Job Discussion Forums

[hallidayml]

Hi, I am feeling massively overwhelmed looking for my first teaching job. I have heard great things about this forum and appreciate any guidance you may have to offer.

I have many questions right now but a couple of more pressing ones are with regards to finding a job without a BA. What Countries or areas are still open to me without a degree? Is it ever advisable to use a recruitment agency? If so any suggestions?

Again hats off to your bravery! Thanks for the help. Michelle H

[Irish]

If you feel overwhelmed now, just wait till the replies to your post start coming in.

It's not enough to know that you want to teach without a degree. What's your nationality? What's your age? (I hope you're not offended but this matters for visa requirements in certain countries.) Do you have some idea of where you want to go? What age group would you like to teach? What languages do you speak? Do you have some type of TESL/TEFL certification? If not, are you considering one?

If you haven't done so already, look through the Job Information Journal and read the posts there to get a feel for the different countries. For questions about specific countries, post in those forums where informed people are more likely to see your questions. If you're really brave, read "I want a job, but I have no degree. Gimme!" in this forum.

Finally, I have to ask why you want to do this. Are you looking for adventure or money? Are you considering teaching as a career and think this is a good way to do a test run? Maybe you should first determine what it is you want out of this experience then try to figure out where and how you can make that happen.

I know you're still in the information gathering stage but you really do need to narrow it down in order to get good advice.

[TokyoLiz]

Look again at the thread "I want a job, but I have no degree. Gimme!" and read it carefully.

Irish asked the essential question - why do you want to go?

[scot47]

You can write off the ME if you are not a graduate.
Thailand ? People's Republic of China ?

You will get the worst jobs. Low pay. And all the rest.

[Albulbul]

Do youself a favour. Go and get a degree. It will make life easier in getting a tecahing job and it will make it easier when you get back to wherever home is.

Now I expect you to throw a tantrum because this is not the advice you wanted, But it is the right advice. If you do not like it I am sorry.

[bnix]

The reason you are feeling"massively overwhelmed" in looking for a job without the degree is that you are competing against a lot of people out there WITH degrees.This is just the reality of the situation.Of course,this does not mean you are a bad person,or anything.It just means you need to get a degree, as the other posters told you.They gave you EXCELLENT advice....and I definitely agree 100 percent with them.As one of the other posters also noted,why did you choose this field? It might seem like"the path of less resistance"...but it usually isn't ...and as one of the other posters pointed out....if you try to go into this field with NO degree....you will probably be limited to scammy,semi-volunteer jobs("think of the experience,but very little money"!!)

Please do not do that to yourself.There are people in this field who will give you good advice.We do not want to see anyone else get burned.Most of us have already seen enough people burned in this field and have probably been burned ourselves.Take the excellent advice of the other posters and get that degree.Also,look at non-TESOL options.Do NOT put all of your eggs in the TESOL basket.Best of luck to you.

[scot47]

The question of how to get a job without a degree comes up againa and again. Now over on thge Teacher Training Forum they are asking iof they can a job without finishing High School ?

What next. ? "My partenr don't read too good but she wans teach English in Japon ."

[Joachim]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. In all three (Asian) countires where I have taught before, I've taught alongside people with degrees who were terrible, uninspired and dull, and people without them who were innovative, creative and original.

There are more important things than documentation and employers do realise this. Your job hunt will be harder without a degree, but by no means impossible.

If you are American or Canadian you can get a working holiday visa for Japan without a degree, although you'll be taxed more than if you had one.

In Thailand, the PRC, Eastern Europe, Indonesia you should be able to get a job with no qualifications whatsoever, so long as you're willing to sign a one year contract. In Hong Kong you should be able to as well, although you'll probably only be able to find part-time work unless you really manage to prove yourself.

Good Luck!

And by the attitude of some people on this board, I'd think they were afraid of the competition.......just a thought.

[denise]

[Joachim]

Denise,

Not my intention to sound harsh, apologies.
I am by no means anti-degree, I have two, plus CELTA certification, but I merely wanted to point out to whoever began this post, that you can still have an ESL career without one, as other people who had responded to this post seemed intent on discouraging this person.

Believe me, I am all for professionalism (and you do meet a large number of unprofessional ESL teachers, paricularly in Asia), but lets not expect people to kiss our ass just because we sat in classes for three years. It's an achievement, but there are far greater ones

J

[nik_knack0828]

Well, I'm currently in Chengde China, with no degree. I graduated from high school in 2002, took some university courses at my local University College. But I didn't really know what I wanted to do for the rest my life. I wanted to travel, but no money.
I heard about a TESL course being held in town. I jumped on the opertunity. I learned a ton and loved it. Then I decided to look for a job in Thailand.
I had no luck finding jobs that didn't require a degree, so I started to look at China. I started with recruiters, but after reading about their reputations on the boards, I ended up looking at individual schools. I contacted about a million, plus a few more recruiters. I got lots of replies back, and was able to be choosey. I had 5 good jobs to pick from. One in Harbin, one in Guangdong, and the rest between. I picked a recruiting agency from Shijiazhuang. They arranged my job and are currently getting me my visa. I get paid 4000 RMB, work 14 hours at a college and have the biggest apartment of all the FTs in town (of the 4 I've met). All the other teachers in town have degrees, and I get paid the most and work the least hours (according to the other FT). Pretty good deal, I'd say.
Anyways... I went through www.teachinchina.cn
Mr. Dou is the main guy's name.
They're good people.
So far.
If you have any questions feel free to pm me.

[khmerhit]

Michelle,
I have one word for you:

cambodia

OK, two words. Dont use a recruiter. Just go to Cambodia. Or Vietnam.

"What Countries or areas are still open to me without a degree?"

KAMPU_CHEA!!

[ls650]

[denise]

Just out of curiosity, does everyone realize that this thread is now more than a year old? (Talk about longevity! And we thought the "exotic partners" thread would never go away...)

d

[Stephen Jones]

I would advise anybody tninking of going into EFL without a degree to get one first; and when they've got one to go into something else

The real problem with going into EFL in Asia without a degree is that you set off at eighteen or nineteen from High School and teach a few years in Asia, but then you find yourself with responsibilties, no longer overjoyed at the prospect of yet another party, and worst your employability is falling even faster than your hair.