Job Discussion Forums

[shaymckenna]

hi

i have been reading through so many topics and the answers are all really interesting and helpful, but i wanted to ask some questions based on my specific situation...

i was born and raised in the mid-west (of the u.s.)

i just graduated from college, with a BA in photography (in california)

i desperately want to experience life in a another country/culture (i am not too picky about which one, as i have extenuating circumstances explained later)

i have substantial student loans, which i must begin to pay back in april of '05, so I need to be able to actually make money � not just make living expenses somewhere.

i have no �teaching� experience (but lots of experience with kids, nanny, daycare, that sort of thing) and no certification

I would really like to teach esl overseas as I think it would fit (for lack of a better phrase) but am really overwhelmed with the gigantic amount of information concerning the subject� if anybody has any advice for a girl in my position, I would love to hear it. Thank you. peace

[Gordon]

Some countries you may want to consider: Japan, Korea and Taiwan. They are places that hire newbies and you should be able to pay off student loans without having to live like a monk.

[Guy Courchesne]

Yep...anywhere else and you won't be able to pay them back with EFL earnings.

There is the option of deferring your student loans, but that only delays the troubles.

[Glenski]

It's going to take about 3-4 months before you get a job and a work visa and step into that foreign land, so you won't even start earning a paycheck until April or May (I suspect even later). So, you have some time to spare, but you need to start looking NOW.

Your degree makes you "qualified" only for the most basic of teaching jobs in Japan (can't speak for the other countries), and that means conversation schools (eikaiwas) or the JET program, and the deadline for JET applications has long since passed for 2005 hires.

How much will your monthly payments be to repay student loans? In Japan, on a standard eikaiwa wage, you will make 250,000 yen/month before taxes, and half of this is used for basic needs (rent, utilities, food, insurance, and phone). How you spend the remaining 125,000 depends entirely on you and your location, but most people have about 70,000-90,000 yen left over after a conservative nightlife. This remainder will go towards everything else in your life, so budget from there everything from a postage stamp to a weekend at a hot spring resort.

For some basic reading material on Japan, I suggest the FAQs on this site (Japan forum, of course) as well as on www.eltnews.com (Teaching Guide links from the first page). If you want to get a book on the topic, perhaps the latest is the best (Gambette Means Go For It, by Celeste Heiter). Here is a link to that, plus other books.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0971594007/japanzone-20/102-2128765-1600159

If you want to discuss specific issues, fire away, either here or to me personally at [email protected]

[shmooj]

[moonraven]

I suggest you save yourself a whole lot of anguish and pay off those student loans first.

[shmooj]