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Skyblue2
Joined: 04 Sep 2007
Posts: 127
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 Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 2:33 am Post subject: |
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| I plan to retire and enjoy the good life. |
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spanglish
Joined: 21 May 2009
Posts: 742
Location: working on that
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| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 2:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Yeah, IB school are great, but I don't want to spend years and years of my life teaching kids and/or teenagers (it's TOUGH). Looks like it's time for a masters and university route for me. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
'Upper level quals' open up lots of doors in Mexico, including the international school circuit, with connections into and out of Mexico fairly deep. My girlfriend did her teaching practicum in Monterrey through her Ontario, Canada university. Another school she worked with in Mexico City flew her to Costa Rica for IB training through their . Her current school then helped her to get a master's through their association in the US, bringing instructors down here from Buffalo state, with the program mostly subsidized by her school.
Upper level quals don't just open doors...they open up all kinds of paths in, out, and back again. It's amazing what's there if you just look. |
Going into debt for $25,000 for a master's degree...
Most folks aren't so lucky as to get a subsidized MA. Most teachers in Mexico toil in EFL sweatshops for less than 10 bucks an hour (some work for as little as 3 dollars an hour).
How long would it take to pay that off? Even the best jobs in Mexico rarely pay over $20,000 pesos per month ($1,600 US) which means a very long time paying off those student loans...  |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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| It fully depends on the choices one makes career wise- If 10 bucks an hour is where one wants to stay then there they'll stay. You don't advance if you don't try. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| It fully depends on the choices one makes career wise- If 10 bucks an hour is where one wants to stay then there they'll stay. You don't advance if you don't try. |
Yes, you are right about that Guy.
Best to find a way to make money in EFL without even giving classes anymore. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| It fully depends on the choices one makes career wise- If 10 bucks an hour is where one wants to stay then there they'll stay. You don't advance if you don't try. |
Yes, you are right about that Guy.
Best to find a way to make money in EFL without even giving classes anymore. |
Different tangent...care to explain? The example I gave above continues in education and classes. Your idea? |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 4:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| It fully depends on the choices one makes career wise- If 10 bucks an hour is where one wants to stay then there they'll stay. You don't advance if you don't try. |
Yes, you are right about that Guy.
Best to find a way to make money in EFL without even giving classes anymore. |
Different tangent...care to explain? The example I gave above continues in education and classes. Your idea? |
Open up shop and run a TEFL cert school. Might still give classes, but not to langauge Ss anymore. Time to impart all those years of EFL wisdom to the next generation of EFL pro's.
Any tips on the business of running a TEFL cert. course? |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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Ah yes that is one route forward, as I've taken. I still give classes though having a baby reduced that workload for the moment. I thought you were going to recruit for McDonald's again. 
Tips? sure...work hard, network, and know your stuff. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 4:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
Ah yes that is one route forward, as I've taken. I still give classes though having a baby reduced that workload for the moment. I thought you were going to recruit for McDonald's again.
Tips? sure...work hard, network, and know your stuff. |
McTEFL, hundreds and hundreds trained 
Thanks for the tips BTW |
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Don Alan
Joined: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 150
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
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| Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 12:22 pm Post subject: |
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I think if the question is after EFL what do you do, then I think you have to consider whether you really feel teaching is your thing or just something you used to travel to different countries and experience other realities.
I think if teaching is your thing and you want to continue it's a good idea to study more and get more qualifications - you have to mark a difference between you and the thousands who have a TEFL or CELTA.
Maybe before you start teaching you should ask yourself how long you imagine doing this for - if it isn't a vocation for you, don't linger around doing it for years, be proactive and go into another field before you get too old. |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 2:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
McTEFL, hundreds and hundreds trained
Thanks for the tips BTW |
I don�t know what your deal is with Guy, but I have hired teachers that were graduates of his program, and they have been excellent, so he must be doing something right. Oh, and one of them just got a raise, after 5 months of working for us. |
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ls650
Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 3484
Location: British Columbia
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| Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 7:14 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do after doing ESL for a few years? |
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| KyleK wrote: |
| I am curious as to what others have done AFTER teaching ESL for a few years. |
I taught EFL from 2003 until 2007, with a year in Indonesia and the rest in Mexico. Although I really enjoyed teaching, I returned to my home country because I was worried about my retirement and wanted to save more money.
I've had no problem finding employment in Canada since I returned. I spent three years doing IT support for the government, and for the last few months I've been working full-time doing software testing. To be fair, I have a bachelors degree in computer science, and I spent 13 years doing IT work before getting into TEFL, so getting back into IT work wasn't that hard. The OP's situation might be quite different if he/she goes overseas with a fresh degree and no job experience.
I've done reasonably well with the savings aspect, but I find work and life here kind of boring, and expect that I will return to TEFL in the future. Making good money isn't all it's cracked up to be. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 4:21 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do after doing ESL for a few years? |
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| ls650 wrote: |
| KyleK wrote: |
| I am curious as to what others have done AFTER teaching ESL for a few years. |
I taught EFL from 2003 until 2007, with a year in Indonesia and the rest in Mexico. Although I really enjoyed teaching, I returned to my home country because I was worried about my retirement and wanted to save more money.
I've had no problem finding employment in Canada since I returned. I spent three years doing IT support for the government, and for the last few months I've been working full-time doing software testing. To be fair, I have a bachelors degree in computer science, and I spent 13 years doing IT work before getting into TEFL, so getting back into IT work wasn't that hard. The OP's situation might be quite different if he/she goes overseas with a fresh degree and no job experience.
I've done reasonably well with the savings aspect, but I find work and life here kind of boring, and expect that I will return to TEFL in the future. Making good money isn't all it's cracked up to be. |
Making good money, having a good time while working, seeing the world, having excellent medical, dental, benefits, a pension plan, and some very nice savings in the bank, all that is possible with the right (non-EFL) career.
Best of luck everybody! |
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sakakisins
Joined: 05 Feb 2011
Posts: 16
Location: CL
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| Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 12:21 am Post subject: Re: Lifers |
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| Leroyal wrote: |
| Sadly even with connections there really is only so far you can go in Latin America. As much fun as it may be I know a far better quality of life awaits any dishwasher in Australia than any teacher in Latin America. |
Perhaps I've taken this the wrong way but I feel a little ofended by this. Why do ppl assume all of Latin America is the same? I feel Chile is quite different. A really smart "gringo" teacher with good qualifications could really go a long way here. |
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just_a_mirage
Joined: 11 Nov 2008
Posts: 169
Location: ecuador
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| Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 1:01 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, I do too Sakakisins. I have lived and worked in Ecuador for the better part of the last decade, and I stay because I think I have a pretty good quality of life.
Im not making as much as people in the Middle East, or maybe Asia, but at this point in my life, I am not as interested in making lots of money. I love the climate, I have great, respectful students, the places I work respect my experience, and offer me the opportunity to use it in a variety of ways. My kids are doing well, and are fully bi-lingual, and we enjoy paying just $4 dollars to jump on a bus to be at the beach in 90 minutes, or pay $4 and go to the mountains. The food here is great, the people are warm and friendly, the music is fantastic, medical care is incredibly cheap. Those are all pretty much the things I think of when I am evaluating quality of life. |
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