Job Discussion Forums

clairiot · Joined: 17 Feb 2006 Posts: 2

Hi all-

I am an attorney living in the US. Obviuously I have a BA and a JD. I have been practicing for about 4 years and am getting sick of practicing law, though the pay is pretty good. My wife is completing college with (probably) a BA in English. Like other posters here, I am hitting 30 yoa and like someone else said, am realizing that if I don't do the thing I want to now, inertia will set in and iI'll be essentially stuck where I am.

I have no kids and want to travel. Now the ?'s:

1. In your experience is their any advantage to having a JD? Have you met any former attys doing this sort of law, and if so, did they have a :lkeg up" in any sense?

2. I am most interested in teaching in CHina, which seems to be the easiest. Most places oast that you get free chinese/madarin lessons. In your experience, do you actually learn enough mandarin (opr whatever native language) to use it ( I am thinknig that if I learn enough manadarin I can parlay that experience into my legal background and end up working for an Internatiaonla law firm in Hong Kng or soemthing).

3. How hard/easy is it to find postings with your wife (i.e. if she does EFL as well, what are the chances we can get jopbs together?)

4. Am I a moron for leaving a high(ish) paying job in states where I own a house, etc. to travel the world teaching English?

Thanks all, and great site Dave!

Jizzo T. Clown · Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:06 pm Post subject: Re: Am I an idiot?

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

The person that operates http://www.efl-law.org/ -Paul something or other, is an attorney. Probably a good person to talk to. I believe he is in Korea and is still teaching.

avolkiteshvara · Joined: 15 Feb 2006 Posts: 33 Location: Seattle US

I work in Finance and am going through the same thoughts and feelings. Thought it might comfort you to know there are other "professionals" that need a change of lifestyle.

Calories · Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 361 Location: Chinese Food Hell

1. No.

2. I don't have Chinese lessons at my school.

3. In China, it will be really easy for you and your wife to work together at the same school. A lot of the schools love to hire couples. Couples have eachother so, they won't get so sick and lonely and the school gets to pay for only one apartment instead of two Smile

Don't know about the rest of the world.

4. Nope. What's a high paying job and a house when you are miserable and bored? Financial security is one thing but, when you are beyond that, you should do whatever you want.

acwilliams · Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 6:25 am Post subject:

Calories wrote:

bennyr81 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 45 Location: Poland

maybe im mistaken, and im sure ill be corrected, but isnt mandarin chinese spoken in a lot of mainladn china, plus various dialects and hong kong is primarily cantonese?
Are the languages that similar? My knowledge of chinese etc is, well, non-existent so i could just be blurting out rubbish

sallycat · Joined: 11 Mar 2006 Posts: 303 Location: behind you. BOO!

^^^that's my understanding, too.

mlomker · Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 378

Not sure what your finances are like, but do you need to work? Enrolling full-time in a college studying Mandarin will get you an X visa and allow you to be in the country. Full-time tuition averages $1500/yr.

If you have a few dollars stashed away then it might make sense to spend your first 6 months or year as a college student. Once you are in-country you'll be able to see the schools first-hand and make some connections.

If you have your heart set on teaching, then great, but someone with your background could undoubtedly make more money working for a private employer. Every company in Shanghai is doing business with the US and who better to help them than someone with a US legal education?

clairiot · Joined: 17 Feb 2006 Posts: 2

Thanks for the replies.

I had not thought about going to China to study prior to working there. That might be feasible If I can defer my horrendous student loan payments while I do it (probably not since not f/t).

Getting a law job overseas is very difficult from what I've seen. You basically had to gear all your law school training toward that, done clerkships with Intl law firms, and generally have a business or finance background. Unless of course you want to do international human rights, but there is zero job market for that (short of somehow getting a job w/ the UN). My thought has been if I could get over there and speak the language, it would be much easier to get a job since you can walk in and they can check you out on the spot, rather than going through the normal interview/applicaiton/selection stuff.

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:18 pm Post subject:

Hi there,
No, you aren't necessarily out of your mind. Nor are you necessarily an idiot. Don't really know you... Very Happy

Maybe I'm out of line here, but I feel like I should ask- How do you feel about teaching? Done any? From your original post, it sounds like you're frustrated with your current life, which makes good sense, based on what I know about the legal profession.

But what makes you think teaching English is the answer? You seem to be thinking of it as a way to get out your current situation, and out of the country. Well and good- it's been that way for a lot of us. But have you thought about what teaching entails? I've never taught in China, so don't really know what the standards are like there, but everywhere I have been, teaching can be pretty demanding, and certainly requires professional skills that I don't know if you've thought about. I don't want to go into the "is this a profession" debate here, but know that your chances of being happy teaching are greatly improved if you know how to do it. What would you do to learn?

You seem to be seeing it as a way to eventually move back into a profession that relates more closely to your current line of work and training. Again, good. A lot of people have done that. But your chances are infinitely better if you manage to spend your time teaching in a succesful way, under good circumstances. I think you need to think about what kind of job you could get, and what training/preparation you'll need to do to get the kind you want.

China is reputedly fairly easy to find work in, with lots of places advertising basically for a degree and a pulse. But if you can find a way to skip that rung of the ladder, I think you'll be happier.

I worked with a lawyer a while back- from what I've heard of his teaching career, I don't think there was much of a "leg up" due to being a lawyer. If you find a place that wants a teacher of legal English, it's possible. But in places hiring for general English teachers, I wouldn't think your JD would count too heavily. If you were applying to me, I'd put it in the same category as the various MAs in history, sociology, philosophy, etc, that I see; a sign of a well educated person, which is good, but not directly related to teaching.

Best of luck, and welcome aboard.

Justin