It's a trap for migrant women
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
After many years my self-esteem took a real dive. I was doing something good for the whole of society, yet the conditions and salary and sometimes the people would show me that I was of no value in one way or another.
Verbesserungsvorschläge
Put pressure on the Magistrat to get equal pay for those who don't have a Bachelors degree in this field. Other degrees can have value, too. Especially if the employee is already doing the work, has many years of experience at childcare in a Kindergarten and has proven themselves many times.
Arbeitsatmosphäre
I was stressed whenever I got a whatsapp message in the evening because it was usually somebody calling in sick. Some people were just on and off sick leave. Though I get it. It's an exhausting job. I got sick from it so often, until I quit.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
The BABE+ programme and the Nachsicht are the only things but even those come with caveats. Nachsicht is just a bit more money while you take German classes in the evening. Fair enough, anyone should be able to speak German while living in Austria. But you will also be even more tired from working fulltime and going to class at night, that is, if they even happen to have a position.
With Nachsicht they may offer you only a few months fulltime at a time and after that part-time for the unforseeable future! Have you ever been employed in a company where they offer you a job and then say but only a few months fulltime and then who knows? It is humiliating. It makes you understand that you are not valued at all. They know they can do this, because they know you do not have other options.
BABE means you need to work fewer hours while studying, so you earn less from your already low salary, in the hopes that you will make more once you get your degree for the work that you already have been doing for over a decade.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
Apart from all the sick leave, some people were nice to work with. But in my house the employee fluctuation was high, and it was really like a lottery whether you got a reliable and experienced colleague or a brand new college graduate. I would sometimes be doing the job of an actual Pädagogin, because my Pädagogin was so young and overwhelmed and constantly getting sick, even though I was only a Betreuerin and only paid as such.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
In other industries you actually get a Gehaltserhöhung that you deserve because you learned with experience. Here the raises are really meagre.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
I asked for Bildungskarenz once. My manager laughed in my face. Laughed - in - my - face. Not "I'm sorry, my hands are tied." Straight up laughed in my face.
Arbeitsbedingungen
On an ideal day you are 3 adults with 21 children (babies till pre-schoolers). On an IDEAL day. If one or two of your colleagues have not called in sick.
Forget having an air conditioner. It's 36 degrees? Deal with it.
Being in the sun and rain with sometimes out-of-control children (because they also get stressed by the conditions) all day.
This job is not for lazy people. Do not think that you will come and have an easy time, just playing and singing with kids. You are responsible for their safety, physically and mentally. You facilitate and observe their development, talk to parents about issues that are really difficult to hear.
Having to deal with parents who cannot accept that their child has an obvious developmental problem and don't get their child tested or cannot get an ÖGK appointment or pay for one privately. That is not unique to this employer, but it's a tough part of the job.
Gehalt/Benefits
The pay is just for survival, to make sure that you cannot save enough in order to quit and be unemployed for a while and find something else. I think it's a political problem, too. KIWI do organize / send us to protests.
But if there isn't enough money to remunerate your employees fairly, you need to close down more Kindergartens and put pressure on the government and society. You cannot just pay the employees (who are typically women) less, because you know that they are out of other options and then pretend that you are a great employer.
Interessante Aufgaben
Yes, I made it interesting by always finding new projects to do with the children. In my house there were babies till pre-schoolers in any group and we split them up for some activities according to what was age appropriate. I appreciated that freedom and creativity.