Job Discussion Forums

[taobenli]

Hello-

I'm writing this on behalf of a friend, who doesn't get to a computer with internet as often as I do. My friend graduated this last summer with a B.A. degree in the sciences (mostly geology and chemistry, but has some general knowledge of all sciences). She applied and was accepted to the Peace Corps and was told that she would be sent somewhere in Asia this coming February. She was also told that she would get to teach science, something she was really excited about and would be really good at. She's very adventurous and at a good place in her life to travel and get out of the U.S. for a while.

She got a call today from the Peace Corps telling her they would place her in Africa, not Asia. That alone would probably have been okay with her, but they also told her that she would have to teach primary school EFL (rather than science as she had been promised). She is much more interested in Asia in general and really wanted to gain SCIENCE teaching experience from this. So now she is thinking of withdrawing her application and trying to get to Asia to teach through some other program.

So...does anyone know of any program in which my friend can teach science in Asia? Or any schools that regularly need science teachers? I'm sure she wouldn't mind teaching SOME English as well, but science is her thing. Like I said, she really isn't picky, and money is not a primary factor (obviously not since she was going to go on a program like Peace Corps). She was planning to be sent to either China, Thailand, Bangladesh, Mongolia or Nepal (except I think their volunteers left recently?) and I think would be happy with any of these places or other Asian countries.

I would really appreciate your help!

[sojourner]

Hi Taobenli,

Do a www search for 'overseas aid organisations', 'overseas volunteers','NGOs', and the like. I'm sure that you'll come up with something. In the city in Jiangxi province, where I was working last year, there were a couple of teachers (an American and a Brit) at a college who were volunteers attached to an organisation called Amity. Also, one of my own colleagues in Jiangxi is an ex-Amity volunteer. Amity have close relations with some of the mainline Protestant churches in the US (and elsewhere). However, they are NOT into proselytising - they strive to establish good relations with both the (officially recognised) Chinese Christian churches AND the local authorities. Amity appear to treat their teachers very well, eg: personal support/counselling, orientation, training, termination payment, etc. If your friend is interested in working as a volunteer teacher in China, with Amity, please pm me, and I'll ask my ex-colleague if she would contact you. However, I believe that most Amity postings, nowadays, are to the more remote and poorest areas of the country.

I should stress that your friend should be very wary of any organisation that purports to be 'volunteer', 'non profit', 'humanitarian' and the like.There are many genuine organisations - but there would also appear to be some very shonky outfits out there. Some organisations appear to have special arrangements with schools, unis, and local education authorities to reduce salary bills by inducing idealistic and naive people to come over - often at their own expense ! - and to work for peanuts, and often just for meals and accommodation . And many such 'volunteer' jobs are often at schools and colleges that could well pay their teachers salaries at market rates. Genuine volunteer organisations have an important role to play in providing teachers for remote and poverty-stricken areas - but not so much for the more prosperous south east of the country ! The activities of dodgy 'volunteer' organisations, in providing low (and non) salaried teachers for schools and colleges in relatively prosperous areas , only tends to undermine the salaries and conditions of professional FTs. So, if your friend is adamant that she wants to work for a volunteer organisation, she should make sure that it is a genuine one: ascertain which part of the country she will be sent to, what sort of support will she be provided with, etc. If she is expected to pay her own airfare to China (or wherever), with no firm promise of reimbursement, and/or is asked to pay a (hefty) registration or service charge, she should have nothing further to do with them !

Unfortunately, it would seem, from what I have heard, that some genuine volunteer organisations may have been (still are?) hoodwinked by unscrupulous schools and colleges who had 'pleaded poverty'.This can happen when such organisations don't have any local (and reliable) people 'on the ground' who can report back to head office on the real state of things. I have heard that Amity do have reliable sources of local information in the provinces where it is based . Hopefully, ditto, with regards to the other highly-respected and long-established organisations.

You mentioned that money is of no real concern for your friend. However, most professional FTs in China are not out to make a lot of money, either ! If your friend is not happy with the services provided by volunteer organisations, she may wish to apply for a job in the same manner that the rest of us use, viz. applying directly to schools/colleges/unis, or dealing through recruiters. Most of out contracts provide for airfare reimbursement and housing, as well as for salaries,allowances,etc. With a science degree, your friend may well be offered a job teaching science, as well as Oral English. It's also possible that she may be asked to teach something called 'science English' ! ( Because of my own academic background, nowadays, in colleges and universities, I teach mainly Western Culture - far more interesting than Oral English !). Ask your friend to do a search for unis and colleges that have departments in disciplines that interest her, and then to send them copies of her CV. I'm sure that she'll have no trouble in getting a job in the uni/college sector. Also, does she have a TESOL qualification, such as CELTA ?

Please pm me should you require any further info.

Regards,

Peter

[taobenli]

Thanks, that's really helpful! I forwarded your message along to my friend.

Anyone else have any ideas? Volunteer programs you have done that you loved?

taobenli

[Micro67]

I wish I had seen this sooner. I served in Peace Corps in Micronesia (the 67th group, hence the monicer) for 2 years.

I loved my Peace Corps time and hope your friend gets a chance to go, but no matter what they are told I would suggest that the chances of actually doing the job Peace Corps invites you to do are slim. The actual job description is variable to say the least.

Please feel free to contact me about Peace Corps or anything I might be able to help with.

[PKB]

What exactly do you do in the Peace Corps? For some reason I keep envisioning digging wells in rural villages.

[Micro67]

[travelingirl68]

In Kazakstan, most vounteers worked as TEFL instructors - whether they were recruited or even assigned to teach science or work in business. It was something my recruiter warned me about in advance - go for TEFL to begin with, and you won't be disappointed. (At least in Central Asia!) I loved my P.C. time, but you definitely get out of it what you put into it.

~Kaz11~

[matthews_world]

I've also researched the P.C. and if I ever get my Master's degree in Teaching finished, I'll certainly join.

From what I understand, most with Master's degrees can pretty much get the more technical positions - teaching, ESL, business, etc.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, although, as usual, we've gone off-track as usual.

[travelingirl68]

From what I could tell by the behavior of my recruiter, if you have a Master's degree and work experience, you can do pretty much anything you want. If you have a bachelor's with substantial work experience, you can do pretty much anything you want... I had done corporate training for 8 years and done program and training for the Girl Scouts for 4 years before that - had my pick of assignments... (that is without a Master's) PM me Matthew if you want more details.