Job Discussion Forums

Mchristophermsw · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 228

It seems the consensus is that midle age starts between 35 and 50 for most.

But think outside the box. This may be well for the average person and there are several variables that distinguish middle age.

I think Middle Age is a great thing if you take care of yourself. Iam 40 and a Masters Level Bodybuilder. Most people are astonished that Iam 40 and not much younger. I still read comic books and even collect action figures. WonderCon this Saturday in San Francisco! I have the choice to date woman my age or women 15 years young than me if I choose so. On the other end of the spectfrum I have a masters degree, own property in the caribbean and working on my second masters degree while working full time as a child abuse investigator and college Instructor.......

ok, ok, my point is that whatever age and stage your at in your life should be one were the rules of agism does not have to apply. We don't have to look forward to a midlife crisis but rather a world full of midlife possibilities and joys! Damn it's good to be alive

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

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

MIddle-age is a period of life you enter when you've left it.

bauerke · Joined: 03 Feb 2007 Posts: 11 Location: USA

Some very motivating quotes I must admit, but I think I have allowed myself to divert from the original idea of this thread. I was actually wondering what long-term career prospects lie ahead for someone in this field? Is there any kind of career path or is just something to do for a couple of years for an "experience"?

Can anybody recommend some good books or articles on this topic? I have searched the web, but information related to ESL involving "long-term" and "career path" seems to be quite scant if not altogether ignored.

Any comments on this?

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

bauerke · Joined: 03 Feb 2007 Posts: 11 Location: USA

Fair points Glenski. Everybody has different career goals and paths. I'm just asking about those career paths directly related to the field.

One thing you mentioned is tenure.

Is this a possibility for a foreign teacher? How is this achieved?

Also, if I have university experience in Asia how significant would this be on my resume? Would universites in the U.S. give it a second look?

mlomker · Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 378

basiltherat · Joined: 04 Oct 2003 Posts: 952

i've yet to know of anyone who 'had' a life time career (?) in this gig and to know how he / she is enjoying 'retirement'. The concensus so far seems to be that we 'have had' a career (?) in tefl (whether successful, or not).

Is anyone out there who can actually say that he / she did a lifetime of tefl and actually got out of it to retire with reasonable success ?

No ?

In that case, perhaps I'll be the first then. I have no regrets. I'm getting to the end now and planning to go home to UK and just muck around helping my wife out with what she does, spending the last couple of years with our son who is on his way to running his own life. By the end of this decade we'll have just about put 2 kids through 6th form college and university.
Looking forward to taking it a little bit easier.

Who said you cant do this gig for the best part of your life and come out retiring when you should.

I get a bit weary of people saying that this business is for losers or some such comment. If you really want to make a success of anything, including tefl, you can. It simply depends on your attitude and looking for opportunities and taking them when they stick up.
This is like any other business; if yur not going to help yourself, no one else will.
A further point is that the more diversified in experience you are in the chosen field of work, the more yur in demand and the more dosh you collect. If yur going to be doing general english for your whole life, generally speaking, what can you expect except a pretty mediocre life.
As I say, its like any other 'profession'.

If you think Tefl is bad, think about those young guys who start their first day commuting from some town 100 miles from london into the city to a do a days work. They might be enjoying it now but 35 years on a lot of them will be grey haired , bent over and doing exactly the same thing they did on that first day. Tefl is no worse than jobs such as those; in fact, imho, a hell of a lot better.
best
basil Smile

guangho · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 476 Location: in transit

Like basil says, this is about making your own way. I could have spent twenty years in China, sampling sleazy expat bars. I could have hung out in hakwons for fifteen years. On the other end of the scale, there was a guy here a while back who spent nineteen years at a Saudi Uni and taught in four states. How's that for a full plate? This can happen in other fields too. I was a paralegal for five years, and spent eighteen mind-numbing months at Huge, Greedy and Voting LLC, where all I did was to classify securities documents. Twelve hours a day, six days a week. Decent coin but still...then again, for some that may be a respectable career. It was a blue chip firm after all.

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

vashdown2 · Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 124 Location: Paris, France

I would assume that it is easier to get a tenure position teaching English outside of the USA than one in the USA..... Many more options in Asia, Saudi Arabia, etc....

University jobs in ESL are hard to find period in the States from what I have researched... some positions in community collges, but not at all the same demand as in Asia for example.

dialogger · Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 419 Location: China

Haven't heard of a 'tenured' postion in ESL in China.
Sure there are a number of people who have ben in the same job at the same university for a while but their contracts are year by year.

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

guangho · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 476 Location: in transit

MamaOaxaca · Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 201 Location: Mixteca, Oaxaca

There are a hand full of retireed TEFLers on the TESL-L mailing list that comes out of CUNY. As far as I know they are all PhD's, they have worked both overseas and in the US, two are retired US government language consultants. One guy still does occasional consulting work, flying around the world to give schools suggestions to improve their programs.
Not a bad retirement in my opinion.

As for tenureship, I'm tenured at a university in Mexico. I'm in my mid-thirties so to early to comment on retirment at this point, but this is the only field I've ever really worked in so, it's definately a career for me. I have a nice benefits package and feel I've been just as successful as my old friends back in the US. In addition to my university position, I do occasional freelance work for text book publishers, which is infrequent but very lucrative work.