Job Discussion Forums

in_need_of_advice! · Joined: 18 Mar 2011 Posts: 5

Hello all! Newbie here...
I have read a lot on this forum, but I still have questions that aren't answered.
Here's the set up:
I am an Elementary Education teacher, certified, with two years of teaching experience in Michigan. I do not have a TEFL certificate.
I am looking for new experiences and am trying to find "the right" place to teach overseas. I feel bogged down with information and many horror stories!
I'm leaning towards South Korea, but I am not even sure if that is the right country.
I have a plethora of questions!
-Where should I teach? I'm looking to go somewhere for only 1 year, return to the US, and have that look good on my resume, attractive to employers. I'm worried I'll go to an Asian country, and schools won't find my experience relevent. I also do not want to have to dip into a lot of my own money- I don't need to make extra money, but I want to live comfortably wherever I go.
-Do I NEED to get a TEFL certificate? I don't mind paying, but I'm worried about finding an appropriate one before I would like to leave (with 100+ hours/classroom experience). I am currently teaching, so that would only leave the summer free to take the class.
-Is it better to go public or private?
-is EPIK a good program?
- Anyone know about TEACH AWAY? I read previous posts, but was wondering if any more information was out there.

At this point, I welcome any and all feedback! I'm trying to muddle my way through all the information, and I'm feeling discouraged.
Thanks!

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

"Where should I teach?"
This is totally subjective, and we can't possibly answer that with certainty because we are not you.

tttompatz · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 11:50 pm Post subject:

Certified teacher with 2 years in the classroom = don't waste your time on ESL. Look for a decent international school. tess.org or ibo.org would be good places to begin your search.

It will look good on your resume.
You MAY decide to stay for more than one year.
You won't need a TESOL cert.
The pay and benefits are much better and you won't need to touch your savings for anything other than your visa.

Unless you want to move down the scale, give Korea a skip. We can't talk about Korea in the international forums (go to the Korean forums) but I will say that moving from being a teacher at home to being a TA in Korea is not in your best interests.

.

TeresaLopez · Joined: 18 Apr 2010 Posts: 601 Location: Mexico City

First of all, teaching contect is a lot different from teaching ESL. If you are certified to teach a subject, or in Elementary Education is the US, then you would be better off, and your students would probably be better of, if you teach the same thing in your year abroad. As another poster stated, in many countries certified teachers are in demand, the pay is better, often far better, and you already have everything you need to get a visa in any country you decide to teach in. I think your first step is to decide if you want to teach ESL, and second, if you do, narrow it down to a country, or at least a few countries and then take it from there. And even though it might not be a requirement for the job, or for a visa, if you have no experience teaching ESL, you will do a better job if you get a certificate of some kind, since you have teaching experience already an online certificate would at least give you some ideas of how to teach ESL. I have a degree in Elementary Ed. from the US, and taught in Catholic and public schools there for 6 years before teaching ESL, and it is not at all the same.

in_need_of_advice! · Joined: 18 Mar 2011 Posts: 5

@Glenski- Thanks for your feedback. To be perfectly honest, I hadn't necessarily even thought about teaching in international schools. When looking online, that hadn't even popped up or occured to me. I do feel that would be a better fit- can you point me in the direction of some good information/schools?

@ttompatz- Thanks for your advice. I think that would be a better idea- when I searched for ibo.org, none of it was available... is that temporary?
tess.org didn't bring up any results. I did find ISS, but there seems to be a lot of charges- registration, conferences... like $500 dollars. I'm inclined to feel scammed. What are some other good places/sites for me to look? And in your opinion, what country? I saw some things for the UK, but it seemed to all be substitute jobs. I would definitely want a full time/my own classroom. In regards to your comment, I really don't want to move down the scale- finding a job in Michigan was NOT easy, considering the budget cuts, and I am one of a few college grads who has experience right out of school. The last thing I want to do is downplay that experience. I'm really pretty open to suggestion.

@TeresaLopez- thank you for your feedback. I AM interested in ESL, but now considering my options, that might be something for the future. Do you have any suggestions of good international schools/recruiters?

