Job Discussion Forums

[dog@kew]

I thought I'd ask this separately from my other post: What would someone do if they started over, say, from about where I am? If I could go back, I'd have done things far differently than I did getting my BA. I know even less about this than I did about that. So I'll describe my self and situation, in the hope that some of you want to advise me:

I'm 31, live in Vancouver BC, where I've mostly held service industry jobs. Lately I got an BA in English, where I did well enough to consider but despair of going to grad school. I've gotten a very little bit of work at a tutoring centre (the subject of my other post), but otherwise have no qualifications.

Money wise, I'm completely broke; I'm not negatively wealthy, but I'm getting there. I have no dependents, no need to stay in the city. I don't need to make a lot of money (but I wouldn't object), or start a family.

I like post-secondary school; I'm interested in education, maybe in a more abstract sense than would make me a good teacher, at least in "the trenches." I figure I'll need to go back to school and the idea of going for a long time doesn't bother me in the least.

As for working conditions: hard work doesn't bother me, but a lot of stress does. I'd like to avoid treating teaching as an industry, if I could get away with it.
I'm not a disciplinarian, and not able to be entertaining at will (not to say I want to be left alone with my 100 cats and newspaper collection; I'm just not a type A sort of person. I gathered on the other thread that I'll never do well with involuntary students.

So, what would you do if you were me? something else entirely? Where would you go?

[Glenski]

You must have had some sort of plan while you were working and studying. What was it?

You've graduated and are now broke and looking for a teaching job. Congratulations. You are just like younger graduates, except that you are older. Some take the plunge abroad; the thrifty keep their heads above water, while the others blow it all and often come back complaining.

Unless you are able to find some employer abroad who is willing to pay to fly you there, I'd say stick with trying to build up some experience at home first, and look for local work teaching. I have no idea what it is like in Canada. Perhaps use your service industry experience to find foreign students that need business English along those lines...?

If you have a long-term goal to teach, you might want to consider looking into a master's plan, too, but for now, I would think that you'd want the work to put a bit of money away first. A master's will help you go further, but you need to stabilize your finances now, it seems.

[dog@kew]

It's pretty competitive here in Canada, it seems, so much that school looks like a better way to go than trying to get work experience. I appreciate most any commentary, but I'm wondering more about what a long-term plan looks like, than what I should do right now. I didn't have a plan for the degree; if I were just like the younger graduates who have plans, I wouldn't need to ask. But I guess I should probably search the previous threads some more, since the advice would be similar. Thanks for the info.

[jdl]

Teaching children and young adults is a high stress job. If you are not at all entertaining, then adults will 'vote with their feet' and we know the employment implications of that. Did I say teaching children and young adults is high stress!

How did you ever decide on education as a career path? How successful were you in the non education service sector?

I would certainly try out some teaching either as a volunteer or coach before investing money and time into a teaching degree.

As Glenski asks, "What was your plan"

[naturegirl321]

Make a plan, work towards it and change your plan as your goals change.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[norwalkesl]

[dog@kew]

Thank you, Cleric and Norwalk. That actually helps. But, do postings that display any weakness ordinarily recieve a torrent of crowing discouragement, or is it just mine? Sometimes I think there's something about me, that's even apparent in print, which makes a certain psychological type want to kick me in the shins. I recognize a certain tone here; some of my elementary school teachers would get just the same ecstatic sobriety in their voices when they'd dole out an unfair punishment. I remember it. Leave it to you guys, huh? Maybe I should.

[mozzar]

I think it's a case of warning you of the worst possibilities and being safe. If everyone on the board went around saying how easy and great teaching is they'd not only be lying, but we'd have a lot of angry people posting from some far flung region with no job, no money and no way to get home.

[Glenski]

Thanks to mozzar for summing up the "discouraging" responses to date.

We aren't saying you shouldn't come. We are saying it would be unwise in your financial situation, and that you should plan better and prepare a bit more to be safe. Most newbies here in Japan have your lack of experience teaching and just a freshly minted degree, but do you really want to move somewhere that you can't afford? or can't afford to leave?

You wanted advice. We gave it. Don't complain just because it wasn't what you wanted or expected. At least we're polite about it.

[santi84]

[dog@kew]

Fair enough. I consider myself well advised not to go beyond the safety nets in the shape I'm in now. It's just that lots of people, like me, are pretty good on their own at coming up with reasons not to try anything new. Blindness to what could go wrong, or to how difficult something might be, usually isn't my problem; but, I tend to solicit a lot of advice that assumes I'm not hard enough on myself, or not worried enough. I've lost a lot of good years to a fear of the unknown, so it gets my back up a bit when I feel as though I'm being told that I'm not scared enough.

So, is this strictly a gig for hard-asses and salesmen? Is there no point in even getting educated for it if you aren't going to be a public school teacher down the road? No point in learning if you aren't good already?

[santi84]

[Glenski]

[santi84]

True enough Glenski, I'm not well-versed in Japan's EFL industry (only Japanese studentsin Canada, I should be clear about that).

Either way, I get the impression that the OP is being sort of picky as to who or what he will teach. You can't come into this and say you don't like a lot of stress, you don't like industry, you aren't a disciplinarian, and don't want to be entertaining at will, if you've got no qualifications to be choosy about it.

You will have unhappy, unmotivated, unpleasant students - and stress. That's why I feel some form of teaching qualification is important, so you can learn how to deal with those issues and turn situations around. Not always, but sometimes