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Sandlapper
Joined: 22 Apr 2017 Posts: 4
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 10:53 am Post subject: New here.. Many questions |
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Hello, I am considering international teaching after having retired three years ago in the US. I have a masters and 28 years experience. I have taught in public and private schools. My experience is wide range. I have taught everything from4K to high school public speaking. I am a 57 year old female. Am I not very marketable, because the only country interested in me is China and a position in the Marshall Islands responded. Thanks |
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suphanburi
Joined: 20 Mar 2014 Posts: 916
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 11:16 am Post subject: |
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Your age is a significant factor.
In many countries you are near or over the mandatory retirement age and beyond the age for visa issuance for many.
Examples are:
Korea: 55 is the limit for visa issuance although visa extensions can go to 60. 60 is required retirement.
Thailand: 60 is mandatory retirement although foreigners who are working and qualified as teachers can stay working to 65 in private k-12 schools. 60 in government schools.
For international schools the majority of hiring was done last January/February for August start dates. For Thai calendar schools they are hiring NOW for the start of school on May 15. You need to be in the country.
For most of the rest of SE Asia you need to be "in country" to get hired for local school positions.
Taiwan: you are off season and too old (55) for public school jobs and significantly overqualified for buxibans (kiddy language centers).
Japan might be an option but school started a month ago.
Indonesia, Malaysia... age factor.
Brunei - age and citizenship issues.
Philippines: you MIGHT find work in a private, international school - They like US certified teachers. Otherwise, not an option. They export EFL teachers to the rest of Asia.
China may have options. It is a large country with rules that tend to be "flexible" depending on who is hiring and what their connections are.
Other options would include the US protectorates in the western Pacific (Micronesia, Guam, Marchalls, etc). Age and visa issues are not an issue for you.
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 12:38 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: |
Hello, I am considering international teaching after having retired three years ago in the US. I have a masters and 28 years experience. I have taught in public and private schools. My experience is wide range. I have taught everything from4K to high school public speaking. I am a 57 year old female. Am I not very marketable, because the only country interested in me is China and a position in the Marshall Islands responded. Thanks |
What are you qualified to teach, exactly? Core subject certification qualifies you for international school positions. If you have no formal ESL/EFL qualifications, you're not super-marketable in most regions for ESL/EFL jobs; this is a field of its own. You'll want to focus your job search where your qualifications meet the local/regional standards. |
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CTravel32
Joined: 01 Mar 2017 Posts: 85
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 1:31 pm Post subject: Re: New here.. Many questions |
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Sandlapper wrote: |
Hello, I am considering international teaching after having retired three years ago in the US. I have a masters and 28 years experience. I have taught in public and private schools. My experience is wide range. I have taught everything from4K to high school public speaking. I am a 57 year old female. Am I not very marketable, because the only country interested in me is China and a position in the Marshall Islands responded. Thanks |
No, I disagree, you could be marketable! Just keep trying and getting in touch with schools in various countries around the world! What countries are you interested in? |
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Sandlapper
Joined: 22 Apr 2017 Posts: 4
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 1:32 pm Post subject: |
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I have a masters in early childhood education. I have taught language arts in 7th, 8th, 9th, and 9th Honors. I have taught 3rd , 5th, and 6th grades self-contained. I was afraid my age would be a hindrance. I do not have a TEFL. |
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Sandlapper
Joined: 22 Apr 2017 Posts: 4
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 1:38 pm Post subject: Re: New here.. Many questions |
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CTravel32 wrote: |
Sandlapper wrote: |
Hello, I am considering international teaching after having retired three years ago in the US. I have a masters and 28 years experience. I have taught in public and private schools. My experience is wide range. I have taught everything from4K to high school public speaking. I am a 57 year old female. Am I not very marketable, because the only country interested in me is China and a position in the Marshall Islands responded. Thanks |
No, I disagree, you could be marketable! Just keep trying and getting in touch with schools in various countries around the world! What countries are you interested in? |
I am interested in the Middle East, but the only response I had was to a nursery school in Kuwait. I am also interested in South America, but the pay is low. The Marshall Islands job was intriguing, but they asked me to interview for principal. I don't have administrative experience, so I thought that was a red flag. |
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twowheel
Joined: 03 Jul 2015 Posts: 753
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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Peace Corps?
Peace Corps can look favorably on older applicants. Furthermore, Peace Corps could enable you to get into countries that you may otherwise not be able to get into for employment.
After his retirement, my uncle completed Peace Corps service in Mali.
www.peacecorps.gov
twowheel |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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Your Master's in early childhood education and language arts training might make you interesting for jobs with young kids. I wouldn't think you'd be very marketable at private language schools or universities where more students are adults.
I guess Asia is your best bet; I think that the ME will want a directly applicable MA. Others will be along with more direct ME experience. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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Sandlapper wrote: |
I have a masters and 28 years experience. I have taught in public and private schools. My experience is wide range. I have taught everything from4K to high school public speaking. I am a 57 year old female. Am I not very marketable, because the only country interested in me is China and a position in the Marshall Islands responded.
