Job Discussion Forums

[timothypfox]

Addendum: Just wanted to add that in New York City, you can teach at a private school without degrees in education (I think as long as you have a degree and experience). At least you can start out subbing, if you need another way to teach and get by.

Also, if you can get hourly paid ESL job an an English school in a city or better yet a town that has cheaper rent that NYC you probably could make a better go of things than I did. (I scrapped by on just ESL teaching at a language school for 2 years in Montreal without any other work or relying on student loans - so can be done!)

Also - if you want to teach at a community college or college on a permanent basis in the US - be open to moving somewhere you never thought of. (Big cities may not have it all - but if you want a big city...)

[Vanica]

I get so many emails and actual phone calls from all over the US for ESL teaching jobs in public schools through this website:
www.teachers-teachers.com

[Nozka]

I'm a bit surprised by the posts on this thread so far. Are we actually encouraging people to come and try to make a living by working in ESL in the US?
Except for some very hard-to-get jobs which generally require an MA, or getting credentialed and joining the public school system, I think "scrapping by" is about all anyone can hope for in ESL here. $20 an hour in NYC? How do you survive unless you're in the classroom 35+ hours a week? You'd be better off as a bank teller making $12 an hour; at least you could go have a beer when you got off at 5 o'clock.
The private language school jobs I've seen posted usually start in the 30k range, which is pretty much crap for teaching; starting k-12 teachers do much, much better than that, and janitors do just as well.
Community college jobs are great, but good luck finding one. Of the 108 odd CCs in California there are perhaps 10-20 new full-time ESL positions posted each year - and there are hundreds of part-timers (who already have their foot in the door) with thier application ahead of you. I know because I'm one of them.
In California at least, the CCs rely on part-time teachers because they don't have to pay us benefits or health insurance or guarantee work from semester to semester. Most CC teachers (and this goes for all subjects) who make a living at it work at multiple schools. We've been dubbed "freeway fliers."
I'm fortunate to have a second position at a Cal State Univ language institute which means I only commute to one of my jobs, but still. I have no insurance, no benefits, no real job security, and usually I need to work summer school to get by for the year, not to mention that I make more per hour than anyone in this thread has stated and don't live in a big city.
To put it simply, you cannot enjoy the status and relatively high standard of living that you get as an EFL instructor in most countries when you teach in the US. If I'm wrong on this, I'd really love to hear about it.
Why do I do it then? Well, teaching multinational classes is great fun, American management is generally tollerable, and I like the town where I'm living - so that makes it bearable. In reality, I'm waiting for my wife to finish her degree. Two more semesters and I'm outta here!

[E. Fox]

About working as an adjunct in the CUNY (City University of New York) system -- it is important to be aware that you only get paid for your actual classroom hours -- not for reading student comps, not for prep time, not for grading homework, not for record-keeping. However, you will need to and be expected to do these things in a big way, which may take up more time than your actual classroom hours. The more you are getting paid per hour -- the more "academic" the program (and hence higher paid) the more this wil be true. So, ofter you can cut your hourly salary in half, if you figure in your actual working hours. You will be drained from this and may find it difficult to take a second job (which would allow you to actually support yourself in NYC). Remember, also, the commute factor -- if you live in Brooklyn, say, and have one job in Staten Island and another in Queens, you're going to be mighty tired.

You might consider taking a lower paying job with less "homewor" for yourself, and be able to take a second job with out feeling hideous stress.

I've had two different academic jobs in the CUNY system, so I can vouch for the stress factor, the gross underpayment and the total lack of benefits.