Job Discussion Forums

[eveliens]

Hi everyone. I�m considering teaching overseas and being the serious planner I am, I have started working my way through the forum. After reading several threads I don�t know if I should assimilate into a US corporate drone or continue on, ha. In any case, here�s a little bit about me.

-26 years old; female
-BA in Communication Arts (with an emphasis on research, although I can do marketing and journalism too)
-no real attachments: no boyfriend, kids, career, etc.
-very thrifty but has some student loans that will come a knocking soon
-only has basic conversational Spanish no other languages besides English
-a keen interesting in both teaching and other cultures
-interested in Asia because that seems to be where most of the jobs/pay is
-not really interested in Korea if I can help it or the Middle East
-very interested in Thailand, Taiwan, certain parts of China and Japan
-would probably eventually like to teach in Eastern Europe
-willing to work with adults or younger children; willing to work private classes; willing to work 20-30 hours a week

At this point I have no experience or certification at all. I�ve been looking into volunteering with ESL in the area and substitute teaching, but by the time I get those in a row, I�ll more than likely be moving. So I�m also looking for those opportunities where I�m moving.

I was also looking at CELTA training overseas. There are no in-country CELTA courses near me, the closest being in Texas. I figure if I�m going that far south, I might as well hop the border and take a course in Mexico. I understand the course is a boot camp, but I figure if I could manage 70 hour weeks (18 credit hours/full-time retail work) for two years, I could probably handle a month of cram.

So basically, I need some direction. Good books to read? Places to considering looking for volunteer opportunities? About how much money should I be saving? What�re the best times to go over to Asia and/or start job hunting? Which CELTA program (I understand they�re the same quality-wise, but location-wise?)?

I am really looking at Japan because a friend will more than likely be teaching over there and I would be nice to be in the same general area. I do have to say up front I am not an �edu-tainer� or a clown; I am a serious, hardworking individual (I�m not saying I�m stuffy, but if I were that silly I would�ve gone into broadcast.). I know the market�s flooded right now in Japan, so I need a leg up, obviously! I applied for JET this year and was not accepted. I intend to apply again this fall, but I suspect the competition will be just as fierce if not more so! I picked a really bad time to graduate!

Also, to address the money issue: I�m living off $1200 USD right now while paying rent/utilities and it�s taking every penny I have just to do so. I�m moving in the summer to save money (aka going to live in my parent�s basement, so to speak) and hopefully will get a job after moving (yikes!). Reading some of the threads, it seems like I�d be making as much overseas with a free place to live? I�m not looking to get rich, I�m not a party-er, but I don�t enjoying being broke and/or desperate and would LOVE to get some money in savings as well as start paying off my loans!

[naturegirl321]

This site is good. Pick a country and read up on it. Then ask specific questions. Everyone here is pretty friendly and willing to help

[Glenski]

[coledavis]

It doesn't matter where you take CELTA.

Books:
Jeremy Harmer's How to teach English (not the other Harmer book which is very poor), for general advice about how to teach;
Martin Parrott's Grammar for English Teachers;
and, once you're a bit more advanced, Michael Lewis' The English Verb which has great advice for the effective teaching of grammar.

Research: if you prefer not to TEFL, there is a market for researchers in London. Is there not in the US? (It pays better!)

[eveliens]

I feel generic

Thank you everyone for the book suggestions. Very helpful!

And, coledavis, didn't really think about that. I would probably be just as happy researching as teaching. I'm pretty flexible about jobs (I work retail and enjoy it... people think I'm crazy).

Glenski, thank you for taking the time to answer my post. Hopefully this gives you a little bit more insight.

[Glenski]

[eveliens]

[Glenski]

[eveliens]

[powerrose]

China might be better if you're serious about teaching. The rate of pay is, on average, lower, but the cost of living is dead cheap, and there are people there who work multiple jobs (private students, etc).

Its equal parts shocking and amazing how bad Japanese people are at learning English. A big part of it is that they don't start learning until 7th grade (though things are changing). Monkey jobs are very, very common there....

Plus, Chinese is a much more useful language to learn, though much, much harder.

The quality of life is much lower in China, esp. rural China vs. rural Japan. No onsens or 7-11s stocked with corndogs (yes, I briefly lived on a diet of 7-11 corndogs when I lived in rural Japan)

Lastly, the market is NOT tight in China. You've basically got your pick there.....