Job Discussion Forums

[spiral78]

It would be extremely rare to get a summer camp job that will pay for your travel to and from the country...you'll ned to be prepared to pay for this, I expect.

[mgs2]

I fully expect to pay for my flights, I understand this. I agree with the points raised, the trip would not necessarily be designed to make money, I understand I may lose money given costs of the flights. I'm trying to isolate countries which I could work given my qualifications, experience and the fact that I don't have a degree.

Would Korea be possible? What about other countries in Asia, e.g. Taiwan, China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore?

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Rather than worrying about what countries would allow you to do this, etc, maybe you should go at it from the other way around. You're trying to find a summer camp job that hires from overseas. So start looking through ads to find them, and then find out what they are asking for.

Basically there are only two ways to go: 1. Arrive with a job already (so look for positions being advertised and see what they require) 2. Pick a country (you're better off with the ones with a history of hiring people without a degree, obviously) and arrive without a job, meaning arrive on a tourist visa (if one is required), or else a working holiday visa, as Glenski has mentioned at least once, and start looking. Change visas when you find a job, if your employer doesn't want you working for that length of time on a tourist visa.

[Glenski]

[jdl]

mgs2,
Just curious, as a college student, why you are intent on going overseas for a summer job. When I was in college money was always the issue so my summer jobs paid a lot, had lots of overtime and involved a lot of physical labour (since that was where the money was). The jobs were as unrelated to my studies as I could get just for the break and as far removed from my uni lifestyle as I could get.
This may be personal; that is, no answer required but I am curious as to the motivation.

[mgs2]

Thanks for the responses. To address some of the questions, the reason that I said that having done some years of university is of benefit, is because it was when I was in Vietnam. I would put my resume I had completed 2 years of my degree, and in VN they said some shorter degrees were 2 years, and therefore this is was of benefit.

I am less interested in summer camps, I prefer teaching adults. I want to go overseas because I'm interested in travel, and new experiences, particularly new experiences in Asia. I'm not concerned so much by how much I earn in the job, just that I'm enjoying myself, experiencing new things and continually challenging myself.

At the moment I'm looking at Korea and particularly Seoul. I currently teach at at English Language Centre in Sydney that specalises in Korean students. My Korean students have told me there is lots of work for English teachers in Seoul, and that even without a degree I would have good chances. Does anyone have any experiences in Korea? I appreciate all the responses, so far, thanks.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I think your best bet if your interested in Korea is to ask at the Korean forum (you need separate registration).

I also think you need a degree to work in Korea, but you could look into working holiday options.

Students are often not the best source of information on working as a foreigner in their country. They're great for life in the country, but they may not know what's required to work there as a foreigner, though judging from the number of ads in the Korean jobs section, I would say that it's safe to say that there is a lot of work available there.

[mgs2]

Is it possible to come in on a tourist visa then change it to a some sort of working visa once I've secured a job.

It was much easier sorting visas in Vietnam, everyone just worked on a tourist visa and got paid cash, it was never an issue. I guess that was just lucky in that case.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Ummm... come in WHERE??? Pick a country. Ask in the forums for that country. As far as Japan is concerned, no, you couldn't do that without a degree, because without a degree you don't qualify for a work visa. You could burn through a working holiday visa, but I'm not sure you can change to one of those from within the country.

Vietnam is not unique in that aspect, but it's probably a lot more common in countries that don't have a glut of native English speakers looking for jobs.

Is now a good time to point out to you that summer language camps have probably done hiring in the northern hemisphere, and that Australian summer holiday is not a particularly good time of year to go looking for a job in many countries because of New Year or Christmas? Most jobs around that time of year will be for year long jobs- and in fact, in Japan, there are very, very few jobs starting at that time at all. At the beginning of most Australian summer holidays, the year is winding down and people are just tying up loose ends before the break. Then it's the New Year Break and most of the country is shut down. Finally, January is around when hiring for year long contracts starting in April begins. It's really an appallingly bad time of year to arrive in Japan looking for a job.

Summer (in the country you go to) is about the only time when short term jobs are commonly available, so maybe you might want to think about somewhere in the southern part of South America? If you ask around, I think you'll find that you don't need a degree throughout most of it.

Many of the countries in the southern part of Africa are English speaking, so there likely will be zero paying jobs for a foreigner there, either.

[santi84]

Just to echo GambateBingBangBOOM, students are a poor source of information for employment in Korea. Although there is a lot of work in Korea, I have never met a student who knew about visa and employment requirements for foreigners. A lot of Koreans in Canada seem to tell every white Canadian that they should go to Korea and teach English.

I think you may be looking a job that probably does not exist, due to your short availability. If you were willing to take a longer (one year) contract, the situation would change. You have to look at it from the perspective of any employer - would YOU go through all the work of hiring someone from overseas who can only stay for six weeks, and hasn't even graduated yet?

[JZer]

[santi84]

[naturegirl321]

[mgs2]

Thanks for the replies. JZer mentioned you couldn't get a working visa without a degree, does that depend which country you come from? I know numerous people come to Australia with a degree on a working visa, that's often the point, because its young people who want to do this 18/19 year olds, who aren't old enough to get a degree.

In relation to the duration of work. In Vietnam people often took on long one year contracts, and might leave after 6 months. I know this is dishonest, but I believe if you give your employer enough notice, provide every assistance required to your students and successor, then it needn't be that disruptive. Is this also possible in Korea, to take on a longer term contract and then depart before its conclusion?

[JZer]

mgs2,