|
Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
MdSmith
Joined: 15 Nov 2012
Posts: 67
|
 Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 5:55 am Post subject: Considering a return to efl teaching |
 |
|
Hello all.
I left a tefl job abroad about 8 years ago and now have a job (not in tefl) that can be considered fairly prestigious by society (fancy title etc.) although I�m busy and exhausted most of the time and feel a relative lack of freedom and social contact. I often long for the more carefree lifestyle that being an efl teacher provides (and I think it�s a great job btw, the interesting lessons, meeting people, minimal admin, anonymity, uncompetitive workplace, flexibility to drift as and when between contracts, etc.), however I�m a bit older now and feel that society might frown upon such a decision (yes I know I shouldn�t care what society thinks but I do at least on a subconscious level).
How do others feel, particularly those at least middle-aged teachers (35+), do you feel any social stigma (perhaps others who might have quit jobs that were more �prestigious�?)? Does it bother you? Or maybe you don�t care and just get on with it? Or do you anyway in the long-run find yourself looking for the more prestigious (although more demanding) jobs in efl (e.g. in universities etc..) and potentially back to square one?
I�m just testing the waters here, I�m considering quitting my �prestigious� (but pain in the butt) job and would like a more balanced lifestyle but social pressures/ego/masculine identity and fancy job title etc. weigh heavily and are factors that are 'clouding' my judgement.
Cheers. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Teacher in Rome
Joined: 09 Jul 2003
Posts: 1286
|
| Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 9:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
Well, first off, it doesn't have to be a two-choice solution. It isn't just a choice between TEFL and what you're doing now.
Plenty of jobs / working arrangements offer flexibility with prestige on top (see the recent HBR article "The rise of the super temp") for example.
I think a good way to think about your situation is to work out what you want from your life (and you've already made a start in identifying what's important) then work out what you can offer - skills, experience etc. Then you need to do a bit - a lot - of research to find out what's out there, what you'd need to have to be considered. Talk to people in your target jobs, or target companies. Read up on the subject, find out what the job's really like.
A couple of really good books that can help you discover your strengths, interests and values are Richard Bolles (What Color is Your Parachute) and John Lees (How to get a job you'll love). They're both excellent for career changers. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
GambateBingBangBOOM
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
|
| Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 11:27 am Post subject: Re: Considering a return to efl teaching |
|
|
| MdSmith wrote: |
Hello all.
I left a tefl job abroad about 8 years ago and now have a job (not in tefl) that can be considered fairly prestigious by society (fancy title etc.) although I�m busy and exhausted most of the time and feel a relative lack of freedom and social contact. |
| Quote: |
| How do others feel, particularly those at least middle-aged teachers (35+), do you feel any social stigma (perhaps others who might have quit jobs that were more �prestigious�?)? Does it bother you? Or maybe you don�t care and just get on with it? Or do you anyway in the long-run find yourself looking for the more prestigious (although more demanding) jobs in efl (e.g. in universities etc..) and potentially back to square one? |
These more prestigious positions in EFL do not have "minimal admin", "uncompetitive workplaces", or (if you publish regularly- something that these positions may require) "anonymity". They may or may not have "interesting lessons". I would say that the majority of people in the higher profile positions are in their thirties or above. That doesn't mean that there are none in the language school area (some actually own or manage the language school- not sure if that's a prestigious position in your way of thinking or not). But if someone has decided to stay in a single country for the long haul, then they may end up moving between 'prestigious position' and language school and back depending on the way hiring goes. You have to tell yourself that so long as it's in language teaching, then it will improve you as a teacher.
"Prestigious positions" in EFL is a bit problematic. I think it may vary on where someone is located, but a lot of the time, people in EFL (but not ESL) equate prestige with salary. And at least some of the jobs in EFL with high salaries have high salaries (even compared to other jobs in the same category- comparing different university positions, or comparing different private high school direct hire positions) simply because it would be impossible to keep people without the high salary (often because of workplace culture). For people in ESL, prestige comes from no longer teaching ESL, but rather teaching TESL (being a teacher trainer). That means getting a PhD. Teaching university level ESL is, of course, still more prestigious then teaching in a private language school (but very often not exactly stable for the long-term).
| Quote: |
| I often long for the more carefree lifestyle that being an efl teacher provides |
And if you are unlucky enough to have the kind of position I just described, then you may find yourself longing for the days when you stocked shelves at some big boxstore or grocery store because it didn't feel like you were being harassed from the time you arrived until the time you left, and pressured to come in earlier and stay later each day (meaning that the social contact and freedom that you are longing for may just not be there).
| Quote: |
I�m just testing the waters here, I�m considering quitting my �prestigious� (but pain in the butt) job and would like a more balanced lifestyle but social pressures/ego/masculine identity and fancy job title etc. weigh heavily and are factors that are 'clouding' my judgement. |
A rolling stone gathers no moss. If you want to work in TEFL, then go for it. But don't be surprised when you discover in a year or less that you want to move up the TEFL ladder or go back to something else. If you want to climb the TEFL ladder, then you will need to work at getting higher profile positions (the ones I described earlier) and qualifications (an MA TESOL or Applied Linguistics, and probably publications).
