Job Discussion Forums

[coledavis]

Returning to my advice about giving preference to a well-recognised course, even if it does cost more. Here's a sliver from the application criteria from a very recent ad from a school in Russia:

* Hold a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (The Cambridge CELTA, the Trinity College London TESOL etc)

I.e. the two named are clearly trusted. You could get through with an etc, but the named ones are likely to offer an edge (as it did in one of my recent jobs).

[maruss]

I have Trinity TESOL and it is widely recognised,although do bear in mind that there are a number of countries that insist on a Bachelor degree as well,although it doesn't always have to be in English language:some examples are Japan,Korea,Thailand,Turkey,Greece,Hungary etc where the law requires this to give a work permit to teachers.Other places depend on the discretion and choice of the employer.

[eslcowboy]

i would say that teaching in russia is prohibitively difficult. getting the visa can be a real pain in the ass and you can expect problems. unless you know russia a bit, i wouldn't recommend jumping into any job which seems a bit odd or a school that seems to be disorganized. unfortunately, that means you'll probably end up working for some english mill school, and they are pretty bad there. but at least you'll probably have all your docs in order...

[coledavis]

[coledavis]

[maruss]

As a general rule,the more inconvenience your are prepared to put up with,the more you can save financially on agents etc.Of course if you live a long way from the Embassy you will have travelling time and expenses,plus the hours they tend to open at etc.Russian visas are quite expensive for U.K. passport holders(but Russians will say we charge them a lot too!) and one of my big advantages was being able to use my Cypriot passport,for which visa fees were much lower than they would have been with my U.K. one.I was also told by a friend in London quite recently that the Russian Embassy there no longer issues visas to individuals who want to go and arrange them personally and you now have to use their appointed agents to make the arrangements,obviously at a fee!So I would advise people to verify this-mind you queuing outside in the rain etc. was quite a miserable way of spending what could be several hours to make the initial application!

[coledavis]

Yes, in London, instead of the Russian Consulate, the process has been outsourced. It's much nicer than queuing outside the consulate, but twice as expensive.

[dav06012]