Job Discussion Forums

[jkrishnamurtidotorg]

Hello, and thanks for dedicating your time to this post.

My wife and I are currently teaching in Korea, and will finish up later this year. We are teaching Kindergarten through to Intermediate level students at a private institute. At the end of the contract we will have 1 year of experience. We both work 120 'contact' hours per month, which equates to 1,440 hours of actual teaching experience for the year.

We both have Bachelor's degree's in 'unrelated' (Not English/Linguistics/TESOL) areas, although both of us completed our degree's in Arts subjects. We also have completed 180 hour TESOL Certificate programs, although they were online. However, our certificates don't necessarily state that they were completed online. The program is from a reputable institute.

Our ultimate goal is to teach in the Middle East before we have children. We are very serious about this and are planning our moves for the next few years which will make us as attractive as possible to potential employers in the region. My wife is very interested in the culture, the money looks good, and I am incredibly able to enjoy being anywhere new.

The current plan is to return to our country of residence next year. We are deciding between:
a) Going back to University to become certified teachers (English and Social Studies);
b) Going back to University to complete a BA TESOL program.

Option a) gives us the flexibility to teach in our own country, as well as abroad. It will take us 1.5 years to complete the certification.
Option b) may look more attractive to this particular goal of ours as it is more subject-specific, and will take less time to complete (1 year).

Also, we will have a few months to travel before we go back to school next year. In order to advance ourselves in those few months, we are considering an investment into completing a CELTA program. If we do, we plan to try and complete the CELTA in an Arabic speaking country so as to look (and be) more serious about our future prospects in that region.

Ultimately, we want to invest in something which will help us to teach in the Middle East. To summarize:
- Do we invest 5-6 thousand $'s in CELTA certification?
- Do we become certified teachers in our home country, or do we complete a BA TESOL program?
- Is our 1 year experience, plus our investments, enough to land a job anywhere in the Middle East? or will we have to find another year or 2 teaching experience following our new certificates?

If anyone experienced is sincerely willing to respond to this post, that would be absolutely wonderful.

[jargonscott]

In my experience, it's mostly a matter of getting your foot in the door. There's a lot of grey area in the Middle East, so it can't hurt to throw your hat in the ring (even if you feel your qualifications aren't up to snuff). Furthering your qualifications will only help you. I'm sure some of the old timers in this forum will be more than happy to chime in with their experience and opinions.

I've seen a lot of threads on here where folks are quick to shoot down others who are interested in the Middle East, but don't have extensive qualifications and experience. Though they offer plenty of sage advice, I think it's important to acknowledge the small chance of defying the odds.

My first overseas contract was in KSA. Had I posted my qualifications on Dave's beforehand, I'm sure most people would have told me that I had no chance or if I could get lucky enough to land an entry level position, it would most likely be with a sketchy company and an unattractive salary package. In reality, I had a very stable employer, $4250 USD/month, low hours, generous vacations, and all expenses (minus food) covered. Though it was certainly a challenging time, I learned a lot in the process. Most importantly, I finished the contract with the best reference letter of my life and much needed experience from a reputable school/company on my CV. I never planned on staying in KSA long-term, it was just a means to an end. I accomplished everything I set out to do.

Though it's different for every school and company, my CELTA has been a key part of me getting my foot in the door over the years. My last 3 employers have all stated that it was one of the main factors that got me an interview. Though it was more expensive than a TEFL cert, it has paid off immensely. In fact, I'll be heading to the UAE at the end of the summer for a new contract. This one makes my former KSA salary/perks package look like chump change. A couple of my friends applied for the same position but didn't get interviews. Though most would say they have more experience/qualifications than someone like myself, they don't have CELTAs and therefore weren't considered. One of the administrators confirmed that they require it of all new hires. I'm not here to debate whether or not that's fair, I'm just happy I have mine.

Once again, I know if I posted my experience and qualifications in the UAE forum, most folks would tell me not to bother and to stick to Eastern Asia. I'll admit, I felt a bit under-qualified when I applied. After all, I didn't meet all the the listed requirements. However, I did have a CELTA, experience working in the gulf, and the clincher: experience with a particular software program that they happen to use for their CALL labs (which I received in KSA). My CELTA was the foot in the door for KSA and now I've been able to parlay that into a much better situation in the UAE.

I've always been confident in my ability to be a solid employee/teacher, even in the Middle East (where it often seems good administration and colleagues are hard to find). All I needed was a chance to prove it. In conclusion, take everyone's advice with a grain of salt and don't ever completely count yourself out.

[veiledsentiments]

[jkrishnamurtidotorg]

The effort from both responses are appreciated. Thanks for your inspiration, experienced analysis, and relevant suggestions.

[nomad soul]

[nomad soul]

[jargonscott]

[helenl]

As I tend to be one of the more negative posters if the OP's credentials are less than optimal -

I would agree with jargonscott in that it doesn't hurt to apply and see what offers you get. Too many posters want the $$$ but don't have the qualifications to earn the larger pay packets.

If anyone is discouraged by naysayers (myself included) and don't apply, then that's a choice. Sure, you may not qualify, but if you don't apply you sure won't.

However, better employers demand and get better qualified employees. That's a given worldwide.

[nomad soul]

[jargonscott]

[jkrishnamurtidotorg]

Thanks to veiledsentiments. Your response was direct and easy to read/understand.

Thanks to nomad soul. You displayed various ways to assess my situation, and even expanded the realm of opportunities and choices available, and what those choices might entail.
- No worries on the highjacking. I happen to encourage tangents so long as the original content is (which it was) also addressed. I also prefer that these tangents remain civil with a scope of self-awareness and proper breathing.

Thanks to helenl. You made some common sense points that may often get overlooked by posters who throw up their credentials, and then ask the forum what it will land them in the Middle East, when the truth is that you will never know unless you apply. Obviously with more credentials and experience, you will land more jobs and often more lucrative ones.

A special thanks to jargonscott. Never before have I received such well thought out, balanced, and reasonable analysis, so full of effort and concern. I really appreciate the 'other' messages sent by this poster. It's actually really helped wrap my mind around a few things, and I am very grateful.

[Voyeur]

As someone who lacks formal credentials, but was looking to beat the odds and get a shot in the ME, I appreciated Jargon's realistic reminder that many things are possible.

However, after doing a lot of recent research, I've come to the conclusion that this may have been more true in the past than it is now. Not only do employers seem to demand more formal qualifications each year, but the governments have become factors as well. Even if an employer wants you, you also have to meet increasingly stringent government requirements to get a proper visa. And the ability to slide by suing alternative visa solutions is increasingly in question. I realize this applies mostly to Saudi, but I've seen signs of the same phenomenon in other ME countries I have been researching.

I'm becoming convinced that you should avoid the ME until you have the right qualifications, because these days, even if you get your foot in the door and have a nice run, a government regulation change could shake up your plans at any point.