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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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 Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:23 pm Post subject: |
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| The CNMI Public School System website. Human Resources link has jobby info. I did research on it all day--don't think it is for me, especially as I have contacts in Guam already, so if I go this route I'd go there. Anyway, thought I'd pass on the link. Good luck! Smile |
But I don't see where it says they will just hire someone with a B.A. to teach. I am willing to work on certification but would like a paying job while becoming certified. |
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gungediana
Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 4:27 pm Post subject: |
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I have enjoyed living and working abroad a lot too. But for me personally I am British, Britain and British culture is a part of who I am for better or for worse. I don't think I could turn my back on that. Britain will always be home to me despite it's deep imperfections.
And I feel that if I were to go back to Korea again I would be beginning to burn my bridges; my ties between myself and my own culture. That would be a terrible thing to happen. The realisation of that a few months ago sent me into a personal crisis out of which I've only just recovered.
I want to get qualified to a level where I can work in my own country as well as working abroad. I want to buy and maintain a property here. And I want to maintain links with my family and friends etc here. Feeling like a foreigner in my own country is not a feeling I want to have. I want to balance my deep love of traveling and exploring other cultures with at least a superficial sense of belonging in my own country.
That's how I feel about my own situation. And it's how I imagine you might feel about your own situation. But obviously I'm wrong to assume that.
Thanks again for the thread, very thought provoking.
May I ask you a question though................ Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years time? |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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| I have enjoyed living and working abroad a lot too. But for me personally I am British, Britain and British culture is a part of who I am for better or for worse. I don't think I could turn my back on that. Britain will always be home to me despite it's deep imperfections. |
This is one issue that has little effect on me. I don't feel any great ties to the United States.
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May I ask you a question though................ Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years time? |
My biggest fear is visas and working rights. I don't want to be kicked out of a job and a visa when I am 50 and having worked in x country for the last 20 years. I don't want to be 50 and be forced back to the United States. |
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Hod
Joined: 28 Apr 2003
Posts: 1613
Location: Home
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| Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:30 pm Post subject: |
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| GambateBingBangBOOM wrote: |
| Basically, I think it boils down to what your background is in. I get the impression you didn't have much full time work experience before leaving the US. . |
Yes, yes and yes. How on earth can someone who stacks boxes in their home country, before going off to teach, expect to return to that same home country years later and land a cushy job? And how many people have dissed their own country only to return a few years later. Not one person on the planet is immune from this possibility. Don�t burn bridges is the default advice.
But how about working in a decent job before you head overseas to teach? Going back home will be a piece of cake if need be. Also, for the Brits and Irish reading, you can do that same job anywhere in the EU. |
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gungediana
Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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JZer the situation you described would be pretty much the 'nightmare scenario' for a TESOL teacher, definitely one to avoid if you can
good post btw, short and to the point!
Hod- there's nothing wrong with going abroad to teach English without much previous work experience back home, and we're all free to do whatever the hell we want with our own lives. But I agree that it's probably a mistake not to seek out training or qualifications or relevant experience at some point to make you an employable person in your own country.
And for me personally, I'm convinced that the novelty of being a foreigner working in Korea or wherever would wear thin at some point for me. I imagine other people feel the same wat.
O.P I hope you can take all this as it's intended, i.e as constructive criticism rather than trying to have a go.
We're all in this together. |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:21 am Post subject: |
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| Hod- there's nothing wrong with going abroad to teach English without much previous work experience back home, and we're all free to do whatever the hell we want with our own lives. But I agree that it's probably a mistake not to seek out training or qualifications or relevant experience at some point to make you an employable person in your own country. |
I don't think it is a mistake. Simply many people go abroad to teach English because after college they don't know what to do with their lives. Seeing the world is a more appealing alternative. With that said, one should try to save money and be ready to go back to school when you return home.
Furthermore one can look into teaching when they return to their home country. With teaching experience and a B.A. one can sometimes get paid work while they get a teacher's license. Of course that depends on what country you are from. In the US you can teach with only a B.A. I imagine that there are some jobs to be had in rual Australia as well. I don't know the situation in England. |
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Marcoregano
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 872
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:50 am Post subject: |
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| JZer wrote: |
| I don't know the situation in England. |
Any decent teaching job in the UK requires QTS (except university posts). |
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bfrog
Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Hod wrote: |
| GambateBingBangBOOM wrote: |
| Basically, I think it boils down to what your background is in. I get the impression you didn't have much full time work experience before leaving the US. . |
Yes, yes and yes. How on earth can someone who stacks boxes in their home country, before going off to teach, expect to return to that same home country years later and land a cushy job? And how many people have dissed their own country only to return a few years later. Not one person on the planet is immune from this possibility. Don�t burn bridges is the default advice. |
I've been wondering the same thing while reading this thread, about people who left good career prospects back home and then decided to return years later. People who were struggling to "fit into the mold of society" before leaving are only going to find things more difficult after life abroad. |
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Hod
Joined: 28 Apr 2003
Posts: 1613
Location: Home
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| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:15 pm Post subject: |
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| JZer wrote: |
| I don't think it is a mistake. Simply many people go abroad to teach English because after college they don't know what to do with their lives. Seeing the world is a more appealing alternative. With that said, one should try to save money and be ready to go back to school when you return home. |
Not knocking JZer, who is a voice of reason, but finishing college and then heading straight overseas for any length of time shows a massive lack of forethought or proper advice.
