Job Discussion Forums

[EnglishBrian]

I've just met up again with the Director of the small (4-7 teachers) language school where I got my first TEFL job in '99. He is closing down, primarily because he couldn't get decent teachers. When I started there I was fresh of CELTA and all the other teachers were 'Eastern Europe Hacks' - at least one other EE country under their belt, reasonably creative and motivated teachers. Pay wasn't great but you got it (some teachers even left without paying back advances), no split shifts, you could eat out and drink out as much as you wanted, travel round the country - we were on the coast with nice beaches and National Park. Everyone had an unshared flat - in the centre (smallish) or suburbs (big), bills paid.

Apparantly the last year or so, he just couldn't get decent teachers (for example who might possibly supplement Headway from resource books or look and act 'professionally' going to a company). Alcoholic and neurotic drifters who were leaving in the middle of the night, was how he was describing the people he could get and at least one person just didn't turn up at the airport after agreeing to go.

Believe me I'm the last person to defend some of this guy's truly annoying characteristics, but compared to many places you hear about it was 'ok' and a good place to start TEFLing if you were determined to do it.

I'm really and honestly wondering (makes sod all difference to me now), just out of curiosity, where you Newbies are going (or hope to go) for your first jobs and why? What is it that's attracting you to this business? What do you look for in a school and a city/country?

[ls650]

When I started my first job, I wanted a known school with a decent reputation in a tropical location. I looked at Asia and Latin America; eastern Europe strikes me as dreary and dank (stereotyping on my part, I know).

[younggeorge]

All I was looking for was a job that would give me a place in the sun and just enough money to stay there. I had almost no idea what I was going to (Southern Turkey in the early 1970s) and was lucky that it turned out to be just what I was looking for, plus a decent bunch of people to work with and a salary I could even save on. I suppose I was lucky, maybe times were simpler then, but I'd like to think jobs like that are still out there somewhere.

[dmb]

I am the same as younggeorge. I took the first job I was offered(in Turkey) and had a great time and have never looked back. i am obviously younger than younggeorge though as I made the same move 2 decades later

[31]

[dmb]

31, an interesting idea about the internet contributing to low salaries. Quick everyone turn off now.

[31]

[dmb]

The low salaries and how terrible EFL is that you refer to in about every second post that you write.

[ls650]

31, if you hate TEFL so much, why do you keep doing it?
You should make an escape plan and get out.

[JonnytheMann]

If I love Argentina and decide to stay there for a long time, I'd love to open up my own English Language Institute. I know it would be really challenging, but I think it would be an amazing experience to try it out ... even if I failed.

My dream would be to pay teachers what they're worth and have employees who worked hard for me. I know that's an ideal, but maybe I'll be able to find that. It seems to me there are many sincere English-speakers who are looking to do a real job and get paid decently for it.

At night, I work for a tutoring company here in Nashville. They charge $50/hour and give tutors $12/hour. There are tons of parents willing to pay $50/hour for lessons (SAT, Algebra, Spanish, etc.). The owner is making a killing, and I see him 2-3 times a year. He spends all his time relaxing and having fun. He doesn't do anything. Honestly, there are so many college students here willing to do the work for $12/hour that the wages will never rise. I'd love to start my own tutoring company, but I don't have the capital right now.

Anyway, there is nothing illegal with what the owner is doing, but it just makes me sad in a way. He does no work, and gets rich for it. It's perfectly fair, but it just doesn't seem right. Most tutors end up leaving pretty soon because they realize they just aren't getting paid enough. Wouldn't it be better to pay them a little more but end up with loyal employees who don't resent you? I think I would just be so much happier if I was taking good care of my "flock" of workers. But then, I am a people pleaser who loves to be loved ... hmmm

And then again, there are employees who will cheat and steal from you, so it's a two-way street. Maybe he started out foolish and idealistic like I am. Who knows? What are your thoughts?

[mlomker]

[JonnytheMann]

Why did you have to start your post so rudely? There's a polite way to tell someone information you have, and a rude way.

Who are you kidding? A company like that requires next to no capital other than advertising to start out with...

Computers, text books, tables, desks, chairs, rent, telephone, advertising, photo copy machine, etc. It takes more than just advertising.

