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denises
Joined: 18 Jun 2005
Posts: 11
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 Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:15 am Post subject: does it exist-stable job with 3 months off |
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In the U.S. teachers work 9 months and get about 3 months off while the students are on break. Does such a position exist for esl teachers abroad? ex, with international schools, university jobs, local language schools ect. Im not so much interested in good pay but a position that allows for a few months to see family in the states. Im a newbie so hoping to see if my dreams have a remote chance of becoming reality before my hopes get too high!
Any ideas? how would one even go about getting/finding this ideal job? |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:43 am Post subject: |
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| Since you haven't mentioned any countries in your desired target list, it might help to know what your qualifications are. That way, everyone will know how to help in every country. |
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denises
Joined: 18 Jun 2005
Posts: 11
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| Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:38 am Post subject: newbie |
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Im a newbie. I have a dual degrees in BA biology/ BS in business, 24 have no teaching experience but hope to dget admitted into the jet program in Japan. Then if all goes well Ill be teaching in one of the following countries: Thailand, Brazil, Costa Rica, Argentina, Peru, or Chile. So im in the ealry stages of planning! Just out of curiousity would my degree subjects hurt or help me?
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I believe Argentina might be best bet, Id be very interested in hearing if its possible to do such a thing in costa rica. Rumor has it Brazil is difficult to legally work in as an American.
By the time I start working, I hope to be semi-fluent in espanol as well. Ive thought about the peace corps might im leaning towards independent work. |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 4:38 pm Post subject: Re: does it exist-stable job with 3 months off |
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| denises wrote: |
In the U.S. teachers work 9 months and get about 3 months off while the students are on break. Does such a position exist for esl teachers abroad?
Any ideas? how would one even go about getting/finding this ideal job? |
I've been teaching for 30 years -- 20 of those were in public schools in the USA -- and I've yet to find a teaching job where I got 3 months off while students were on break. During my stint in the USA, much of my summer "vacations," which were never a full 3 months long, were spent taking university courses for recertification, attending summer workshops, and/or preparing things for the upcoming school year.
If you work for a private language school, in many parts of Latin America I think you would have to work close to year-around in order to earn enough to live on. In most teaching situations in Latin America, I think it's doubtful that you could afford to take 3 months off. At the university where I teach, our summer break is 3 weeks, although I know of some universities where they have a much longer summer break.
Just out of curiosity, what would you do and how would you support yourself during your 3 months "back home" every summer? |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 9:40 pm Post subject: |
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I've worked in university/college type positions in Asia since about 1992. the minimum vacation I've had so far was about six weeks - the max about 4.5 months (which I have right now).
Generally speaking, these university/college level jobs will require at least a semi-relevant graduate degree and previous experience.
So . . . yes, these jobs do exist - but you may have difficulty landing them without more education and or experience.
But! Some programs like Jet in Japan and EPIK in Korea - might get you some four to six-week vacations . . . maybe. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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From the JET web page:
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How many days of paid holiday do participants receive?
It varies among Contracting Organisations but generally 10-20 days, with more than 10 days being standard. Saturdays,
Sundays and Japanese national holidays are generally days off. |
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denises
Joined: 18 Jun 2005
Posts: 11
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| Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 1:27 pm Post subject: |
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do stable 6 month positions exist?ex, work 6 months a year teaching english at a school in latin america every year? Im guessing the only way that exists is freelancing..
On the other 6 months Id like to open up a small kayak touring company in south florida during the summer months |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 2:44 pm Post subject: Some ideas |
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| denises wrote: |
| do stable 6 month positions exist?ex, work 6 months a year teaching english at a school in latin america every year? Im guessing the only way that exists is freelancing... |
I'm only familiar with one little corner of Latin America, so my thinking may be off base on this, but based on what I've observed here . . .
Most language schools give hiring preference to applicants who are willing to commit themselves to at least a year's employment. It's possible to find teaching jobs that last for less than a year -- usually from around August through December or from January through June -- but even schools that run on that type of schedule usually prefer to hire teachers who indicate that they plan to stay longer than just one term. Also, as you can see, those terms don't coincide very well with spending 6 summer months in Florida.
Freelancing could be a possibility, I suppose. Yet, I think most who are successful at freelancing do so by building up a good reputation in a particular geographic location. That might be difficult to do if you're only here for 6 months at a time.
In the area where I am, I'm not sure how one would deal with immigration and visas on that type of schedule. If one choses to work illegally on a tourist visa -- which some do, but I personally wouldn't recommend -- the max is 180 days, which would give you close to 6 months in the country. If you work legally, a work visa is pretty expensive if you only get 6 months of work out of it. (Whether a work visa is for 3 months, 6 months, or a year, here it costs the same amount of money.)
Another possibility might be to "connect" with a language school owner or DOS in need of someone to teach speciality courses (Business English, Preparation for TOEFL, Preparation for the Cambridge Exams, etc.) If you have the qualifications and experience to teach any of those courses, and the school can't find someone else qualified to teach them, they might be willing to make special arrangements with you to teach those courses for 6 months during the winter. However, just those courses alone probably wouldn't give you enough working hours to live on while you were here. |
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Zero Hero
Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Posts: 944
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 4:07 am Post subject: |
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I have always had three months off a year fully paid, both when on the NET scheme and at universities here in Hong Kong.
Three good reasons for becoming a teacher: June, July, and August. |
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DKatz
Joined: 30 Mar 2005
Posts: 30
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:53 am Post subject: |
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***
Last edited by DKatz on Mon Jan 16, 2006 2:35 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Zero Hero
Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Posts: 944
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:53 am Post subject: |
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| I never said in summer, but a year. Please do read my posts before attempting to offer comments thereon. I had 4-6 weeks in summer, and the rest was during Easter, Christmas, and all the various bank holidays and HK celebrations. The June, July, and August quip relates to university work here in HK where one does have this three-month break. |
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