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Correnthos
Joined: 12 Jun 2015
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 5:44 am Post subject: Introduction and General Questions |
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Hello folks, first time poster here with a few questions.
I'll give my info just to make things more clear.
I'm a recent B.A honours graduate in History/English with a 100 hour TEFL certification from Oxford Seminars and I'm about to enter into a 2 year Bachelor of Education program but once I graduate I hope to go abroad and teach.
I had a few questions specifically related to teaching abroad and was wondering if you could answer them?
1. I plan on attempting to work during Late April - Late August during my summer break to make a little bit of money as a summer job. Can anyone recommend particular programs or ways in which to do so?
2. How much more valuable and better paid will I be (on average) with an education degree in addition to my TESOL and B.A?
3. Has anyone ever filed Canadian income taxes while working abroad? Can you share your stories to help me out a little deal, it's the only major area where I'm having problems.
4. With my qualifications what location would be best for me worldwide? (I don't particularly care about location, I'm mostly looking to make enough to pay off my massive student loan and work as little as possible while doing so). Should I consider the JET program or EPIK for an easy streamlined experience? (Having never lived abroad before I'm looking for the path of least resistance).
Any input would be greatly appreciated  |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 11:46 am Post subject: |
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Your best option given your description of your qualifications and need to pay off student debt is absolutely, only Asia.
Being Canadian, you are limited in Europe so far as where you could work legally, and the jobs require CELTA or equivalent certification (even with the education degree), along with start-up costs. I suggest you eliminate this region from your list. Central/Latin America doesn't pay well enough to support paying off debts back home either.
| Quote: |
| (I don't particularly care about location, I'm mostly looking to make enough to pay off my massive student loan and work as little as possible while doing so). |
I suggest you drop the last bit of this (there are lots of employers who post here on Dave's and it won't obviously make a great impression) and re-post on the General Asia board below.
You'll want to be aware that Oxford Seminars isn't considered gold standard because they don't include supervised teaching with real students (CELTA or equivalent certs are 120 hours on-site and include the teaching practice). If your general BEd program includes a TESL/TEFL component and supervised teaching practice, and you highlight that on your CV, that will make up for the less-than-optimal cert.
I cannot speak for how well the BEd will be received in Asia, but in Europe it wouldn't be particularly meaningful unless it includes components explicitly related to teaching EFL in some way. |
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santi84
Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea
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| Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 12:41 pm Post subject: Re: Introduction and General Questions |
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| Correnthos wrote: |
Hello folks, first time poster here with a few questions.
I'll give my info just to make things more clear.
I'm a recent B.A honours graduate in History/English with a 100 hour TEFL certification from Oxford Seminars and I'm about to enter into a 2 year Bachelor of Education program but once I graduate I hope to go abroad and teach.
I had a few questions specifically related to teaching abroad and was wondering if you could answer them?
1. I plan on attempting to work during Late April - Late August during my summer break to make a little bit of money as a summer job. Can anyone recommend particular programs or ways in which to do so?
2. How much more valuable and better paid will I be (on average) with an education degree in addition to my TESOL and B.A?
3. Has anyone ever filed Canadian income taxes while working abroad? Can you share your stories to help me out a little deal, it's the only major area where I'm having problems.
4. With my qualifications what location would be best for me worldwide? (I don't particularly care about location, I'm mostly looking to make enough to pay off my massive student loan and work as little as possible while doing so). Should I consider the JET program or EPIK for an easy streamlined experience? (Having never lived abroad before I'm looking for the path of least resistance).
Any input would be greatly appreciated |
Keep in mind that your 2 year BEd after-degree will limit you to K-12 back home, but that your overseas experience will not necessarily count when you return. You may require more local Canadian K-12 experience before you can get a job at a K-12 international school, so you'll be looking at language schools and/or other adult/kiddie programs.
Not to dissuade you from your path (I currently work in a Canadian K-12 system in Canada), but you may actually make more money getting that first job in a Canadian school, rather than working abroad in a language school. Will be a lot of work though  |
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Correnthos
Joined: 12 Jun 2015
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 1:54 pm Post subject: |
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My Bachelor of Education will actually have 5 weeks of supervised classroom teaching (I'll be in the drivers seat Monday-Friday for 8 hours a day) and offers a class in TEFL so I believe that will supplement my other qualifications.
When I say "work as little as possible" that's a tired way of me saying I'd prefer a contract which has flexible hours or provides a low number of teaching hours in exchange for a lower pay. 
Perhaps I worded it wrong as well when I say massive student debt I mean something like I expect around $50,000 CAD when I graduate in 2 years with my B.E (is that normal these days? hahaha)
Might it still be financially best for me if I were to work in Canada perhaps as a substitute for awhile before I end up going abroad? (In addition, Asia was mentioned as the only true destination but why not the Arabia and the Persian Gulf?) Checking from qualifications, I do meet some of them already but is there something I'm missing? |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
My Bachelor of Education will actually have 5 weeks of supervised classroom teaching (I'll be in the drivers seat Monday-Friday for 8 hours a day) and offers a class in TEFL so I believe that will supplement my other qualifications.