....
I have a masters in early childhood education. I have taught language arts in 7th, 8th, 9th, and 9th Honors. I have taught 3rd , 5th, and 6th grades self-contained. I was afraid my age would be a hindrance. I do not have a TEFL.
....
I am interested in the Middle East, but the only response I had was to a nursery school in Kuwait. I am also interested in South America, but the pay is low. The Marshall Islands job was intriguing, but they asked me to interview for principal. I don't have administrative experience, so I thought that was a red flag. |
I assume you're targeting the Middle East because of the salary and bennies the region offers. However, your age is a big red flag because you're too close to the retirement age; some ME countries/employers won't consider job applicants past 55/56 years of age. (BTW, never state on your cover letter or resume/CV that you have 28 years of experience; it makes prospective employers focus on your age.)
That said, it doesn't hurt to try. You didn't mention if you still hold a current teaching license, but if you do, market yourself as an experienced elementary-level, ELA teacher to American-curriculum and IB private schools in the UAE -- those that educate native/near-native English speaking children and mirror the teaching environments you had in the US. (The UAE has the most English-medium int'l schools globally.) Give sites like Teach Away, Seek Teachers, and Footprints a look. Google the names of top American/IB schools in the UAE and apply directly to them. Also, definitely register and post your questions on International Schools Review's forum.
However, if you let your teaching license expire, completing a valid TEFL cert course could help for countries elsewhere in the world. But as it stands, given your age, you're not in a position to be choosy about location and/or jobs. So if the only recruiters who have shown interest in you are in China, or the offers in S. America are too low, then be ready to compromise in some way if you want to teach abroad. Otherwise, consider revamping your resume/CV and marketing yourself as an education consultant. That might open doors for you. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 7:51 pm Post subject: |
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BTW, your age isn't all that uncommon in the field! Many of us here on Dave's are also 'older.' The difference is that most of us started earlier; it's tougher to get a foot in the door to get started at 'our' age;-) And laws are laws - you can't really get around those. |
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twowheel
Joined: 03 Jul 2015 Posts: 753
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Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 3:51 am Post subject: |
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Quote: |
the only country interested in me is China |
...but be careful, there is an ongoing discussion over on the China (Job-related posts) board about age limits (i.e., 60? ... or not).
The question at hand is: get into China before 60 and then be able to work until 65 or even later (that is, be "grandfather-claused in" ... haha, excuse the pun), or regardless, have to stop working in China at age 60? It seems that a clear answer has not yet emerged.
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=116080
twowheel |
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BadBeagleBad
Joined: 23 Aug 2010 Posts: 1186 Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
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Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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With your experience you would not have a problem getting a job at an international school in Mexico. You mentioned that pay was low in South America, but you didn't say you had looked into Mexico. Another thing that no one has mentioned, while pay may seem low when converted to dollars, that doesn't tell the whole story, in most places - even big cities - the cost of living is also MUCH lower. I live in a small town in cental Mexico and could live on 500 dollars a month - for two adults and 11 dogs - with no problem. Even in Mexico City, you can rent a nice apartment for 300 to 350 dollars, internet is usually around 20 dollars a month, cable TV is about the same, or less, depending on the options you choose, public transportation is a fraction of what it is in the US (ranges from 25 to 35 cents a ride, with some cheaper options as well), meat costs about the same but chicken and eggs are cheaper, fruits and vegetables are much cheaper, etc. So it is really not as simple as converting your pay into dollars without investigating how far that pay would take you in any given place. Another thing that no one has mentioned - have you considered teaching online? Outside of Asia, age will not likely be an issue, and you could continue an online job from anywhere, as a supplement to whatever other job you end up taking. |
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Sandlapper
Joined: 22 Apr 2017 Posts: 4
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Posted: Thu May 04, 2017 3:15 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the information. I am not really interested in pursuing online teaching at this time. I will definitely give Mexico a look.
Another question: I have noticed that many ads ask you to email mountains of information or they will not consider your application. I am not comfortable doing that when I don't know who is receiving my documents. Am I wrong to feel that way? |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Thu May 04, 2017 3:53 pm Post subject: |
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Sandlapper wrote: |
Another question: I have noticed that many ads ask you to email mountains of information or they will not consider your application. I am not comfortable doing that when I don't know who is receiving my documents. Am I wrong to feel that way? |
What mountains of info are you not comfortable providing? Recruiters don't want to waste their time answering questions from people who may just be fishing and not serious about applying.
If you're referring to the photo page of your passport, that's a commonly-requested piece of info; it confirms your identity, nationality, and age. Some job seekers redact parts of their scanned photo page for security reasons, but I suspect most don't. (When we travel abroad, our passports briefly end up in the hands of anonymous hotel workers anyway, so...) |
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