Job Discussion Forums

valley_girl · Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 6:59 pm Post subject: Second career choice?

What would you do for a living if you weren't teaching ESL/EFL?

danielita · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 281 Location: SLP

I'm a huge map geek so I would do my masters in cartography and make maps.

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:30 pm Post subject:

Go back to acting I suppose. It provides all the insecurity I've come to love in TEFL, nearly the travel opportunities, and even more opportunities for your friends and family to make fun of your lack of real job!

Justin

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

Busk with a saxophone in the subway here...write a collection of horror stories with an EFL twist.

paulmanser · Joined: 28 Nov 2005 Posts: 403

If a real job is working in a office 9 till 5 in a tower block paying mad English prices for food and rent then please I'd rather have a TEFL career.

No such thing as a real job. Do what amkes you happy. I for one choose TEFL.

mlomker · Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 378

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

In my recent "oh my god I'm 30 now so it's time to sort out my life" phase, I've thought about just working at a ski lodge and snowboarding every day. Only seasonal work, though.

My ex actually told me he'd look into copy editing positions in San Francisco for me. How cool would that be?!?!?

d

saint57 · Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:51 am Post subject:

Is this question about fantasy or reality?

Reality: Teaching in Toronto and counting the days between holidays.

Fantasy: Historian. This is a pure fantasy since I've only taken four history courses.

Jizzo T. Clown · Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:10 am Post subject:

I concur. I'd be teaching High School History...either that or play guitar in a bluegrass band in Arkansas. How geeky is that?

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

TEFL is my second career choice.

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

Fantasy Life: editing big name sci/fi, literary, mystery etc literature for a major book publisher, or else teaching English Lit, History and Creative Writing as well as the odd Music History course at a highly artsy high school.

Reality: major book publishers don't really do that very much Canada, so I'd likely still be working some retail management job (for the 'fabulous' money) or (for the 'prestige' while working at minimum wage) working at an arts company- probably opera/opperetta since its the one I have the most experience working with- writing programmes (which is actually half way interesting) and letters begging for money (which, despite having taken college courses in writing direct mail advertisements, is really less interesting than hauling stock around a big box store), and entering data into Access (which is even more boring than direct mail letters begging for money).

It's much, much more likely that I'd be doing retail, though. I suppose it's possible I would have moved into the library area by now because every time I take Myers Brigg tests, that's one of the things it tells me to do (but then, so is English teacher, although it probably means literature, I dunno).

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

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

Curious to know ls...with a background in Computer Sciences, do you keep up at it, at least on new tech? I don't have the same background, but try to keep up more as a hobbyist. I find that being in Mexico, I'm falling further and further behind. I fear that one day I'll go back for a visit to Canada and be some kind of technological caveman, if I'm not already.

tedkarma · Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:30 pm Post subject:

I'd do the first class - world best - hotel/hospitality program at the University of Las Vegas.

Hoteliers have great jobs - though they do work very hard - but also can find super jobs around the world - at FAR BETTER wages than EFL.

As always, I agree with Is650 - this is maybe my third career - after 15 or so years in social work (adoptions etc) and several years in the bidness world.

cam · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 124 Location: Maine, USA

Well if I returned home I would most likely to be able to get a job at MacDonalds, Walmart, or possibly a call center. I have a couple freinds who returned home after a few years teaching in Asia. They both have jobs at a call center now.