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Here's a spot to do some research on international schools.

http://www.internationalschoolsreview.com/

tttompatz · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 5:37 am Post subject:

Smack me for not being more careful.

http://www.tes.co.uk/jobsHub.aspx?navcode=6
http://www.ibo.org/jobs/

Just search for jobs outside the UK and NOT in Europe (since you are American).

Do a search for public school jobs in Taiwan (ESL or international). The pay is similar or better than most places in the states and they have decent benefit packages as well.

NET in Hong Kong.
JET in Japan.
google "ajarn" (means teacher in Thai) for schools in Thailand.

.

in_need_of_advice! · Joined: 18 Mar 2011 Posts: 5

@Guy Courchesne- thank you Smile

@ttompatz- thank you for your continued feedback! I've been delving into that. A few questions have come up as I've been looking-
Is it worthwhile to have a webpage with my resume?
Is it normal to ask for a full body photo, as well as a passport quality photo?
Is a subscription to joyjobs and TIE worth my time?
A lot of the schools I've been looking at have emails directly to the school. Is that better or worse than going through a school?
I'm also worried about signing a contract without having someone to help me look at it. Is there a good place online where I can... self educate?
As I see jobs that seem promising, is it better just to begin emailing/applying, or should I be really selective and only pick a few?
I found a job that looks great in Thailand, but the email is korearecruitnz- warning sign?
I'm finding a lot of private school non ESL jobs, but struggling a lot more with public/international.
Thank you!

tttompatz · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:01 pm Post subject:

somewhere_else · Joined: 14 May 2010 Posts: 15

If you're looking at international schools, you should be aware that it's actually pretty late in the hiring season. Most schools do their hiring between December and March and a lot of that hiring is done at job fairs. Of course there are still jobs available and there will always be last minute vacancies, but you might want to think more about signing up with a international schools recruiting agency or subscribing to an international schools job website. Although Skype is starting to change things, the use of recruiters and recruiting fairs is unfortunately still common practice in the international school world.

Be aware that international schools especially the more reputable ones will ask you to sign a two year contract not a one year contract.

Whether you're looking at an international school or language school, it's a good idea to thoroughly research any school before you sign the contract. Make sure to ask for the contact information of current and former teachers, and post questions about the particular schools on the country specific forums.

Good luck in your job hunt!

smurfetta · Joined: 14 Nov 2010 Posts: 38

Also check out tieonline, search associates, teaching overseas forum in tes.co.uk for info about international schools.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

It's up to you where you want to go
TEFL certs help, but they're not mandatory
public or private depends on the coutnry
For info about EPIK, etc, see the Korean forum
TEACh away is supposed to be pretty good
Don't need a webpage or full body photos
joyjobs and TIE, some people like them, but you shoudl look at int school job fairs.
For contracts, try contacting teachers who already work there, searching the internet, and asking here on Dave's
Apply to any and all jobs that look good to you, then you can pick and choose. If you only apply to 10, one might say yes. If you apply to 20, two might say yes.

smurfetta · Joined: 14 Nov 2010 Posts: 38

I've signed up for both joyjobs and tieonline. I like them both for different reasons. Joyjobs has a lot of good information about getting jobs and has example resumes and teacher websites (which they will set up one for you). Tieonline has a lot of good information about each school advertising including salary ranges. I haven't signed up for Search Associates yet because I can't attend a fair this year. But from what I have read, their website has even better information about each school they list than tieonline.

So, I would recommend at the very least to sign up for both international schools review and tieonline if you are interested in an international school job.

Good luck with your job search!

MarcyG69 · Joined: 21 Dec 2010 Posts: 20

Hello, I am in the exact situation as you! I completed my Masters in elementary ed. last yr and I got a first yr teaching job however I would really like to experience another culture and travel. I have been doing a lot of research as well and it seems that international schools are the way to go but I am finding it very hard to get in contact with them. I emailed dozens and have heard nothing back. I am wondering if it is worth it to join a recruiting agency?? Have you decided where you would like to go?? I thought about Asia since you can save money and I hear they are hiring.