Things never get very expensive until you start hiring staff...and even then you can live dangerously and not have liability insurance and whatnot...of course you will eventually get sued and be toast if you don't have that, and a lawyer, and be incorporated, etc.

We're not hired as staff. The tutors are all independent contractors. It costs him nothing to hire us. He just has to pay us $12/hour. Every extra hour of work we do for him, his company pulls in $38 of revenue.

The fact of the matter is that the boss probably does a hell of a lot of work--attracting clients, retaining teachers, paying for taxes, liability insurance, advertising, and everything else that you never think of before you start your own company. I bet he keeps about as much of that $50 as he pays the tutors...and that's fair for all the work and liability that he's taking on.

Actually, the owner does absolutely nothing. He has an office manager who does all that work (attracting clients, paying taxes, etc). He does nothing other than play music all day with his band. He doesn't do anything. And far from "retaining teachers", they basically give you the shove after you've been there a year because they don't want to give you that promised raise to $13/hour after you've been there a year.

The company probably has about 200 hours of tutoring/week during the school year. After paying the tutors, that's $7,600/week. Let's say insurance, rent, costs, the office manager's salary, etc. cost $3,000/week (which in my opinion is a huge over-estimate), that's still $4,600/week of profit for the boss who does no work. That's more than $15,000/month. That's easily more than $100,000/year.

As I stated before, the owner is very wealthy, and does nothing but play golf and play guitar in his band. Hey, it's America. He's living the American dream. But meanwhile, the tutors get burned after a year or two in favor of fresh new $12/hour tutors. Not only that, but the conditions for the tutors are pretty crappy. It just makes me sad to see a business run where everything is about the bottom line and getting rich, and no thought is put into making the world a better place or helping your loyal employees to make it in the world. I would do things differently. I hope one day I can, either here or in Argentina.

[babaoreiley]

It doesn't look like any newbies have answered the OP; only the vets have participated. I'm a newbie working on finding my first overseas job. I've taken a pretty large geographical area from Eastern Europe, across Asia, to the Pacific to find work. It's a way to keep my options open to many different places and familiarize myself with the TEFL market in several countries. The main areas I am looking at are Southeastern Europe, the former Soviet Republics, and some spots in Southeast Asia. My interest in these regions stems from my undergraduate studies.

What attracted me to TEFL, initially, was that it would allow me to live and work in one of the countries that I had been spending so much time researching. I hoped to pick-up the local language and use that as a springboard to a graduate program in preferably East European or post-Communist studies. Interestingly, once I got involved and teaching, I really came to enjoy English language instruction. It's a heck of a lot of fun and a really interesting line of work. I loved my practicum teaching, and I am really enjoying my current ESL position. I'm digging further into SLA theory and am exploring various teaching methodologies. Maybe I have lucked into a career. Who knows? Before making the jump to a possible advanced degree in TEFL, I want to teach overseas for awhile and see if it is what I really want. So, I was pleasantly surprised with my ESL/EFL training. I came into it looking at it as a means to an end, and found it to be something I may do for the long haul.

What I am looking for is a country that fits my interests stated above. I have found a plethora of opportunities in these regions and don't foresee any serious problems in arranging employment. My major concern is to put myself in the best environment possible for my first position. This basically means that I want a school that has a teacher development program, a strong supporting staff, a positive work environment, a focus on teaching and learning, a decent sized resource library would be nice, and flexibility in lesson-planning. Decent enough pay for an adequate lifestyle would also be a plus.

The attraction of TEFL is that it can allow me to live in almost anyplace in the world, and it gives me the chance to teach a really fun subject and get paid for it. To me, that's a pretty great combo.

The negativity coming from many quarters does give me some pause. Sometimes it really bothers me to read about the problems in this business, especially those ones emanating from EFL teachers. It sucks that some prospective employer may look unfavorably upon a new TEFL teacher, because of bad experiences with newbies in the past. Not all of us are cowboys.

[younggeorge]

[babaoreiley]

I am a recent graduate with a BA in History, and I have a TEFL Cert. from Hamline U. Currently, I am teaching ESL in St. Paul, MN, and I am hoping to head overseas by mid-August.

BTW, thanks for the encouragement!