Job Discussion Forums

[nadineking]

Hi all,
I am an Aussie social worker living in New York. I was thinking of doing a TESOL course and trying to get work here, it has been a little discouraging although helpful to hear the comments here about the difficulty of finding full time long term positions in NY. I have a further complication in that I am on a holiday visa and need someone to sponsor me to work (I can pay for the legal fees but it has to be full time and a mutual committment over a year at least)
Does anyone have any feedback re this as to whether there is any chance of this or should I forget the whole thing???
Nadine

[Twisting in the Wind]

Hi NadineKing,

As an American who taught ESL in Los Angeles for many, many years, let me assure you there is no shortage of native American teachers seeking work. That may put you at a disadvantage, as might your Aussie accent---ss who come here do so because they want to learn standard American English. Your accent might put them off and an employer might be hesitant to hire you--I'm using "might" a lot because it really all depends--mostly on the employer--at my schools we had a few teachers from other countries--a few originally from Germany who had very cultured, "high" English accents; and one Turkish woman with a British accent...so it just all depends. If this is really what you want to do, I'd suggest you go for your dreams! Life is too short!! Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you'd like!

[nolefan]

There were some listings in the job section just a few weeks back but I'm afraid you will be facing an uphill battle as far as sponsorship goes. The homeland security crap has made it 10 times harder to get any kind of work permit in the US right now and most employers are trying to avoid getting involved in that as much as they can.

You might have a better chance at getting sponsored by looking outside of the ESL field and more into normal education as there is a shortage of teachers.