can't really be offered a job here unless the employer can demonstrate that they could not fill the job with anyone from the EU. Employers obviously prefer not to have this hassle and would go for a local.

My advice is to pick a country where the locals don't 90% understand English already. Finland is too developed in that regard.

Alternatively come here as a student and do your master's?

[betelgeuse]

4. You can't really be offered a job here unless the employer can demonstrate that they could not fill the job with anyone from the EU. Employers obviously prefer not to have this hassle and would go for a local.

Teachers might qualify as a specialist.

http://www.migri.fi/working_in_finland/ ... specialist

[wolf80]

I am an American recent college graduate looking to teach English in Helsinki. I have a Bachelors degree in English and a TEFL certification to teach English overseas. The only problem is that I can't even begin to think of where to look for jobs! Can someone help me out?

What makes you think you are eligible to teach in Finland? Even Finnish natives who have a Masters degree and a pedagogic education struggle at the moment. For teaching in school you need (!!!!!) to speak Finnish, so you cannot do that. In adult education you have fierce competition with the English teachers from Finland and all the other English native speakers who are better educated than you and, even more important, speak Finnish! The chances of finding a teaching job in Finland are close to zero.

Apart from that, as already mentioned, you probably would not even get a work visa.

And yes, the TEFL site and many other sites make you believe if you have that certificate you can teach English anywhere around the world, and you can easily find jobs while traveling. I'm sorry, they are lying!

Teachers might qualify as a specialist. http://www.migri.fi/working_in_finland/ ... specialist

He is not a teacher as long as he does not have any pedagogic training that is recognized in Finland!

[leisl]

4. You can't really be offered a job here unless the employer can demonstrate that they could not fill the job with anyone from the EU. Employers obviously prefer not to have this hassle and would go for a local.

Teachers might qualify as a specialist.
http://www.migri.fi/working_in_finland/ ... specialist

I was thinking that when I wrote my reply, but find me a 3000e/month job offer for just a bachelor level who doesn't speak any Finnish and whose degree doesn't actually allow them to teach children
(Because I know someone who'd apply.)

He is not a teacher as long as he does not have any pedagogic training that is recognized in Finland!

Yes - there are other people aside from children in Finland. The "possibility" is there for say, business-level English or teaching adults conversation. (The reality is... native speaking teachers are not really valued here and work is very scant.)
However the point's moot when the OP is unlikely to get permission to work in Finland. Ideally they need to look outside the EU.

[wolf80]

He is not a teacher as long as he does not have any pedagogic training that is recognized in Finland!

Yes - there are other people aside from children in Finland. The "possibility" is there for say, business-level English or teaching adults conversation. (The reality is... native speaking teachers are not really valued here and work is very scant.)
However the point's moot when the OP is unlikely to get permission to work in Finland. Ideally they need to look outside the EU.

Yes, but also for adult education he would need to speak Finnish. With a Bachelors degree and a language certificate that is fairly common, and many people on the job market who have much better education for teaching English, he will not qualify for a specialists visa. And believe me, there is no lack of qualified English teachers here, on the contrary.

[leisl]

Yes, but also for adult education he would need to speak Finnish.

The "possibility" is there for say, business-level English or teaching adults conversation.

With a Bachelors degree and a language certificate that is fairly common, and many people on the job market who have much better education for teaching English, he will not qualify for a specialists visa.

So, what you're saying is... something like this?

Who is your competition for jobs here?
1. Finns with a master's degree and qualifications to teach English.
2. Finns who are fluent in English AND Finnish and you are not (that will be 100% of people with a bachelor's in English or teaching, here)
3. As it currently stands you most likely do not have permission to work here

find me a 3000e/month job offer for just a bachelor level who doesn't speak any Finnish

Preaching to the choir...

[betelgeuse]

Teachers might qualify as a specialist.
http://www.migri.fi/working_in_finland/ ... specialist

I was thinking that when I wrote my reply, but find me a 3000e/month job offer for just a bachelor level who doesn't speak any Finnish and whose degree doesn't actually allow them to teach children
(Because I know someone who'd apply.)

3000e/month is not a requirement. It is an indicator. I did not say there would be job offer available. I only said that in case there is, it might be acceptable to Migri.

[leisl]

3000e/month is not a requirement. It is an indicator. I did not say there would be job offer available. I only said that in case there is, it might be acceptable to Migri.

Yeah, I think you're right. Well, perhaps the OP will find one. I doubt it though.

[Flossy1978]

Gees you people are harsh.

If teaching in an English speaking school for sure you don't need Finnish. There are other foreign teachers not speaking Finnish working in such schools.

You could look at English daycares for work.

Yes, it'll be near impossible to get a job in today's job market, especially without the Masters needed. But you never know, you may be able to charm an employer ☺.

Good luck ☺.

[Rosamunda]

There are plenty of private language schools such as Berlitz, Tekmil, EF, AAC Global which employ native-English speakers for adult teaching (eg in-company training) few of whom have Masters degrees or substantial teaching qualifications (ie not an online TEFL cert but rather something like CELTA/DELTA or a PGCE/QTS...)

BUT... these schools employ very, very few full-time teachers (if any). Virtually all the work is carried out by freelance trainers who are self-employed (toiminimi) or employed with zero-hour contracts. Neither of those options would be sufficient for the OP to get a work permit or residency in Finland. I know very few teachers who manage to get anything approaching "full-time" work. The in-company training market is hopeless at the moment as more money is being diverted into Finnish-language training for foreigners. Private schools are diversifying into teaching Finnish to foreigners and many are closing down.

As already mentioned, working with children requires a Masters degree and teaching qualifications, as does working in further or higher education in the public sector.

It might be easier to get work in Estonia or the other Baltic countries.

[aleigh0726]

Assumptions that I've heard made about me on this post thus far:

1) That I'm a man - I am, in fact, a woman.

2) That I only speak English - I also speak Swedish and am more than willing to learn Finnish.

3) That I don't have any desire to get a masters degree - I'm in the middle of a masters degree.

So how about some people answer my questions WITHOUT making assumptions and WITHOUT being a jackass?
Thanks!

[wolf80]

So how about some people answer my questions WITHOUT making assumptions and WITHOUT being a jackass?
Thanks!

Assumptions are made on the information you provide. If you don't give more accurate information (like "I'm working on my Master's degree in English at the moment") it is only logical that people will assume that you provided all the relevant details when you asked them for their help! It is extremely impolite and counterproductive to only write two sentences in the beginning, let people give lengthy answers (voluntarily and for free!), and then come back two weeks later to say "Oh, you got that all wrong"!!

1) That I'm a man - I am, in fact, a woman.

Doesn't change a thing, so is not relevant.

2) That I only speak English - I also speak Swedish and am more than willing to learn Finnish.

Then why don't you go to Sweden?? The language will not help you much getting a job here in Finland. Learning Finnish is extremely hard, also for people who learn languages easily. You would have to learn it to a decent level before you come here. Do it if you like, but why go work in a country where you first have to learn the language?

3) That I don't have any desire to get a masters degree - I'm in the middle of a masters degree.

Would give you a better shot at a job, but it's still very unlikely that you find something (before you come to Finland, as you would need a residence permit based on work, for which you need a permanent job). Fact is, you can't teach children without the proper pedagogic training and speaking the language. Fact is that there is high competition for the few jobs in adult education, and it will be very hard to score one of these with so many qualified people to do the job already in the country. But feel free to try, just don't complain if you fail.

[wolf80]

double post