Job Discussion Forums

[TheOmar]

Hello All!

I noticed this forum hasn't been too active recently, but I thought I'd give this a go.

I'm an EFL teacher who's been doing the typical country-to-country gigs. I love this lifestyle, however I know my days of being a nomad cannot last forever. One of my dreams is to eventually settle down, teach, and live in either Australia or New Zealand.

Does anyone have any advice or has anyone heard any success stories about this?

I'm a 29-year old U.S. citizen teaching EFL for about 5-6 years now with an MA TESOL. I like to focus on university teaching, but Plan B would be language schools.

I have heard about the working holiday visa. However, that always seemed so temporary to me. Or is that a good stepping stone for getting into the country and looking from there?

I'd appreciate any help or advice about this issue.

[JosephP]

Kia ora,

It would be a good idea to go to either NZ or OZ on a working holiday visa as you will be eligible to take on paid employment and to get a lay of the land, so to speak.

I can't speak for Aussie, but my experience in New Zealand leads me to believe that you need to be there to have any chance at all of getting work as an English teacher. In fact, because of the ridiculously high Kiwi dollar, student numbers are very low and as a result many language teachers have headed back offshore to work.

Your MA TESOL may open doors though. Try the polytechs as well as the language schools. If you can do exam prep - IELTS or CAE - that would be a good selling point.

Good luck.

[TheOmar]

[mmcmorrow]

Hi,

Some of what I wrote in the posting on the thread below about NZ might be relevant to you. Numerous teachers and academics have come from overseas to work in Aus and NZ. In the Centre for Teaching and Learning at which I work, there are two NZ-born staff and five migrants - that's not at all unusual -Auckland is said to have the highest proportion of overseas-born residents of any world city.

However, as the previous poster said, the EFL jobs market over here is fairly depressed and is unlikely to see a major upturn in the near future. If you come over, you may be able to find short-term employment as an English language teacher on a working holiday visa in Australia or NZ, though you might also find yourself having to do some other casual work in addition to teaching. It is possible that you might find an employer willing to sponsor you for a work permit and/or permanent residency, but you can't rely on that happening.

Anyway, if you are thinking of Aus or NZ as a possible future home, why not save up some money and come over here, either just to tour around and get a feel for the place or to travel and work on a WH visa (regardless of whether you land yourself an EFL job). And then you can decide whether to apply for permanent residency, which does not necessarily require you to have a job offer - you can find information about this on the Australian or NZ immigration sites. The NZ site has a free online points calculator (for skilled migrant status) which should give you some idea about your chances.

Martin McMorrow, Massey University, NZ

[TheOmar]

[mmcmorrow]

I see your point - it could be that the migration route isn't really for you right now. Migration is an inherently unstable and uncertain process. If your aim is to settle down etc in the next year or so, it's unlikely to work out. I think that if you do wish to live and work in Australia and New Zealand, your options probably boil down either to a working holiday visa or the migration route, either of which would mean having to come over here without a job in advance and undergoing a period of instability for at least a couple of years.

A centre for teaching and learning (titles vary from one uni to another) aims to help students adapt to the challenges of tertiary learning, particularly in developing their writing (some of these functions are actually carried out by Writing Centers at N American universities). The centres are staffed by people variously called Learning Advisors, Consultants, Developers etc, who typically have Masters or Doctorates in Education, ESOL etc. The work involves working with students from various subject areas and levels on a one to one basis or in groups, developing online resources and working with academic staff. If you are interested, you can get further information from the national association websites (eg ALDHE in the UK, AALL in Australia, ATLAANZ in NZ etc) and by searching online to find the websites for the centres in various tertiary institutions.

Martin McMorrow, Massey University, NZ

[Eclipsenow]

Is the ESL market in Australia really that bad? Are there huge queues for job interviews? I'm considering a career change, and right now have a stable (but boring and low paid) admin job.

I thought a Cert 4 CELTA might be a good night-school entry way into a whole new career that would really grind the rules of English grammar into my brain. It's because:-

1. I really want to do something more interesting in my 'day job'.
2. Teaching English would help me really understand the language itself better for my own personal hobby. I dream of writing a children's book!

But... I'm already on a stable $45k / year, and would hate to work my guts out at night school for months only to find out I couldn't get work in ESL.

What's the water like out there?

Also, any ideas on starting salaries for newbies at this game? And what career progression is like if you work really hard at it?

[Eijse74]

...

[englishologist]

Most of the employment in ESL is in Sydney. Considering you are a U.S national you will adjust very quickly. Sydney is more Americanised than Melbourne. Or you could try Northern Queensland. Beware of the rednecks though.

I iterate this issue though and I do not care if it polarizes respondents or offends. If and I say if you have an Anglophile surname, you will secure a job quickly in your field of professional employment in Australia. If you do not, you will join a long queue of competitors among minorities. That is the truth. Now I will wait for an Anglo-Saxon Australian national to refute my point. And if they do, they better have a damn good non-bigoted premise to support their argument.

[krayola]

look on seek.com.au under 'TESOL' or 'Elicos' and I think you'll find that Melbourne needs more teachers than Sydney.

I live in Sydney, so this is just a guess. But it's been that way for the last few years and Melbourne is seen as a more attractive destination for many students these days.