And not wishing to annoy folk, but a major problem with teaching at any level, from lowliest backpacker up to university dean, is that the authority and respect commanded comes with the cornflakes. I was an engineer before becoming a teacher and was gobsmacked by the respect bestowed on me in my new job. OK, I was responsive to such appreciation, but on the other hand I worked with some abysmal teachers, no more than entertainers, and they too received high praise. I really believe some teachers get �drunk� on the authority and respect shown to them. As an engineer again, I now have to work 100 times harder to get respect, and even then it won�t be so forthcoming, but it will be earned. After ESL/TEFL, that sort of respect means diddly squat unless you have other skills or can sell your teaching experience in a very good light. |
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bfrog
Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:04 am Post subject: |
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| Hey Hod, how long were you working as an engineer before doing TEFL? I'm thinking of a similar path, but I don't plan on getting into TEFL for life either. At the same time it's difficult to waste some of the best years of my life sitting in an office, so I'm looking to strike a balance. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:54 am Post subject: |
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| Hod wrote: |
| JZer wrote: |
| I don't think it is a mistake. Simply many people go abroad to teach English because after college they don't know what to do with their lives. Seeing the world is a more appealing alternative. With that said, one should try to save money and be ready to go back to school when you return home. |
Not knocking JZer, who is a voice of reason, but finishing college and then heading straight overseas for any length of time shows a massive lack of forethought or proper advice. |
I guess I fall into that category, and to boot I had just turned 20 when I started teaching. Now six years later, I'm not sure if I regret it or not. I'm trying to finish up my thesis, the saga continues, I haven't heard if I passed or not. I have come to terms of reality and that is that I probably won't go home and will end up in Peru for a long while, don't really like that option, but marriage and a house and assets are hard to get rid of. I will say that I feel that I've aged a lot in these 6 years.
It doesn't necessarily have to be a mistake if you go abroad straight out of uni, but you should keep going to conferences, taking courses, and studying more. |
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Hod
Joined: 28 Apr 2003
Posts: 1613
Location: Home
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 7:54 am Post subject: |
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| bfrog wrote: |
| Hey Hod, how long were you working as an engineer before doing TEFL? I'm thinking of a similar path, but I don't plan on getting into TEFL for life either. At the same time it's difficult to waste some of the best years of my life sitting in an office, so I'm looking to strike a balance. |
Only four years as an engineer, but luckily I didn't burn any bridges when I left. After five years as a teacher, I went back to the same engineering company. Reading that, it sounds duller than dull, but I am now working as an engineer in Germany and could do this job anywhere in the EU and further. I'm not saying I'm that good at engineering - it's not about me - but a lot of jobs other than teaching offer opportunities to live and work overseas. |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:46 am Post subject: |
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| Only four years as an engineer, but luckily I didn't burn any bridges when I left. After five years as a teacher, I went back to the same engineering company. Reading that, it sounds duller than dull, but I am now working as an engineer in Germany and could do this job anywhere in the EU and further. I'm not saying I'm that good at engineering - it's not about me - but a lot of jobs other than teaching offer opportunities to live and work overseas. |
Interesting. I am actually thinking about getting a nursing license and working abroad as a nurse.
My first choice is to get a job in an embassy but that is not easy. If that does not work out I may get a nursing degree and head back abroad when I am 35. I could work in any English speaking country, military base, or on a cruise ship. |
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Mike_2007
Joined: 24 Apr 2007
Posts: 349
Location: Bucharest, Romania
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 10:53 am Post subject: |
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JZer, my ex worked abroad a lot as a nurse, predominantly in the KSA. She pulled in a very good salary working there. She said that those with UK/USA training were getting about double her salary.
She had excellent facilities, reasonable hours, accommodation and flights home a few times a year. Ok, maybe the KSA isn't everyone's ideal destination (it certainly wouldn't be mine) but if you had the qualifications a stint there would certainly enable you to pay off any debts or save up a hefty nest egg.
Mike |
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gungediana
Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 11:47 am Post subject: |
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interesting thread once again peeps
Hod I like your theory about ESL teachers getting 'drunk' on the praise they receive. And I think it's absolutely spot on. To expand the point, for example life in Korea as an ESL teacher is very very easy really. You can coast at work by putting in very little effort and get by fine. You can live very well, go out 4 or 5 times a week if you want and still save plenty of money. I think a lot of people who go there end up getting very cocky and thinking that life is easy. They think they can just coast through any job, only to get a big shock when they get back home.
I too went abroad aged 21 straight after college (I'm nearly 26 now). I guess I feel that it's very important to gain some skills/quals that will make me employable in an above entry level job back home too in some way or another. |
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