Job Discussion Forums

[padnpen]

Hi All,

I've been reading the posts in this forum for quite awhile now and though there's been countless "Am I qualified?" threads, I think my situation is somewhat unique.

I have a BA in Psychology w/ a minor in English from a very respectable University in California. I also have a TEFL Cerfiticate (though from Oxford Seminars, a bit of a regret) and a California Basic Educational Skills Qualificaiton (CBEST). I am a new graduate and have been working as an afterschool remedial teacher (Language Arts & Math, middle-school) for the past half year, and 3 months before that as a preschool assistant. As of now, I meet the qualifications to be a substitute teacher here in California which is my plan if TEFL doesn't fall through. I do plan on teaching as a career and will look to attain my state credential upon my return.

Considering my limited background so far, I do not have high expectations . If I can somehow fit into the PNET scheme, that would be great, but realistically, it's a bit of a stretch (but I will still give it a shot). The private sector is probably the place where I will start.

In the context of TEFL, I am an American born Chinese (born, educated, and raised in California) unfortunately and of top of that I have a non Western/Anglo name. Chances of landing a job from overseas is highly unlikely for me. I've regisned myself to just showing up in person to prove my "Americaness" I guess. And hey, if it doesn't work out, well, I'll consider it as a nice 90 day vacation in HK.

As I said before, my expectations aren't high and I can get by on a salary of $16,000 HKD as I won't be totally on my own and will have the social support of my girlfriend's family in HK; they've made it clear that I can rely on them if I ever need anything in terms of living and adjusting. In fact, they're offering me a studio for a very reasonable price so I can avoid the start up cost.

Sorry for being long-winded, but I just wanted to be as detailed and clear as possible. So here's my question finally, what are my chances of finding a half-way decent job in HK within 3 months with my qualifications and background? I understand that the market in HK is a lot tougher to break into than say, Japan or Korea, but I am only planning to stay there for a year, maybe 2 at the very most if things work out well.

[surrealia]

This page has some good job links:

http://www.geocities.com/allhou/hongkong.htm