Hi,
Apologies in advance for the slightly vulgar nature of the title. Discussing salaries isn't usually my thing.
A good friend of mine is interested in working in CH at an international school, and has asked me if I know how much he might earn.
Background: He worked in Verbier as a ski instructor at a place that dealt exclusively with international schools (where he met numerous teachers). Worked his way up to resort manager, then decided to do PGCE back in the UK and is currently a teacher at a school in China. He now wants to move back to CH to work.
He has a degree in IT and MSc in investment management, and now teachers IT, Economics and Business studies.
So what could he maybe expect to earn working in Switzerland?
Many thanks in advance for any help.
Oh and no, the 'friend' isn't me. I work in Basel for a pharma company and am very happy doing that right now!!
For a secondary teacher, I would expect upwards of 90K. Depends how many years teaching experience, working hours, holidays, financial situation of the school, whether there are any other perks, and whether he has a family to support (they might factor in a tuition discount, housing and relocation costs).
I would advise strongly to negotiate and be sure up-front that you are comfortable with what is on offer. If he is thinking long-term, schools are not known for having staff on salary increments - and the progression in Swiss schools hits ceilings where an assessment, further education or additional duties are the only way to go up the salary scale (unlike some places where salary increments are routine).
International school salaries vary quite a lot. Full time with non-local qualifications and a couple years of relevant experience could be anywhere from 60k to 100k pre-tax.
Some things he can do that would help:
- get his foreign qualifications Swissified as soon as possible. It takes time, costs money and there is a fairly stringent language requirement (yes, even if you only plan to teach in English) - but worth it.
- consider teaching some more mainstream subjects. Economics and business may be offered as electives but rarely are they in enough demand to employ a full-time teacher. He'd boost his chances if he could also offer something like math or physics.
Cheers for the swift, and useful, responses. Much appreciated. I will pass the details onto him.
Think he has a contract in China until early next year, so would have some time to get his qualifications fully swissed if he decides to come here.
With his qualifications he might look into teaching at a commercial school or a trade school as well. But this of course depends on how fluent he is in French.
I don't think for an international private school he would need to get his qualifications "swissified" or need to worry about language. This is only for the Swiss state schools.
Depends on the school. It's required by some schools, not required by others. Even in schools where it's not required, having local qualifications never put anyone at a salary dis advantage, put it that way.
I would say it correlates roughly with salary, i.e. private schools at the upper end of the pay scale I mentioned seem more into hiring (mostly or exclusively) teachers with locally recognized diplomas than those near the lower end.
Disclaimer: I don't work in the private sector myself, so this is all hearsay and teachers' room gossip. You're welcome to it, but take it for what it's worth.
How do you go about getting your qualifications swissified?Can I do it from outside Switzerland?
The process to get recognition for qualifications can be quite complex and long-winded.
If a school is willing to hire you, then if they are accountable to the Swiss system (which includes bilingual and private schools as well as government schools, but not necessarily some of the International schools), then they usually get a 'permission pending accreditation'. That means, you can take the position and continue to work until the determination is made. If they reject the qualification, then it doesn't automatically mean you can't teach, it might just limit how you are able to work within the bigger structure of the school, or that you have to find another route, and there are many pathways!
Non-EU are placed far behind Swiss and EU passport-holders in the queue to get their qualifications assessed (EU countries have an agreement with Switzerland to process the applications with very short turnaround times, whereas Non-EU there are no such agreements). This is not necessarily a 'bad' thing as it allows you to keep teaching until the assessment is made. I'm talking 2-3-4 years if there's no reason to do it sooner... normally though it's maybe up to 2 years...but for EU much quicker - a matter of a few months once the paperwork is all ready.
I doubt it's possible to do the process externally, I think you can only do it once you are in-country. There are several different accreditation bodies, and if you don't simply 'fit' one of the systems, you can easily find yourself getting shuffled back and forth because one says the other is responsible...
If anyone who is already in Switzerland wants some pointers about how to go about these professional recognitions, you're welcome to PM me. I have been involved with quite a few for the purpose of primary school, early childhood/kindergarten and also childcare. Some rules and exceptions will come into play in particular Cantons, and even down to the Gemeinde-based social department that licences the childcare/long-day-care system...
can't agree as recently more and more international schools have been demanding foreign teaching diplomas Swiss equivalence or recognition