Job Discussion Forums

[jellyfish]

I'm not exactly a newbie, I've been teaching in Korea for the last two years, and I taught in Africa with the Peace Corps for two. I love this job, I love the travel and the opportunities to meet new challenges living overseas. In addition, teaching EFL allowed me to meet my wife.

I'm enrolling into a master's program for TEFL in Poland. My wife and I have been planning our budgets and lifestyle there. Today we found that my wife is six weeks pregnant!

My question on this post is simply this. Are there teachers on these boards with families? I'm very worried that I simply won't be able to support the family teaching. We're fairly open on where we live, though we definitely don't want to live in Korea anymore. Our dream destination is Eastern Europe.

We're not looking to save tons of money or move about. We're looking for a mostly permanent place to live and raise our children in the country we're living in.

Any advice, warnings, or reality checks would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Gordon]

Of course there are people with families out there teaching and thriving overseas. I support a wife and 2 young kids and live in Japan. I think you have the right idea, get more education. You need to get those good jobs if you want to support a family and you need a masters if you want to stay a step ahead of the competition.
There are many places out there that make it difficult to support a family if you expect your kids to have a high standard of living with all the fancy toys. However, from experience, kids need very little to be happy, in fact your time and love far outweigh anything you could buy them.

[younggeorge]

Gordon's right in everything he says. My worries would be:

1. The timing of your first child - I didn't have kids to support till I'd got the MA under my belt

2. Your choice of location. Eastern Europe is not renowned for good pay and conditions. On the other hand, it should be relatively inexpensive to live in.

3. The value of a Polish MA. Who's awarding it and will it be rcognised if you later want to get a job somewhere that pays better?

But you say you've planned your budget and all, so I presume you're going into it with your eyes open - go for it: if your priorities are the job and your family, you'll make it work.

[Cdaniels]

I would say pretty much everything depends on your wife. Does she work in TEFL? Does she have promising job prospects in Poland? Kids need very little to be happy, but ,ultimately, it will probably be your wife who decides if their standard of living is satisfactory.

[jellyfish]

Thank you all for your responses. We've saved enough money to live with baby in Poland for the eighteen months of school. As far as I know, the university is accredited throughout the EU, North America and Asia. We're not sure of the Middle East, though.

My wife is TEFL certified, and she's also in process of getting her yoga instructor certification. She wants to open her own studio down the road.

Gordon, how are your children treated in school? Or do they attend an international school? We're strongly considering Hong Kong or Japan, but we're worried that schooling would be a strong issue.

Again, thank you all for your help and easing my worries.

[Gordon]

[jellyfish]

I'll be attending Jagellionian University in Krakow. Its a full time program, so I should be finished with my MA TEFL in 18 months.

[Gordon]

How do you know it is recognized internationally? Many employers look askance at degrees not earned in an English-speaking country, unless it is a branch campus from one of those countries.