Job Discussion Forums

[rustbot82]

I'm an American with a useless liberal arts B.A. I've been teaching in Korea and pondering what to do next. I have met many Canadians in Seoul, read a lot about Canada, and am considering moving there for a variety of reasons. I kinda wanna go back to school in Toronto or Vancouver. I know I'd have to be there for a bit before I could get the same tuition rates as Canadian citizens, but I wouldn't mind. I think I might like to work towards Canadian citizenship.

I've thought about getting a real teaching degree, and then shooting for a job teaching at an international school somewhere. I am most interested in Latin America, but anyplace with warm weather sounds cool.

I have looked around online a bit, and it seems that while there are a few Canadian International Schools - I found one in China - there are many more American International Schools. And I've read that many of the American schools may not be able to hire non-US nationals. I don't know if they would honor teaching credentials from another country.

If I got a teaching degree in Canada (I'm thinking science/biology) would I be able to land a job teaching overseas somewhere?

Any Canadian citizens out there have experience with the private international school job market?

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[rustbot82]

[naturegirl321]

Liberal Arts isn't a useless degree. You have a BA, so why not get an MA?

As for Canadian citizneship, I don't know about that. BUt what I DO know is that it's tough to get into Canadian teaching schools. I read in a journal that only 1 in 5 get in, or something like that

I don't know about Canadian international schools. usually they're Britsh or American. BUt you don't have to have that citizenship to teach there. I taught at a British intl school and a German bilingual one.

Intl schools ls are just that, international. They have teachers from around the world with different degrees.

[naturegirl321]

[spiral78]

I'm a US citizen with permanent residency in Canada. It would have been totally impossible for me to get on my own, though I have 14 years experience as a teacher plus MA and other quals. Got it through my spouse - who is a Czech citizen with a ' high need' job in Canada.

Your tactic of trained RN might work, but as NG points out, there are quotas dependent upon your home country, and US citizens aren't actually at the top of the list... you'll want to research that carefully before committing to the training.

[XO]

Long time lurker, but I can actually contribute to this thread.

I live in BC and am finishing up a degree and am debating between going into teaching or nursing.

Several of my cousins and friends are teachers teaching in international schools across the world with their Canadian BEds (and some experience). Many international schools state that they prefer teaching a specific curriculum, but if you interview well and have good credentials then it is possible to make the switch.

The harder part of your plan is getting into the Ed program of your choice. The TO teaching scene is pretty bleak. Several years ago there was a consensus that there was going to be a huge shortage of teachers, so they opened up more teaching colleges. This created a large glut of new teachers, which unfortunately, had no jobs available for them. The older teachers were not retiring, and to make things worse, when they did retire, they snapped up all the Long Term Occasional (LTO) and sub jobs.

In BC, the situation in the Lower Mainland (Vancouver) and Vancouver Island (Victoria/Nanaimo) is much the same. The added difficulties are that schools are shutting down in Vancouver due to declining enrolment and that experienced teachers from all over the country are keen to move to the area due to the pleasant living conditions.

This all comes to play as most good international schools would like their teachers to have several years of post qualification experience at a minimum. In an environment where there are too many grads and too few jobs this becomes a significant obstacle.

If you have good marks ( >3.5/4),references and local classroom experience (can be volunteer) you would get into a BC teaching program. The PDP or Post degree program is between 12 and 24 months depending on the school, and upon completion awards a BEd and a BC teachers cert.

Schools in BC to look at would be Uvic, UBC, SFU and VIU. Check with each program to see what the prerequisites for teaching secondary science are. (I haven't looked into it as I was looking at Elementary).

A bright spot, depending on how you look at it, is the increasing number of Canadian offshore schools. A quick google will take you to the Canadian government website which has a list of Canadian curriculum schools overseas. These schools have been known to hire teachers straight from college.

[XO]

As for working to make ends meet while going to school in Canada.

There certainly is a need for LPNs in Canada, unfortunately, for the most part, they are nowhere near Vancouver or Toronto. The exception being in long term care homes, old age homes and in home care. This work is less well paid and more irregular.

