Job Discussion Forums

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

As many others have said, with better qualifications come better jobs. I started out teaching EFL at 24 about 11 years ago. With my BA, Celta and esxperience I relaized that if this was to be a career I would need more qualifications. I just finished my masters so at this point I could teach anywhere in the world at pretty much any university where English is a foreign language. I support my wife and have 2 kids so I need more than your average language school salary.
No regrets for me.

tedkarma · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 11:52 pm Post subject:

Run, don't walk, to a graduate degree - as the others have said.

TEFL can be financially rewarding AND professionally rewarding - but not at the lowest levels for the long term.

happy_me · Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:25 am Post subject:

ya is a good wat to go broke unless you get a MA in edu. and in some places its no use too here maybe 5% will pay you oner 1,500us

if you stay at EF style 800us max

tedkarma · Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:35 am Post subject:

Super Mario · Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:22 am Post subject:

Its possibly some form of text talk, but like you I need an interpreter.
That's if there's anything to interpret.

sidjameson · Joined: 11 Jan 2004 Posts: 629 Location: osaka

I know language teachers in Japan, well to be honest they are not even teachers. Guys without degrees in their 40's and scrathing around trying to make a living. But the thing is............I would still rather be in their position than many of my graduate friends back "home".
Ask yourself, what do you really need to be happy? then ask if you can get the material side of it by teaching english? The answer is an easy yes IMO. The none material side? well, nothing beats living abroad in my book.

Boy Wonder · Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 453 Location: Clacton on sea

Sheikh Inal Ovar · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 1208 Location: Melo Drama School

A life term of TEFL .. surely they'd only dish that out for the most heinous of crimes ...

And let's not forget the words of His Highness, Mohammed Ali ...

"A man who thinks the same aged 50 as he did aged 20 has wasted the last 30 years of his life"

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

mlomker · Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 378

Miyazaki · Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 635 Location: My Father's Yacht

QatarChic · Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 445 Location: Qatar

Like one or two others on here I started out in TEFL aged 23 and am now 30 and still going strong & still loving it! To be honest, I can see myself doing it for the next few years. Hopefully when I complete my MA etc, it will open up new doors to others areas. I can't see TEFL dying out just yet, only because there's so much demand for it now, but who knows what the future will bring?

gugelhupf · Joined: 24 Jan 2004 Posts: 575 Location: Jabotabek

Not sure I would want to be sentenced to a life of TEFL, but maybe that's just because of my own definition of what 'TEFL' means. There is absolutely no reason why you can't enjoy a long career as an English teacher, however. Many of us teach English in regular schools, colleges and universities in countries all over the world just as native speakers of German, Spanish and Japanese do teaching jobs in our home countries.

Like other posters have said, entry-level jobs are great first jobs but most people move on to better things fairly quickly.

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