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female
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes: I teach in a private school. I was promised a certain number of working hours that would equal to about 1000 USD per month (which is a bare minimum). Surprise surprise, my monthly gross salary is 800 USD, which is about 600 net. The first month was short, only 6 working days so I said fine. But the same thing happened during the second (full) month. That is when I understood that there were not enough classes (groups of students) to reach the promised number of hours. However…The classes are ENORMOUS – 32 students per class. Which means less money for more work! If the classes had been smaller I would have had more paid hours (only hours in the classroom are paid, nothing else!). What happens now is that I officially have 8 classes which means about 20 paid hours per month, but the work I actually have to do is enormous! I have about 250 students. If they do only 4 exercises during one class that’s 1000 exercises I need to look at! And I’m not getting paid for that. So, how do I negotiate? I have one more month of trial period on a permanent employment contract. I can’t go on like this. I work like crazy to prepare my classes and to monitor the work of my students and I get peanuts. The worst part is that I cannot take other job opportunities because of the unpaid hours I need to put in. I asked around, unfortunately my case is nothing special. That’s how things are done. Teachers in my position are exploited. It’s somewhat of take it or leave it situation. The pandemic has made it difficult for me to find a satisfying job. So I’m really on the fence here. I wouldn’t be able to survive had it not been for my husband’s salary. FYI, the country I live in, a democratic one, respects gender rights, BUT, in reality men (and women!) in power prefer to employ women for jobs where there's a lot of work and the salaries are not great, because they know that women are less likely to ask for more. It really is the case. Even women in power get less than a man in their position would get. Here are the positives that mean a lot to me: Colleagues, including the directors, are great. They are nice to everyone and create a healthy atmosphere without unnecessary pressure that is too common in a workplace (e.g. my husband’s office). Students are well behaved, which unfortunately is not very common. Teachers have less and less “tools” to deal with students’ misbehavior because most schools are not public schools and students (and their parents) pay to attend and unfortunately sometimes feel entitled. The school is not very far from my home. This is important because otherwise I would be losing another 2 hours in public transport. It looks good on my CV, because the school has a great reputation. So my motivation to stay is also based on possible benefits in the future, including a possible increase in paid working hours next (school year) year.So how do I approach this? I cannot just quit and I don’t think it would be fair even to me (let alone the students!) to just go without trying anything. I feel uncomfortable (that’s MY problem) having to remind the director of what was said during the job interviews. I understand that his perspective had been different then, before the students’ enrollment was finished. I’m really terrible at negotiations. Before I started teaching I had a job for 7 years and I felt uncomfortable negotiating an increase in salary! So you see what kind of a problem I have… I negotiated some other benefits, like working from home, having them buy me a computer instead of working on my PC (this is really not a benefit! It was something I was owed!) but money? No….Thank you in advance!
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (2 January 2022): It’s possible to both acknowledge our fear and do things that scare us. So tell yourself: yes, you are afraid people will say no, or think you’re annoying or whatever, but you owe yourself to ask for increased salary. This is a must- know that you deserve the best. Read tips on negotiation, practice and role play with yourself or someone else on how those negotiations might go. Speak with other teachers and ask how did they negotiate?
Ask kids to grade each others’ assignments. Eg first ten minutes of class, randomly pass around completed assignments, say the answers, then collect the graded assignments. This is also helpful for kids to see how others approch same problem. Get smart about how to decrease work hours outside of class. Or, do more group assignments. Or, multiple choice tests when possible.
Good luck.
Finally- look for another job. In fact, even if you loke your job and are paid well, if you are not at your dream job ALWAYS look for another job. Yes this takes time, but this is actually one of the best ways to network and find other jobs! Your employer is not your spouse, they will replace you in a heartbeat if you left and so vice versa do the same to them.
A
reader, anonymous, writes (1 January 2022): Giving no specific country or what it is you teach leaves everyone in the dark. It can only be presumed that you were scammed into taking the job, knowing that you needed it; and wouldn't likely give it up after you've been teaching there past the probationary period.
You apparently asked no questions before you accepted the job. It's probably too late at this point to negotiate salary; and it appears you've been a victim of bait and switch.
I recommend you be more inquisitive about the salary during the hiring process; and pay close attention to what is put in writing when you agree to take the job. Trying to negotiate salary (after the fact) in a situation where questionable ethics are suspected; they're banking on the fact you need the job too much to quit. From what you explained about how salary disparities are between men and women in your country; it's really hard to say with so little real information to go on.
It it also possible the job was oversold, because no-one would take it; for the very reasons you've cited in your post.
I recommend you might look for another job; but don't agree to anything that you don't see put in writing. Let's hope they're just making sure you'll stick around awhile, and may intend to increase your salary amount based on knowing you've successfully completed the probationary period. Some quit as soon as they see how hard the job is, they just take the money and run. You should ask if the amount will increase at a later time during the school semester? It's up to you, if you want to work more for less. You'll need a plan-B, if you determine what you're being paid is all you're going to get.
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