Job Discussion Forums

[JZer]

I am sitting hear bored but this question is always in my head. What does one do when they return home? Should I teach in a public school, look for a job in an IPP program or try another career? I guess the real problem is that there are too many interesting choices out there.

What have been your experiences?

I also want to mention that I have only been in Korea for 7 months and plan to stay here next year.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

You do what you are trained to do, or what you get training to do. If you arrive in your home country with no real qualifications other than a BA and some experience working in a conversation school or something like that, then you aren't really qualified to do a whole lot. The decision on what to do basically comes down to doing what somebody will pay you to do, once you're out of money. However, if you already have training on top of your degree, then you could do that, if you wanted.

Or, you could get training in another area, as well. How to choose that area depends on the person, but personally, I'm a fan of the Myers Brigg personality test for giving me ideas that fit my personality, but more importantly, to give me ideas of things that are actually opposite to my personality (if I think about different career areas long enough, I can make a lot of things that I'm totally not suited to seem interesting).

You could also use your time `sitting hear' being 'board' to look into a bunch of different career paths to find something you'd like to do, if you've decided that teaching English isn't it.

[JZer]

I enjoy teaching English but I do not know whether I want to spend the rest of my life doing that. I think that I would rather teach history or political science. The real problem is that I want to work and not spend any more time in the classroom.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Teachers work in classrooms.

Think of all the people who post on this board with questions about how to get a job without a degree and who want to know the shortest possible route to anything that has the name TESOL attached to it. They are constantly told to go back to school and finish their degree or to get real training in teaching English if they want to actually know what they are talking about and make a career out of it. It's the same if you want to teach History or poli sci, you need to go back to school.

If you really, really don't want to go back to school to be able to do this, then you could ask yourself why, and then get a copy of "what colour is your parachute?" and do a bunch of tests to find something else that you might be able to do without going back to school, or something that you want to do badly enough that you would be willing to go back to school.

But then, I'm from Toronto, where people seem to be expected to go back to school pretty much constantly if they want to do anything different than what they are currently doing, whereas I know Americans who have been able to get jobs without a college certificate in the exact thing they were hired to do- maybe American companies still do at least a little training. Canadian ones mostly don't- at least in Ontario.

[JZer]

[tedkarma]

JZ

Depends a lot on your age, how much you have in your bank account, how set you are for income in the future and - your future wants and needs.

If you want to invest in real estate - in spite of the cool seminars - you are going to need some cash. And large chunks of it. I too am an investor and it has secured my future and offered me many choices I would not otherwise have in my life. And TEFL paid for it all.

If your design for later life is income from real estate so you can travel and live where you want - and live comfortably - then focus on what will earn you the largest chuncks of disposable cash - the quickest. Luckily the real estate market is flattening out and if you have some cash in a couple years - you might catch some real bargains.

What is the best path to the goal you have? Only you can know that.

But . . . if I hear you saying you want to teach (history or poly sci) - and you want/need chunks of cash for investing - I start to think international schools. That might require a couple years in the public schools where you come from - along with intially provisional and then full certification.

Some places like Thailand (just an example) the package is so good against the local economy, that I can't imagine saving less than US$15,000 a year. AND you get to live overseas too. The same money at home - with all the taxes etc - lucky if you save $5,000 a year.

Conversely - if you can handle staying in Korea and landing a good university job (do you have one already - with your grad degree?) - you can save the kind of money I am talking about AND still have at least three months off per year.

Tell us more (only if you wish!) about - your goals, your age, where you want to be when financially, and if you are tired of living overseas. Those seem to be pretty critical in planning where you want to go.

These are all important issues - that those of us who have lived overseas for a long period of time MUST address. If you don't want to do it here - but do want to "talk" PM me - I respect what I have seen of your posts here and would be glad to be a "sounding board" if I could.

[JZer]

Well, I am 26 and yes I work at a university in Korea already. Of course my pay stinks and if I cannot get more money next time, I may go work at the English village since they pay 2.6 million to 3.2 million. It also seems like they have a lot of overtime.

I guess the thing is I want to make more than a teacher but don't want to be a lawyer or a doctor. I enjoy teaching ESL but I enjoy history even more. I spend my free time reading Canadian history and am in the process of learning every Canadian Prime Minister. Right now I am also reading "The Glorious Cause".

I am considering trying to buy an apartment building but I feel I will need to move back to the US to shop around and I don't know whether someone would loan me $300,000-$400,000 while working outside the US. I also need to save around $100,000 to be able to borrow that kind of money.

So I am looking at remaining in Korea until I am 30. When I return I will see if I can get on in a high needs area without a teaching certification. The main reason is that I feel that spending another $20,000 on my education would be taking a step backwards.