Can you leave your current prestigious position and return to that work area later? If you work outside of education now, can you see yourself teaching in a kindergarten to senior high (k12) system in your home country? If you can, have you thought about doing a teacher qualification certificate and doing that instead of returning overseas? If you can't see yourself doing that, then you may want to ask yourself why you want to get back into TEFL, which is an education area (especially when it is approached as a career instead of a break). If you are more set on teaching university level, then that masters degree will be the minimum, and the way things are going in at least some countries, then a PhD may be something you will want or need. Or else maybe a second masters degree in another area (like an MBA plus an MA TESOL to teach business English at a university, even though you are just going through a "business English" textbook and your MBA wasn't in marketing communications anyway so the only part that is really very useful is the jargon for that area {like if your MBA is in Human Resources instead of marketing / communications}).
If you google "EFL teacher loser" then you can find articles that point out that most EFL teachers who are 35+ are male (an age you referred to as middle aged, although the JET program- a program for youth- has an age cut-off of 40. Either way, I'm older than both of those now). But if you look at ESL teachers, most are female. I started in ESL, and heard more than once that 'all males who want to teach English language are just in it to get an exotic wife'. Not true, but it's a common assumption and it makes it difficult for males to get hired as ESL teachers (although many areas decry the lack of males primary/ junior teachers and even make it easier to get into a B.Ed program for males who want to teach at that level, it's also often extremely difficult for males to get hired full time teaching that level because of the unspoken "there must be something wrong with him"). It isn't uncommon for males who trained as ESL teachers or elementary school teachers to go overseas to teach. And that means more and more who are 35+.
I'm not going to tell you what to do. It isn't uncommon for people to leave a work area and start in TEFL. Or to return to TEFL. You can look at it as a break. You can look at it as starting out in education. You can use it to get into a teacher qualification in your home country and teach there. You can use it to get into a masters in TESOL and then teach it at universities or other higher profile positions. You can use it to get into EFL publishing, but would probably need to get some sort of publishing qualification (and publishing, by and large, doesn't pay as well as TEFL, unless you're one of the head honchos).
I think about the only age-related generalization I could make is that people who are 35+ teaching EFL who have been doing it for a while are going to be career educators or working in a closely related area (management at a dispatch company, or maybe in educational publishing). Maybe they'll go back to the country where they grew up and become k12 teachers. Or maybe they will teach overseas, but probably will have chosen a single country to teach in as opposed to going from country to country starting over each time (and that means normally that they are going for the higher profile positions). People 35+ who begin teaching EFL usually seem to research it more thoroughly beforehand and take it more seriously once they are here (don't forget, though, that if you decide to come back and teach EFL at a language school with a bunch of 24year old recent university grads, that the care-free lifestyle will very likely not include hanging out with those particular co-workers). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
|
| Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:11 pm Post subject: Re: Considering a return to efl teaching |
|
|
| MdSmith wrote: |
| I�m just testing the waters here, I�m considering quitting my �prestigious� (but pain in the butt) job and would like a more balanced lifestyle but social pressures/ego/masculine identity and fancy job title etc. weigh heavily and are factors that are 'clouding' my judgement. |
In another thread, you mentioned that you prefer to continue teaching environmental science, your PhD focus. It seems like you need a change in scenery. If that's the case, you might consider teaching in the exotic UAE, where your "Dr." will get you a very good salary and benefits as well as prestige. In fact, one of the top unis in Dubai is currently seeking PhD holders in your field.
For academic and non-academic opportunities in the Gulf, try the following links:
Bayt
CareerJet
HigherEdJobs
The Chronicle
GulfTalent
(Oh, by the way, 35 is not even close to being middle aged!  ) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
|
| Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Much of Gambatebingbangboom's post seems to me to be geographically specific.
For example:
| Quote: |
| For people in ESL, prestige comes from no longer teaching ESL, but rather teaching TESL (being a teacher trainer). That means getting a PhD. Teaching university level ESL is, of course, still more prestigious then teaching in a private language school (but very often not exactly stable for the long-term). |
Teacher trainer in Europe and North America is often done with a DELTA, which is a more practically-based qualification than some MAs. Have NEVER heard of a PhD being required to train teachers.
| Quote: |
| If you google "EFL teacher loser" then you can find articles that point out that most EFL teachers who are 35+ are male (an age you referred to as middle aged, although the JET program- a program for youth- has an age cut-off of 40. Either way, I'm older than both of those now). But if you look at ESL teachers, most are female. |
What??
I do, however, agree with this bit, and I think it's worth repeating:
| Quote: |
| I think about the only age-related generalization I could make is that people who are 35+ teaching EFL who have been doing it for a while are going to be career educators or working in a closely related area (management at a dispatch company, or maybe in educational publishing). Maybe they'll go back to the country where they grew u | | | |
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
