Job Discussion Forums

paulmanser · Joined: 28 Nov 2005 Posts: 403

Is it possible?

I'm after Poland myself, going through I TO I.

After long-term, not just a couple of years.

Is it true that you can't *go back home* after being abroad too long?

paulmanser · Joined: 28 Nov 2005 Posts: 403

My qualifications will be;

GCSE
A-LEVEL
BA DEGREE
TESOL 4 WEEK CERT, COLLEGE OF TEACHERS ACCRED 150 HOURS 6 HOURS TEACH PRACT
EU PASSPORT
NATIVE SPEAKER FROM UK
2 months experience teaching English at summer camp in Poland
side qualifications as CV booster e.g i to i 60 hour online diploma, eurolink 70 hour diploma
intesol introduct cert.

Is it possible to work as a TEFL teacher till the day you drop basically?

william wallace · Joined: 14 May 2003 Posts: 2869 Location: in between

paulmanser · Joined: 28 Nov 2005 Posts: 403

How long do you think TEFL will be around for? Longs it is around for my lifetime then.........lol not to sound selfish. Very Happy

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

paulmanser · Joined: 28 Nov 2005 Posts: 403

1. Rumours of TEFL dieing out (prob just fake)
2. The pay not being enough
3. finance for retirement

By all means I would want to be a TEFL teacher for life. I wouldnt care about making 500 british pounds a month when your earning twice the local salary Very Happy

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

You can do it for life. It all depends on where you want to teach and what lifestyle you want to lead.

The English-teaching profession is not dying out.

Teaching English has many levels and contexts. Although the majority of jobs are in language schools and language companies, you do not have to restrict yourself to such (low-paying) jobs. And you can get qualifications up to and including graduate degrees.

It's a profession like any other -- if you want to be a professional. Smile

paulmanser · Joined: 28 Nov 2005 Posts: 403

Thanks Henry.

Highly appreciated, cheers.

I don't plan on doing a MA though. BA degree is enough for me. I don't mind doing DELTA courses should I decide to but not MA ect.

saint57 · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 8:40 pm Post subject:

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

Well said, saint57. I agree. If you find yourself still working in private language schools in 30 years, doing the same conversational English classes that you started teaching in your 20s, then something has gone wrong... Yes, you can make a career of it, but there is plenty of room for change. Not just in terms of types of schools and countries--there are curriculum design, teacher training, materials design, assessment, etc.--loads of other sub-fields.

I got into the EFL world when I was 23 and am still loving it at 30. I plan on making a career of it, hopefully branching out into one of those other sub-fields. (Unless I can land that elusive full-time tenured position at a uni in San Francisco!)

d

MELEE · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:39 pm Post subject:

My situation is very similar to Denise's. I started teaching EFL at 22 as a way to get more experience living abroad. I'm now 33, and I love my job. I've grown and changed and learned so much about teaching, learning, and the English language. And everyday I stumble on new things I'd like to learn even more about! I definately consider this a career. If you'd asked me when I was 22, I definately didn't see myself doing this at 30. You can always take it to another level. Don't be so sure you won't want to go for the MA in another 10 years.

But at the same time, don't lock yourself into it either, if you don't enjoy what you are doing, then the people around you won't enjoy it either. You can always change careers, I have an uncle who graduated from nursing school at 52. Of course you can go home again. The question is, will you want to?

paulmanser · Joined: 28 Nov 2005 Posts: 403

Thank you for the replies everyone. Very decent ppl on this forum.

Time will tell. I certainly aim to make this a career. Do not want to join the rat race of 9 to 5 in a office.

Or most BA grads, working in a crappy job while searching for that big earner job.

Malsol · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 1976 Location: Lanzhou

paulmanser · Joined: 28 Nov 2005 Posts: 403

Was waiting for one of those remarks lol.

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:36 pm Post subject:

A note- it sounds like you have a lot of entry level qualifications, which is great, for now. Great for entry level jobs, which is what you want right now.

Personally, I've hit the point where with my qualifications (Trinitry Cert TESOL) I an unlikely to get a better job than I have right now. And honestly, hitting my ceiling before age 33 does not appeal. So I'm in the process of trying to get some more diplomas for the wall, thinking carefully about what I want my next move to be.

Start thinking about that sooner, rather than later, would be my advice.

Justin