Job Discussion Forums

mongrelcat · Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 232

i was able to get a job teaching ESL at a university in CT, even though i don't have a teaching license, some universities will hire people with BA's and foreign experience, the "lesser" universities, i'll add.

also, do you have Adult Education organizations there? i'm also working P/T in the evenings making $28/hr.

we have Literacy Volunteers here in the US. it's volunteer, but that kind of experience goes a long way when looking for a real job. you may have such an org. there in Canada.

The_Hanged_Man · Joined: 10 Oct 2004 Posts: 224 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

Well, I am hoping to teach ESL and show near fluency in Chinese. Hopefully that will get me a job in an area where there are a lot of Chinese immigrants.

lifebohemia314 · Joined: 10 May 2008 Posts: 1

I have a B.S. degree in Mathematics and worked at a high needs school after working abroad as an English Teacher for five years. I got it through substitute teaching. If you have a friend, move to a major metropolitan area like DC/Northern Virginia, you can easily get jobs subbing. One of my sub jobs turned permanent when the teacher fled his insane class, just quit and moved to Florida. I wouldn't have suffered so much if I had read Setting Limits in the Classroom by MacKenzie. Teaching high needs kids is definitely tough.

In Washington DC, there are a lot of contractor jobs. Also look at the State Department Website since you've been overseas.

If you have the money, go to bartending school. You can also meet contacts that way.

It's really all about finding the way to get your foot in the door and the luck of meeting the right person to do that. PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE are the most important values to have. Just keep reminding yourself of those two words and ignore everything else. It's really important. Something WILL pop up.

I just remember that lost feeling coming back. I don't know if that's what you're going through, but PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE really went a long way. Also, looking back I don't feel my stint abroad was a mistake at all. It only benefitted my prospects. For anything, you just need your foot in the door. Going abroad has nothing to do with you not getting a job.

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

The_Hanged_Man · Joined: 10 Oct 2004 Posts: 224 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia

kentuckyslim · Joined: 24 Jul 2007 Posts: 11 Location: Louisville, KY

I want to thank everyone here for sharing their thoughts. The posts on here have given me some good leads and all. However, we should still keep the discussion going and the ideas flowing!

I don't know if this has been covered in other topics or not, but I wouldn't mind expanding the discussion beyond employment. How about other parts of life? Some people mentioned 'reverse culture shock'. That hit me like a like a ton of bricks and I still haven't got over it.

johnslat · Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 1:08 am Post subject:

I think the extent of culture shock and reverse culture shock can vary considerably, depending on the individual.
Some people are more like chameleons; they can adjust with little or no difficulty. Others are more like leopards; they can't really change their spots.
I'm fortunate, being pure chameleon; I've never experienced culture or reverse culture shock, and I've lived and worked in Iran, Saudi Arabia and
Indonesia - in addition to the USA, of course.

guty · Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 365 Location: on holiday

Did you get into EFL to work overseas, or did you go overseas so that you could do EFL?

Think about exactly why you went abroad, and also exactly why you want to return.

Then you should understand better what you need to do next.

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

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

jgmodlin · Joined: 01 Mar 2006 Posts: 120 Location: USA

I can definitely relate to the anxiety that is felt after returning from long term living overseas and trying to find a job, when I decided to return in January, 2007. I had spent about 8 years in Japan teaching mostly business English. I liked the work but had just gotten married to my wife and missed the comforts of living back in the USA (you never get used to how damn crowded it is in Tokyo).

I had thought I would get back into sales quickly which would occupy me for a bit, pay the bills, and give me a chance to figure out what I really wanted to do. Well, it took three agonizingly long months to get a decent job, but I quickly remembered why I had left sales in the first place to teach overseas!

Feeling frustrated and with the extra pressure of wanting to show my new wife how nice life would be in the USA(after all, I had told her it would be, right?), I decided to enter the Career Switcher program offered for the state of Virginia through a local community college. It turned out to be relatively easy to enter and do the six months it took to gain my endorsement in ESL. In my case, my overseas experience was beneficial in getting me into the program and subsequently hired by a local public high school. I can't say that teaching in a public high school is as enjoyable as teaching groups of business people, but it is a decent job. In an ideal world I would somehow be able to export my brick home, two cars, and green open space to Japan. Anyone know how I can do that?

Hang in there and look into your state's Career Switcher program. Virginia's cost about $3200 and only took about 6 months to get the provisional license.

Nabby Adams · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 215

JG have you thought about outisde Tokyo? Hokkaido has cities with large houses, wide roads and open spaces. Honestly I thought I was back in Europe.

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

My three options:

1)Embassy work-not easy to come by but I can speak Chinese, German, and Korean

2)get a teacher's license

3)become a nurse

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home