Training to become an LPN can be expensive and depending on the province, takes between 1-2 years. If you already have this training from the US, then you will need to take the licensing exam for either BC or ON. This can take up to a year as it is a bureaucratic mess to do so.

If you were determined to be in Canada by working in healthcare, I would recommend taking a short Residential Care Aid program and then working in Old Age homes etc... It is at the bottom of the Health Care totem pole, but the advantages to it are that jobs are reasonably plentiful, and hours can be flexible. The drawbacks are that it takes a certain fortitude and determination to do the job.

If you have other skills or credentials I may be able to give advice on how to find a decent job in Canada if you let me (or the forum) know. I do meet quite a few Americans up here, so it can be done.

@ spiral78 - RNs in Canada are now required to have a Bachelors Degree in Nursing, LPNs tend to attend college for 1-2 years. As such, RNs tend to have a much easier time getting visas and work.

Cheers

[spiral78]

@ spiral78 - RNs in Canada are now required to have a Bachelors Degree in Nursing, LPNs tend to attend college for 1-2 years. As such, RNs tend to have a much easier time getting visas and work


I'm just a lowly EFL teacher. Might have been easier if I were interested in a career in health care!

[XO]

Sorry,
Guess I had a pedantic moment there. I have mixed up RN and LPN before and got blasted for it. I just brought it up as they have much different prospects in terms of getting a visa. Professional degree holders and ticketed tradesmen have it easier than college graduates and apprentices.

Spiral78:
I'm just a lowly EFL teacher. Might have been easier if I were interested in a career in health care!

Ha. I'm in health care but am interested in EFL/ESL. No one is happy to see me (I'm a paramedic), they may be relieved, but never happy.
Would be nice to have a job where you get to interact with people beyond assessing their level of conciousness and medical history.

[XO]

@ op

There is a BC offshore school in Seoul. Google "BIS canada" for info. They may be able to provide some insight.

[smurfetta]

I'm a BC certified teacher so I think I can provide useful information too. Check out the BC College of Teachers website. I think you may need to have at least landed status to apply for certification. Not sure though... It is worth contacting them to verify this.

You should also contact an academic advisor at the universities that you are interested in applying to. They will know whether a foreign student can do a B.Ed and get certification in BC.

As for BC off-shore schools, there are loads of them in China and two that I know of in Korea. One is BIS Canada and the other is a new one that opened up this year in Sokcho. I just learned that there is another one opening up soon but don't know the details yet. One thing I can say is that employment prospects are very good for a BC certified teacher who wants to teach in an offshore school. I'm a science teacher and I've had very positive responses to my applications to these schools.

Now as for getting a job in BC, that is much tougher to do. If I wanted to work in a remote area then I would have no problem getting work.

Anyway, that's all I can think of now. Ask me any questions if you want.

[XO]

@ smurfetta

Would you say prospects are much better for secondary teachers? It seems like a lot of the offshore/dogwood programs seem to be Gr 10 - 12 only.

As a prospective (male) primary teacher, prospects look pretty poor for me to work in BC.
Any thoughts?

[smurfetta]

Hmmm... I'm not sure. Some offshore schools are 10-12 but others are k-12. I've been offered an elementary position at one school and a middle school in another. Also, at an interview I was asked whether I was willing to teach lower grades than what I was trained for. BC certification allows a teacher to teach k-12 in all subjects. It is up to the school or school district whether they want to give you a position that you weren't trained for.

Another thing to know is that starting next school year all kindergarten classes will be full-day. So, there should be more kindergarten jobs. I think male elementary school teacher have a little bit of an edge over females. I know one male elementary school teacher who is getting a lot of supply work in an independent school.

[XO]

Thanks for the info.

Maple Leaf schools seems to be a big hirer of new BC grads and getting bigger all the time. I just noticed that the BC offshore list has been updated in the past week. Seems they are making serious inroads into China.

Best of luck with whichever contract you pick