Job Discussion Forums

[cdodson]

Hello everyone out there in ESL land!

My name is Chris and I�m planning on teaching in S.E. Asia by 2015, sooner if I can swing it. I�m currently a senior at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho and on track to graduate in Spring of 2013. My major is History/Social Studies/Secondary Education. I want to teach everywhere in S.E. Asia, starting with So. Korea or China.

About me: 39 (almost 40) year old divorced male with 1 kid who will graduate high school before I graduate college. I�ve worked in the computer/printer tech support field for 14 years with Hewlett-Packard, prior to that I was a self-employed dog groomer. Left turn in my life and I started school to be a History teacher.

I�ve been trolling the board here for a while just digging for answers to all of my questions, but I still have a few that have been unanswered concerning my girlfriend. We want to get contracts as a couple.

She has some credits in nursing, but not enough for a degree, so she was thinking about an online college like Stevens-Henagar or University of Phoenix to finish up and get her nursing degree. So you�ve probably already guessed the question. Does an online BA/BS degree suffice for work visa�s in Korea?

We plan to take a TEFL course after we get our degrees. I�m leaning towards CELTA YL for both of us. She wants to teach the kiddies and I�m more apt to teach the older ones and adults, but the little ones are fine with me too, so the YL option for both of us would give us an advantage on the CV�s.

After we�ve done all we can do over in Asia, we plan to come back to the States and settle down. I would of course want to get into teaching History, she would want to get back into nursing. My hope is that while I�m over there I can do a distance MA in History or Education of some sort. That way I can teach college level History or something. Plans have a way of falling apart though so I�m open to change, but not when it comes to S.E. Asia. I�ve set my mind to that part of my plan and will not waiver!


So if anyone would like to give me some feedback on my rough draft plan and the ONE question I have it would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Chris

[naturegirl321]

If you have a license to teach, try intl schools at www.tes.co.uk You usually need two years experience, but some of the less popular countries don't require those.

As for your girlfriend, she'll hae to find a place where she can work without a degree, such as China, Japan (if she can prove work experience I believe), Korea (through the TALK programme) Maybe Thailand. Maybe

If you want to settle in the States, make sure you can save. Many people work in the US, then retire abroad, lower cost of living.

Hope this helps

[cdodson]

[Glenski]

Have questions about what's feasible in Korea? Go to the Korea forum. Separate signup needed.

Best guess is that such a degree will work.

As for your "plan"...

You limit yourselves by trying to go somewhere and teach as a couple. Neither of you has any teaching experience, so you will both have to start out in entry level jobs. That means low pay. It also means you will both have to get a visa.

[runthegauntlet]

You're a Senior now and on track to graduate in 20....13?!?

And South Korea and China aren't SE Asia.

Yes, distance degrees are accepted in Korea. It's quite common to work on those while working in Korea as well and there are a number of threads concerning that on the Korean forums. You wouldn't be teaching History, though. Nor would you be likely to teach History in the States with a Master's. You'd probably have to pony up for the doctorate.

CELTA/TEFL certs. aren't necessary to work in Korea, although from a practical standpoint, they're sure to benefit you both in the short and long terms. BUT, the differences between CELTAs and generic TEFLs are not readily recognized here. Not to say that couldn't change in the future, but for now a 300 dollar, 100 hour TEFL certificate will get you the same public school raise as a 2,500 CELTA. It may or not give you an advantage on your CV depending on whether or not the employer has ever heard of such a thing, but I'd lean towards advantage.

And you should probably forget about the 'being hired as a couple' thing. It's becoming rarer and rarer.

Anyway, check out the Korean boards for all this stuff.

[runthegauntlet]

Oh, and as an addendum, it's quite silly to post this when you're still four to five years away from giving it a go. Visa regulations can change almost overnight so what's accepted now may not be accepted next year. And it's entirely feasible the ESL industry as we know it can be completely revamped in these countries.

And as you mentioned, plans have a way of falling through. If I were you, I'd revisit this issue when you're less than a year away from being able to actually commit to whatever you decide. Then you can get accurate info. on what you need to do to go where you want to go.

[Glenski]

[cdodson]

[cdodson]

[cdodson]