Job Discussion Forums

cheerfuldougg · Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 4

I am a 50 y/o married male in US. Have a BA. Kids (finally) out of the house. Wife and I would like to see some of the world, but need some form of (partial) support to do so. Need to be certified.
Am I too old to even be thinking about this?
Any advice? Esp. from other "mature" ESL'ers?

tomstone · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 293

I hope your not to old! I'm 56, just got a contract renewal, and hope to keep renewing. I started teaching ESL when I was 55.

cheerfuldougg · Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 4

You make me feel better about this idea. I would love to hear more about your experience.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

I'm older than you and started at 40. Depends on where you want to be, but generally your vanilla BA degree puts you on the bottom rung of most teaching positions:

ALT
conversation school
business English if you're lucky to have the right experience

How long did you envision doing this, and what will your wife do while you are working?

What does "need to be certified" mean?

tomstone · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 293

Cheerfuldougg, go to "China (Job-Related Posts)" and look at "I am 63 years old am I to old to teach in China/get Z-Visa?". Lots of many different stories. It's a new thread, very easy to find.

cheerfuldougg · Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 4

Thanks Glenski and tomstone,

By "certified" I meant I had not yet got my TEFL certification.

I would like to do this at least until I can retire (60-62 yo), but knows what the future holds?

Not sure what my wife is going to be doing - still some details to work out.

thanks again!

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 2:54 pm Post subject:

I've got three colleagues older than you. Two started EFL last year.

Get a good cert, and off you go. Which countries interest you?

Best,
Justin

cheerfuldougg · Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 4

Thanks Justin,

What do you mean by a "good certification"? I have been studying the websites to determine what is the best route for certification. Oxford Seminars offers a 60 hr cert. at a University near me. Any suggestions?

I think I would like to stay on "this side of the pond" - Latin America or South America - but am open.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

In many countries, entry level jobs don't require any type of certification. If you feel you need it, of course, by all means get it.

Realize, too, that in many/most cases you may run into jobs where your boss is half your age. Think about it. Also, that boss may not really know a lot about the biz.

barabbas · Joined: 22 Aug 2009 Posts: 58

I'd agree your age should be no problem - a place that doesn't want to hire you because of it is probably not worth working at anyway.

The best intro. cert. is usually considered to be the CELTA. If you're in the States the following locations offer it:

http://cambridgeesol-centres.org/centres/teaching/search.do;jsessionid=9DACFCDC7B57EDCFC3BFB0C06EBA870B.node02?source=teacheraward&country=US&qualification=10&Input=Search

csfek · Joined: 09 Aug 2006 Posts: 41 Location: USA

Why don't you try the Peace Corps? I think that quite a few of their volunteers end up teaching English. I also think you can do a master's degree in TESOL through them, although I don't know any specifics about that.

tomstone · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 293

Threnody · Joined: 13 Nov 2009 Posts: 26 Location: Pennsylvania

Chris_Crossley

I have an Australian colleague who, like me, has been here in China for a number of years and is going to be celebrating his 60th birthday next month. A number of fellow teachers in our education training centre are past their 50th year already, too. So, it�s never too late to start teaching English, especially in the Middle Kingdom!

coledavis · Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 1838

Your age is no problem (I was another starter at 50). I do have a problem however with this talk of not getting a decent training course under your belt. Unless you already have teaching experience - and even then, TEFL is a rather specialist type of training - you're likely to be at sea when you start. I recommend the CELTA if you want to approach teaching with any seriousness. Also, holding the CELTA is very very helpful in applying for that first job.