Job Discussion Forums

[castlem]

I'll graduate in December with a BA in English. I want to take an intensive CELTA outside the USA and then start a TEFL career as quickly as possible after finishing the CELTA. How quickly do you think I could obtain a job in a Middle Eastern country if I took the CELTA in that country? In which country do you think I'd have the best chance of quickly finding a job with a livable wage?

I know the questions is vague. Here's a little bit more information about what I'm looking for in terms of my first TEFL job:
- A positive teaching experience (organized school, curriculum or some support, paid on time, reasonable hours, etc) over a higher salary
- An employer with a decent reputation (I don't want to teach somewhere that will reflect so badly on me that it would be hard to get better jobs in the future)
- A chance to interact with locals outside of the classroom, not a social life that is based around the expat community (not so sure about living and working in a western compound)
- A job in an Arabic speaking nation (I speak\read\write Arabic)
- A legal job

I'm willing to adapt to the expectations on women in a Muslim nation, whether that's Egypt or something a lot more conservative, including Saudi. I've heard there might be a shortage of female teachers in the UAE, and there are a number of CELTA programs there, so maybe that's a good option.

Here's a little more information about myself and what I will have to offer:
- BA in English, including courses in English Grammar, Applied Linguistics, and History of the English Language
- Majored in technical writing - good at explaining complex subjects in plain English
- CELTA
- No teaching experience
- 25 years old
- Female
- White American
- Single, no kids

So, where do you think I should start my career? If you wanted to take the CELTA in the ME and get a decent job quickly after the CELTA, where would you go?

Thanks!
Michelle

[Gnome]

Not what you want to hear, but I'd try the CIA or some other "intelligence" group. Arabic speakers with your technical writing background should be in great demand. You would think! There certainly isn't much future in TESL/TEFL. Just too many of us and, as a result, the good opportunities and benefits are getting scarce. Seems everyone can teach English these days.

[younggeorge]

I don't know about the CIA, but your chances of a decent job in the UAE with a new degree, CELTA and no experience are close to nil. The big employers here all want an MA and experience. North Africa and Turkey might be better starting places (yes, I know they don't speak Arabic in Turkey!)

[veiledsentiments]

Michelle

Assuming that you want to stay in teaching, at your age and with your experience level, you are pretty much restricted to North Africa or the Levant. I fear that you have been misinformed about the UAE. There is a shortage of decent jobs with a livable wage for anyone at your level. Almost all of the acceptable jobs require an MA and years of related experience.

As an American, I would suggest that you look into the American Language Centers and AMIDEAST schools. They are dependable organizations meeting your criteria. There are opportunities in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria to mention a few. The problem is that few of them hire large numbers of full-time teachers, so you often have to do privates or work with more than one language school until a full-time position opens up. The pay is enough to survive in the local culture, but you won't be able to save much or pay off large debts in the US, if you have any. These are also the countries that will allow you to live within and interact with the local culture.

In the Gulf, it is very different and the local people rarely socialize with expats. Their lives are taken up with the large families and the obligations this entails. They don't have the time or the necessity to have many friends outside of that. Other than the occasional wedding invitation, you rarely interact with the local people outside of your students in the classroom.

VS

[dmb]

[Gnome]

Michelle offered some very good advice. I would also try Oman and Yemen. They don't pay much, but the experience should be worthwhile at your age and stage in your career. Although I would still rethink TESL/TEFL as a career option. If you really want to teach, get a one year teaching certificate and then a "real job."

[veiledsentiments]

You're right gnome, I forgot Yemen. AMIDEAST has a good school there. Oman is one of my favorite places, but the jobs at her level of education and experience would not pay enough to live comfortably since it is very expensive.

And I think if she wants to stay in this field in the Middle East, she needs an MA. But, at her age, she has a few years to make this move.

VS

[castlem]

Thanks for all the helpful (and realistic) answers. I think I'd prefer living in North Africa anyway. I'll look into those schools, VS.

After graduation, I think I will do a CELTA course and try life teaching English. But if it doesn't work out, I have enough money saved to get me home and into a "real job" as a technical writer.

If I do enjoy teaching English and decide I want to do it for years to come, I would get a MA.

Thanks again,
Michelle