Job Discussion Forums

[Matt_22]

I'll be working on a masters degree next year in Sydney, and I'm curious as to if I'll be able to get any work teaching English.

I'll have a bachelor's degree in Political Science (minor in English), a 4-week TESOL cert from TEFL Int'l, one year experience as a teaching assistant in U.S. elementary schools, and another year of ESL teaching in South Korea.

From what I've gathered, I'm unqualified to work at ELICOS schools. But will I be able to find work at private academies? Also, what is the pay like in Australia for people such as myself (that is, IF I am qualified for a teaching position).

[lozwich]

Hiya,

I have a friend who works at an Elicos school who started when she had similar qualifications as yours. There are often exceptions in hiring, and in some places they have a guideline standard, but then an 'out' like 5% of staff don't have to have the qualification standard, so you might be lucky.

Take a look at the 'Teachers' section of the NEAS Website to see what accredited private schools are looking for in a teacher...

Good luck!
Lozwich.

[Matt_22]

[lozwich]

That pay rate is about right, but you only get paid for the hours you work. No sick leave, no holidays, and if you're on a student visa you might find you're limited to the amount of hours you can work. All of that together makes it not quite as lucrative as it seems.

But good luck anyway.

[cjw714]

with those qualifications you will definitely be able to find work. from my experience elicos schools don't tend to worry too much about the details of the requirements as long as you have the 4 week tefl qualification.
as others have suggested what it will affect is the quality of job you will get (and how much you will be paid. sydney now has a sufficiently large market for english teaching that schools cover the entire spectrum from the very shoddy private schools (usually run by Korean owners who have a reputation for disappearing and leaving behind unpaid teachers) to IH.
the usual suggestions apply. when I arrived i e-mailed every school on the elicos website and had relief work within a week and longer term within 2. when you get relief work like anywhere else you then have to rely on your instincts as to the nature of the students, the staff and the dos.
one other thing to bear in mind as already mentioned on this thread is that a lot of australian work is on a casual basis and even long-term staff will tend to be employed casually.
hope this helps