Job Discussion Forums

[Trevor Wadlow]

It is beyond me why anyone bothers teaching in the UK. I work in Shanghai where I earn (from IELTS examining and teaching combined), the equivalent of �500 per week, plus an apartment and my flight paid. Factor in the cost of living here and I would have to earn around �1,500 per week in London to have the same standard of living. When I go back to London in the summer I will work as a porter in a block of flats (if I need to). The longer you guys work at these schools in the UK the longer the wages will be low. Simple as that.

[TwinCentre]

That is exactly....and I mean exactly what I would have written 10-15 years ago when I was a globe-trotting 20 something.

Alas, at nearly 40, I just want to live in the UK again...it's home. Not that I intend to do EFL/TEFL....but I understand why those who have no other choice might.....there comes a time for some people when you just don't want to be a foreigner any more, you don't want to stand out, you just want to blend back in. You might not feel that way, but one day you might (or not)..but surely you can see why some do.

[Hod]

What a dilemma. People say I chose to work overseas because I was such a failure in the UK. Now if I go back to the UK, they will say I failed overseas.

[Trevor Wadlow]

[asalak]

Very interesting comments. If you're in UK FE ESOL, you can in some places earn 2 K/ month (and have time to top up with privates to the tune of another 500, but sadly this is now coming to an end as ESOL falls victim to the party of exploitation and their coalition partners-in-crime.

Being a foreigner anywhere involves a huge amount of identity work, so I fully understand why anyone would want to come back here -but the good times are over for ESOL, in my opinion, and EFL is a mug's game in the UK unless you're at a uni -and they're no longer as cushy and pay less than top-grade ESOL anyway.

[scot47]

"identity work"
Never heard that expression before ! WTF is it ?

[JimJam]