Job Discussion Forums

[TTScott]

Would love some advice...

Here is the situation...I am 47 years old American Male...I have a law degree and three masters (none of which are in education)..I have about 10 years experience as a Corporate Trainer (mostly soft skills)...I have served as an adjunct instructor at a local college. I have taught ESL and citizenship classes for a local non profit as a volunteer for about a year.

I really love teaching and would love to do it full time. I have traveled extensively in Asia and South America. Although I know there is a difference between "visiting" a country and living there, I don't think I will have a difficult time adjusting. I am divorced with no children so I don't really have any family ties or obligations to hold me back.

Currently. I work in the public sector. If I remain in my current job for 4 1/2 more years I will be able to draw a pension at age 55. At that point I would be able financially to take a lower paying Teaching gig. I worry though that i may be too old at that point.

The only financial barrier I have now is repaying my student loans. My payments are about $500 a month.

I don't need a high standard of living..just a roof over my head, 3 meals a day and an ocassional night out on the town (I'm not a big drinker)

Here are the choices as i see them

1) Take a teaching job job now and see where it leads

2) Take a CELTA course then take a job and see where it leads

3) stay where I am, pay off my student loans, work on an MEd with a specialization/certificate in TESL (there is a program at a local university here where I live), retire and then start my international teaching career

4) Stay where I am, pay off the student loans, retire, take a CELTA course and then start my ESL career

I would love some feedback from all of you. Be gentle this is my first post..although I have been a lurker for several years

[naturegirl321]

The problem might be paying back your loan, but you could get an ecomonic hardship excuse for a year or so. Lots of places, ex like China only pay about 500 usd a month. Europe pays more, but then you have to have citizenship from an EU country.

Might want to look at places like Taiwan, Thailand, or Vietnam. If I were you, I-d stick it out so that you pay off your loans and get the beneifits by having 4.5 more years of work.

But in the mean time, take a CELTA course or MEd, to some volunteer teaching. Get a license. You can then teach at schools all over the world, like those at www.tes.co.uk or www.ibo.org with a license and 2 years experience.

good luck

[Carll101]

Don't even bother looking for Thailand, you will struggle to break even if you have to send 500 USD back home every month. (Even if you don't anyway)

If I were you I would chose option 3 or 4, that way you can enjoy semi-retirement in a sunny country. 4 years down the road and you will have your pension, don't scrap that for a 1000$ a month teaching job. If you read posts from all forums you will realize that TEFL isn't the best way to make money when you don't have the right qualifications. But it can be a great adventure if you don't have to worry about money

[Glenski]

Can't understand still having loans to pay off at your age, but so be it. Just how long do you have to finish paying them off?

Where do you want to work? You can get entry level work in Japan, make 250,000 yen/month, and have half of that left over from basic necessities. 125,000 yen is about US$1200 right now, so pay off your loan and have $700 to play around with.

The market is flooded right now, so there is no guarantee of work here, but it's possible.

One problem is that if you get into conversation schools, the bigger ones will probably have a foreign manager who is half your age and with even less skill at TEFL than you. Can you cope with those issues?

Another is that you would probably have to go back to a college student lifestyle (tiny old apartment with secondhand furnishings).

[denise]

[TTScott]

Thanks for all of the advice! Yeah unfortunately I got in over my head with student loans...But with steady payments and some savings I should be able to retire that debt in about 4 1/2 years just as I complete my 25th year of government service. Great thing about working for the government is you can retire when you are still young enough to enjoy life..ofcourse you won't retire wealthy but time is more important to me than material things.

Reporting to a younger boss wouldn't matter to me...I'm not into job titles...ofcourse reporting to a jerk at any age is an issue but I have never really had any problems in that area....Since my divorce I have pretty much lived like a college student minus the pizza and beer everynight...so living in a basic apartment would not be a concern.

I realize I am at a different place than most of you. I am a bit longer in the tooth But I think I share your sense of adventure. The biggest difference is You all had the guts to take the leap eariler in life..I didn't much to my regret

Sounds like my best course of action is to sit tight .. finish out my career here...travel when I can...I get 5 weeks vacation which will have to satisfy my wanderlust for now. Then when my prison sentence is over I can join all of you!

Actually, I shouldn't complain about my job, we laid off 180 employees in November. The economy is eroding the tax base and thus our revenue stream. If I get laid off I may have to adjust my plan... student loans or not. But with my seniority I really don't see that happening but you never know.

When I do take the plunge I think I will go the CELTA route though as I will mainly will be looking to supplement my income by that time. If I can earn $700 to $1,000 a month that would be great. I don't want to invest in yet another masters.

I do worry about my age though a couple of recruiters I have talked to seemed a bit concerned about it. I'm not getting any younger!

I was really hoping to work in Vietnam. I spent some time there last winter and really enjoyed it. I love Thailand too. I have spent some time in Korea and it seems OK. I have never been to China or Japan (although I read somewhere that age may be a factor in Japan).

I also wouldn't mind South America but Asia is my first love. I am open to the middle east but seems like you have to be pretty advanced in your career to land a job there.


ok I am rambling now...Thanks for all of your advice/ I really appreciate it!

[Carll101]

Sounds good

Your age won't be an issue if you decide to teach in Thailand or Vietnam. I've worked with teachers older than you. Good luck.

[Glenski]