Job Discussion Forums

Symphany · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 117

Hi all, I thought I'd post this to the Newbie forum although I'm not entirely sure this is a "newbie" question. I've taught abroad before in Japan (mostly adults some children's classes). what I would like to do is to teach adults again, preferably with good working conditions, in a fun environment, and pay that is similar to a decently paid position at home (by decent I mean at least 35K annually). I taught in Eikawa (private language instruction) in Japan it was really great getting to know the other teachers and students, I had a lot of fun, although management could treat teachers really poorly and downright gouge you on pay and rent (if you rented through them). Before anyone starts I know "work isn't supposed to be fun" but it actually was in many instances when I taught, and would like a similar situation again.

I work in a non-teaching related work in fairly good conditions right now, but my mind drifts back to teaching abroad almost daily. What I would like to know is, has anyone successfuly made the transition between non-teaching work and rewarding, paying teaching work abroad (I'm also interested in other countries, among them China and Mexico. I'm also interested in teaching in the continents of Europe and Africa. I know there are no shortage of positions that pay a stipend or just enough to scrape by, but has anyone been able to find decent paying positions with good work conditions, please let me know. Thanks.

MO39 · Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 6:31 pm Post subject:

Finding a teaching job overseas that pays well has a lot to do with your qualifications: what are yours?

Symphany · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 117

My current qualifications are a BA and a TEFL certificate, at the current time I'm deciding on getting further qualifications, however I didn't want to concentrate so much on only what I have right now, I wanted to find out more about others stories, and be able to make further decisions about where to go from here.

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

Look into mining jobs, that's good. They need teachers on site. Be wary though about salary. Especially with the funny USD, it's lowering the exchange rate all over the place.

MO39 · Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:05 pm Post subject:

Symphany · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 117

Thanks for the responses M039 and Naturegirl. I guess I have a question about teaching adults. I would prefer teaching adults in a college/university setting, or possibly in the private sector, with
either
i. a well-run language institute with good pay and working conditions, or ii. teaching English on-site with companies and/or government agencies.

I would also consider teaching at the highschool level. It just seems from what I've read in differing forums that in order to teach adults you have to work at either a language institute that doesn't have much stability or a fture in it, or get a PhD in lingustics/applied linguistics/Tesol or another area in order to get in. It also seems like even with an MA the teaching positions in universities are few and far between.

gajackson1 · Joined: 28 Jan 2008 Posts: 210

A couple of thoughts here:

1) it would be very easy for you to go back to Japan as a lateral move. The reason I say this is because in Japan, it is usually ok to take up extra/part-time work in whatever area interests you - I have had personal friends make transitions into F&B management, DJing, modeling, a radio DJ, dentistry (dental assistant), voice acting, etc.

Not knowing your BA specifics or which country you are from, it still maaayyyy be possible for you to wrangle a HRT/Softskills/petroleum-based English teaching job. Colleges (not universities!) or Language Lab centers might also be willing to take you on.

For extending your credentials, since you already have the TESOL cert, I would look into rounding it out with a CELTA/DELTA/ICELT if you don't have the money and/or inclination to do an MA. Oh - and your *actual* teacher certification can open a LOT of doors, if you can get it done quickly under some sort of special program.

Regards,

Glen

PS - if you are NOT from the USA, might want to look into CfBT Brunei (unsure again if you qualify, but they DO need teachers @ secondary level. If ANYONE gets a job through them from reading this, please pay the karma back by encouraging them to hire 'Glen the American teacher.')

Symphany · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 117

Thank you for the response gajackson, gaining a teacher's certificate seems to be well worth-while. My only question about teaching certificates, is that, do they extend to other purposes (than highschools that is). I would consider teaching in highschools, but I know they (teaching certificates) are not really well respected at the university/college level, however they are recognized within certain bodies, like governmental ones in some cases. For example, where I'm in (Toronto), the adult night classes offered with the school board here will only let you teach if you certify as a teacher. Does anyone know about teaching possibilities open to certified teachers? The ones I know of are a. elementary schools/highschools
b. school boards (adult education)
c. government organizations/not-for profits
d. prisons (not meant as a joke, I am aware that you need to be a certified teacher to teach at most).

gajackson1 · Joined: 28 Jan 2008 Posts: 210

hmmmm - ok, good job, private sector, adults???

it SOUNDS like you ned to start moving in the direction of Human Resources, Corporate Training, and/or softskills.

A teaching certif would definitely help get your foot in the door there, i think - as well as potentially lucrative positions further down the line.

your certs & courses, online work, etc. should move in towards those areas, if you can.

Glen