Job Discussion Forums

[googleberg]

I'm a 22 year-old newbie from the UK with a BA and a 120 hour TEFL certificate with TEFL England.

I'm looking for jobs anywhere in Indochina really but Thailand and Vietnam were the two which caught my eye the most as they looked like more fun, interesting places to go.

I have applied to several agencies/schools but most of the responses seem to be that I would have to wait much longer than I would like. I have heard from one of my friends who went out there that the best way to do it is to just fly out and try and get jobs in person rather than in advance, he said he did this several times and that they were easy to come by. So I'm firstly wondering how many people have had similar experiences and whether they found it as easy as he is making it out to be and whether people would tend to agree that it really is better to just go out there and try to get work rather than apply in advance? I found a site called Ajarn.com which certainly seems to endorse this approach...

I would also like to point out that I am absolutely clueless when it comes to travelling and visas etc. I understand that I need to bring my passport, my degree and my TEFL certificate and if I can get a hold of one, something to prove my clean criminal record although I'm not entirely sure how to go about getting one in the UK as they're called CRB checks here and from what I can find about them you can only get them via an employer? With regards to a visa, should I be looking to just get a standard tourist visa upon entering the country and then this gets changed and sorted out upon acquiring a teaching license and work permit? Or should I be getting a B Non-Immigrant visa (I think that's what I read anyway) straight away? The whole process is quite confusing...

Finally what did other people do regarding taking laptops etc? Mine is an old heap of junk so it wouldn't be such a huge issue if it died but I'd hate to have it stolen and lose all my music etc. Also as it is a great big heap of crap it's very chunky and subsequently fairly weighty, as is its ENORMOUS charger unit-cable-thing. I'm assuming it's fairly necessary to take one for the job but it is just gonna be a pain in the ass to lug around.

(I know that was an essay and a half of questioning but I really am fairly clueless with regard to travel and such and would very much appreciate some help from those more well-informed than I. Cheers.)

[plumpy nut]

To get a job in Thailand you will just have to show up. They don't generally hire people applying from overseas. That is just generally though. They also don't pay airfare. You want to come at the best time which is at the end or very beginning of the semester. That would be upcoming end of April or beginning of May. When you do come have ample money just in case you get fired within a couple of weeks or shortly after being hired which is common for the hired ESL teachers. There is a substantial chance you will have to hunker down inbetween jobs or pay for medical bills etc.

When you come get an apt or cheap guest house (like Peachy Guest House) in Central Bangkok untill you are sure you have the teaching job hammered down. You don't want an Apt. way out to the side of the city and find out that you now have to teach on the other side of the city. Of course you will have to set aside time for taking the bus in the morning. Before renting check the shower drains in your room no matter how impressive looking the Apt. is. In Thailand they have a tendency to skimp of the plumbing (shower drains).

[tttompatz]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=100295

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[googleberg]

Cheers for the help, much appreciated. Can you also advise me on the necessity of bringing a laptop? Is this something I absolutely must do if teaching or will there be facilities available for me to use that should be adequate at the schools? I ask as I am looking to do a bit of travelling before settling down and teaching so I really don't want to be lugging my ancient and frankly awful laptop about. And what health insurance would you recommend?

[tttompatz]

[plumpy nut]