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GambateBingBangBOOM
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
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 Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:08 pm Post subject: |
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I wish I had started earlier (doing the one-year certificate the year after I graduated university instead of five years later) and therefore had been in Japan (although I don't know that it would have been Japan if I had gone then) earlier (universities didn't require publications in the past) and so I would have also done my masters earlier and by now I would have finished either a second masters or possibly a doctorate (or possibly even a second masters and be part-way through a doctorate in the other area).
But, you know, everything you do is experience and it all adds up. If any of us could go back and change what we see as mistakes now, then our perspective would be different, and we would just see other mistakes. Like if you started late, and wish you had started earlier, then if you could somehow redo it and start earlier, then maybe instead of showing up as a mature adult, you would have shown up as pretty much a backpacker and burned out within a couple of years and gone home with no savings to the same lack of options that you had when you graduated university in the first place. |
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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: Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:50 pm Post subject: Re: Calling those with experience... |
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| simonuk wrote: |
| In a hypothetical world, if you could start again, how would you construct your ESL career? |
I wouldn't. I would stay away from EFL. Sure, you can learn some things and see some, but you can do all that with a career that pays well and allows you some vacation/travel time.
If you just want an extended vacation/adventure, sure, EFL is fine.
Get a TEFL cert, go on an adventure for a few years, and then go back to the "real" world so you can actually have a savings, pension, benefits etc. |
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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: Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:52 pm Post subject: |
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| sparks wrote: |
I would have got out about 6 or so years ago, happy with the experience of having lived abroad for awhile and not feeling as though I've wasted a lot of time. I would have started an MA in something completely unrelated to teaching and have found a career which pays better and gives me a sense that what I'm doing with my life actually matters. Never too late to start over though ( I hope)  |
No, it's never too late!
Best of luck on getting OUT of TEFL! |
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spanglish
Joined: 21 May 2009
Posts: 742
Location: working on that
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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Prof.gringo - I think you exaggerate a bit about the negatives of EFL, but...some of what you say seems to make sense.
My reason for doing EFL is more because I'm attracted by the adventure and learning opportunities of living abroad, not because I set out to have a teaching career (though I've found there's lots I like about teaching EFL). So, having said that - what kind of careers are out there that would allow somebody some freedom to live in different parts of the world? Ideas?
I definitely want savings, benefits and the option to live back in my home country and buy big things like a house and car. |
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artemisia
Joined: 04 Nov 2008
Posts: 875
Location: the world
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| Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:53 am Post subject: |
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| - what kind of careers are out there that would allow somebody some freedom to live in different parts of the world? Ideas? |
IT, training to be any kind of medical specialist, possibly a secondary education teaching cert if you want to stay in education and go the international school route, though most of those schools require experience in your own country first. If you have another language and a teaching cert, you could try for jobs at local schools in a relevant country. |
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sistercream
Joined: 18 Dec 2010
Posts: 497
Location: Pearl River Delta
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| Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 11:50 am Post subject: |
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| artemisia wrote: |
| Quote: |
| - what kind of careers are out there that would allow somebody some freedom to live in different parts of the world? Ideas? |
IT, training to be any kind of medical specialist, possibly a secondary education teaching cert if you want to stay in education and go the international school route, though most of those schools require experience in your own country first. If you have another language and a teaching cert, you could try for jobs at local schools in a relevant country. |
Medical work will do the job if you are self-supporting and work for a charitable organisation, but most places I know (Asia & eastern Europe) require medicos to complete local licencing requirements in the local language for regular jobs.
And in Asia IT graduates are a dime a dozen and generally prepared to work for much less than any imported worker.
But if someone wants to be a "real" school teacher, then definitely get qualified as one in a system that's widely recognised and lots of doors can open up. |
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spanglish
Joined: 21 May 2009
Posts: 742
Location: working on that
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| Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:48 am Post subject: |
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| Well, I'd rather teach than work with computers or blood, so I guess I'm happy with where I'm at. |
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Zero
Joined: 08 Sep 2004
Posts: 1402
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| Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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| spanglish wrote: |
Prof.gringo - I think you exaggerate a bit about the negatives of EFL, but...some of what you say seems to make sense.
My reason for doing EFL is more because I'm attracted by the adventure and learning opportunities of living abroad, not because I set out to have a teaching career (though I've found there's lots I like about teaching EFL). So, having said that - what kind of careers are out there that would allow somebody some freedom to live in different parts of the world? Ideas?
I definitely want savings, benefits and the option to live back in my home country and buy big things like a house and car. |
In my opinion, for the best combination of flexibility, high salary and good benefits, become a certified teacher in international schools.
There are a variety of things you could do on a freelance basis, but they all require some background and know-how, in addition to time, in order to make them viable. For example, you could be a freelance writer, but you aren't going to start from scratch tomorrow and make a good living at it. Anyway, examples are: freelance journalist/technical writer/corporate writer, freelance editor, translator, graphic designer, web designer, instructor of distance-learning courses. I'm sure there are a million others. |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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| sparks wrote: |
| I would have started an MA in something completely unrelated to teaching and have found a career which pays better and gives me a sense that what I'm doing with my life actually matters. |
It sounds like teaching is not your thing if you feel that teaching doesn't matter. It surely matters to your students if you're doing a decent job. |
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