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Is the recession this bad? Also, small volunteer programs...
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tttompatz



Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines

PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 6:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Education degree, US passport and clean CBC then go to Korea and get some experience. They are pretty much the only place that will pay for your airfare up front or soon after landing.

If you don't have a clean CBC then things get a little more dicy.
If it is a minor thing then get an out-of-state CBC and get a ticket to SE Asia.

The school year hiring season begins in the new year with new academic years beginning between March 2 and June. Your chances of employment are about 100%.

If you are set on China then Keep pounding away at it. Don't stop with just one recruiter. Hit 100. Google things like "SAFEA" to get a wider picture of the industry.

Lastly, don't just look at the base salary when evaluating jobs. $2000/month is entry level in Korea and allows you to save about 1/2. $2000/month (not an entry level salary) in China lets you live quite well and bank about 75%.

The same can be said for most of the rest of SE Asia. You earn about $1200-1500 but can save anywhere from nothing to about 1/2 depending on your lifestyle.

Bottom line:

Entry level qualifications get you an entry level job.
Entry level qualifications get you an entry level wage.
Just like the rest of us who have made a success out of EFL you will have to put in your classroom time and work your way up.
Lastly: it is not what you know but who you know and even more importantly, who knows you. Until you are proven you won't get anywhere. After you are proven the world becomes your oyster.

.
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Qaaolchoura



Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Posts: 539
Location: 21 miles from the Syrian border

PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 9:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

tttompatz wrote:


Entry level qualifications get you an entry level job.
Entry level qualifications get you an entry level wage.


Doesn't a degree in English pretty much guarantee you a job at Wall Street Indonesia? And don't they pay like 2k USD a month plus airfare? They did when I interviewed with them in 2010, though they were adamant then that they needed the degree to say "English," for legal reasons, and applied linguistics wouldn't cut it.

Also, wouldn't an education degree, assuming that Lack also has home state public school teaching licensure, which I believe she does, open up doors closed to those of us? Santi keeps going on about the opportunities in Quebec for qualified teachers, and somebody else pointed out jobs in the NWT. (I'm pretty sure as a degree holder wanting to work in education, she is automatically entitled to work in Canada as a NAFTA professional.)

Of course the problem, and the reason I haven't commented, is because I don't know any countries that'll pay her airfare without a TESOL cert, apart from the already mentioned Georgia program and Korea, and because I can't give her any first or even secondhand advice. (I don't know anyone else with no TESOL cert but actually teaching qualifications looking into teaching abroad.)

So Lack, I suppose all that I can tell you is:

1. As mentioned, you need an offline TESOL cert to work in Turkey legally (and it's expected even for illegal work). If you have a CELTA there's at least one company here that will pay your airfare, but possibly not upfront (it's the one I work for, and they didn't pay mine since I was already in the country), but it's definitely not the norm (I believe the majority of employers in the southeast pay airfare since they have a trouble getting people already in Turkey to move here, but they also require a lot more experience than you have).

2. Your English degree might help you in Indonesia with WSI and the British Institute (TBI), which are the only companies there that obey immigration law, but I really don't know since I don't have one.

3. You might be able to work in Canada as a licensed teacher without getting a TESOL cert (and airfare isn't an issue), but I'm not the expert in this. santi84 is the one who knows about Quebecois jobs, A couple teachers on this thread suggested teaching in the territories, but none of them seems to know personally.

4. Good luck. When I started out, I initially was willing to work anywhere except China, Korea, or Saudi Arabia. After several months I broke down, went after a job in Korea, and got it like that. All that I can say of it is that I got some experience which probably helped me in Turkey, and some money, which certainly did.

Regards and best of luck,
~Q
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artemisia



Joined: 04 Nov 2008
Posts: 875
Location: the world

PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 2:52 am    Post subject: Re: Is the recession this bad? Also, small volunteer program Reply with quote

Lack wrote:
It sure would be nice to find some modest program that brings in English teachers

It looks to me as though you're trying to have a quite a few irons in the fire - not necessarily a bad idea unless you end up not fully pursuing all options in a particular direction. It's sometimes useful to set a goal and go after that.

You're an American who's a certified teacher and you're considering the following: getting into TEFL, teaching within your state (and beyond) and volunteering programs abroad as well. I take it you have looked into Peace Corps? (Had a friend who did this). I guess they don't qualify as 'small' and I think it's pretty competitive to get accepted, but maybe worth checking out if you haven't? I've also heard of Teach for America. I don't think it's volunteer, but rather paid teaching work in low socio-economic areas, and they take people without experience. Of course you could end up getting placed somewhere absolutely dire, but maybe it's also worth looking into? If it were me I'd aim for Hawai'i (not 'cos of the beaches, but because I like Polynesian culture).

Or you could follow advice here and go all out for school/unis in China (or that K country). Or try Indonesia and possibly Canada (as Qaaolchoura suggested) if the programs at home aren't possible or don't suit. Maybe decide on one thing and go after that. Good luck, Lack.
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golsa



Joined: 20 Nov 2011
Posts: 185

PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 5:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Georgia program won't recruit new people until July or August of 2013.

Armenia recently created a project called the Armenian Volunteer Corps, which includes EFL instruction. The program is quite similar to the Georgian program, but I'm not sure if they provide flights. However, after the Georgian program decided to not renew 50% of its volunteers, Armenia decided to postpone the start of their EFL program until July or August of 2013. edit: Armenia does provide round trip airfare.

Also, I want to warn you that you might find the EFL situation in Georgia and Armenia to be.... frustrating. Both of these countries are locked in tradition and their government EFL teacher programs only send people to villages where time stands still. People in these villages frequently do things in the most inefficient ways because deviating from tradition can result in them being ostracized and this includes how the schools operate.
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