When I say "work as little as possible" that's a tired way of me saying I'd prefer a contract which has flexible hours or provides a low number of teaching hours in exchange for a lower pay. Laughing
Perhaps I worded it wrong as well when I say massive student debt I mean something like I expect around $50,000 CAD when I graduate in 2 years with my B.E (is that normal these days? hahaha) |
Take the TEFL class, and be sure to highlight both that and the practicum on your CV clearly to offset the Oxford Seminars cert (it's fairly well known by employers to lack the key ingredients).
On less work, consider your potential employer. They have to jump through legal hoops to get work visas in most cases, and you'll likely expect them to help you organize housing and other stuff. If they can get someone with similar quals (and yours will still be entry level even with the BEd - you'll have equivalent or better competition on most job markets with the more reputable employers) who is also willing to work longer, who do you suppose they'll choose?
50,000 CAD is considerable. You do need to maximize what you've got if you want to get ahead within the next decade.
On the ME, nomadsoul and others are more knowledgeable but I believe that all you'll be qualified for with unrelated BA, BEd, and Oxford are bottom-level gigs via recruiters. These can be ok - or not.
The better ME jobs seek for (and easily find these days) related MA and ideally previous experience with students from the ME. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 3:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Correnthos wrote: |
When I say "work as little as possible" that's a tired way of me saying I'd prefer a contract which has flexible hours or provides a low number of teaching hours in exchange for a lower pay.
....
Might it still be financially best for me if I were to work in Canada perhaps as a substitute for awhile before I end up going abroad? (In addition, Asia was mentioned as the only true destination but why not the Arabia and the Persian Gulf?) Checking from qualifications, I do meet some of them already but is there something I'm missing? |
Although you'll have a relevant degree with a supervised practical component, you'd lack the full-time, paid TEFL experience needed for entry-level positions in Saudi Arabia and Oman (the numerous job ads you see on this site and on others). That said, you might get hired with zero experience by one of KSA's sketchier contracting companies, but trust me, you really don't want to go that route. Besides, KSA can be a bit challenging for someone who has never lived abroad. I suggest looking at Korea (http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/) for your first few years of TEFL experience; lots of newbies start there. China is another option (second to Korea); however, be aware many of its major cities have a serious air pollution issue. Something to think about, especially if you have any respiratory problems.
The better TEFL jobs in Oman and KSA as well as opportunities in the rest of the Gulf require a relevant MA and 2-3 years of university-level teaching experience. To teach in an IB curriculum international school in the region, you'd need a teaching license/certificate from your province and a couple of years of experience in a Canadian school. Frankly, this would be the best plan and would open more doors for you the world over. |
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santi84
Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea
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| Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 4:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Correnthos wrote: |
My Bachelor of Education will actually have 5 weeks of supervised classroom teaching (I'll be in the drivers seat Monday-Friday for 8 hours a day) and offers a class in TEFL so I believe that will supplement my other qualifications.
When I say "work as little as possible" that's a tired way of me saying I'd prefer a contract which has flexible hours or provides a low number of teaching hours in exchange for a lower pay.
Perhaps I worded it wrong as well when I say massive student debt I mean something like I expect around $50,000 CAD when I graduate in 2 years with my B.E (is that normal these days? hahaha)
Might it still be financially best for me if I were to work in Canada perhaps as a substitute for awhile before I end up going abroad? (In addition, Asia was mentioned as the only true destination but why not the Arabia and the Persian Gulf?) Checking from qualifications, I do meet some of them already but is there something I'm missing? |
Just keep in mind a K-12 five week practicum will be nothing like typical ESL abroad jobs. Consider volunteering a bit with adults before you go! |
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santi84
Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea
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| Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Correnthos wrote: |
My Bachelor of Education will actually have 5 weeks of supervised classroom teaching (I'll be in the drivers seat Monday-Friday for 8 hours a day) and offers a class in TEFL so I believe that will supplement my other qualifications.
When I say "work as little as possible" that's a tired way of me saying I'd prefer a contract which has flexible hours or provides a low number of teaching hours in exchange for a lower pay.
Perhaps I worded it wrong as well when I say massive student debt I mean something like I expect around $50,000 CAD when I graduate in 2 years with my B.E (is that normal these days? hahaha)
Might it still be financially best for me if I were to work in Canada perhaps as a substitute for awhile before I end up going abroad? (In addition, Asia was mentioned as the only true destination but why not the Arabia and the Persian Gulf?) Checking from qualifications, I do meet some of them already but is there something I'm missing? |
China is likely your best bet for money/hours worked. You may also want t consider K-12 in NWT or Nunavut, as you can likely pay off that $50k a lot quicker, with lifestyle being the trade-off. |
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