Job Discussion Forums

[Castanett]

Hey all,

I had been looking into teaching ESL in Japan for a very, very long time. I'm currently a college student (anthropology/linguistics major) and I'm trying to do some research in this last year or two while I'm in school to feel out how the job market is. Long story short, I'm just trying to feel out my other options.
I liked Japan because I could get right in, not necessarily have to be fluent in Japanese, and I didn't absolutely have to get a certification right from the get-go.
What I'm trying to ask here is: Are there other countries which share these benefits?

Thanks for any help, and I truly apologize if I'm beating a dead horse with an over asked question!

[Glenski]

How much do/will you have to pay off monthly in student loans?

[fluffyhamster]

If the size of the possible loans, and wages required to repay them, aren't too limiting a factor, there are quite a few countries in Asia that anyone with a degree and little or no teacher training or certification can work in. The good thing about Japan however is that the work visa regulations are fairly straightforward, seem relatively unchanging, and are applied consistently and fairly, plus it is easy to change jobs if an employer turns out to be dodgy (that is, you retain control of your work visa and thus your 'permission to work').

[naturegirl321]

Korea, go to the other forum though, Ther'es separate registration.

[tttompatz]

[Castanett]

Thanks for the great responses! I had never even heard anything about Korea before now. My student loans are all government issued, so I'm actually sitting fairly well as far as they go. Best decision I made was to take my parents advice and stay away from private loans with their rates. I had been looking into the JET program quite a bit, actually. The other routes that I had been looking into were the big eikawas like AEON and the like. (The old forum posts in the Japan section have been incredibly helpful with that part of the planning process for me)
My only two languages that I speak (apart from English) are Spanish and Japanese, is that detrimental to looking at places like Taiwan or Korea?
Also, are there any European countries that I should be looking at?

Thanks so much guys! Glad my first post on here has actually brought some cool responses!

[spiral78]

Assuming that you are a US citizen and do not also hold a passport from an EU member country, in Europe you are limited (at the newbie level) to Central/Eastern European countries, such as the Czech Rep or Poland. Western European countries generally limit work visas for language teachers to EU member citizens - there are plenty of UK teachers there to fulfill demand (or at least that's the official stance on the matter).

Certification (CELTA or equivalent) is needed here - it's simply that most newbies on this competitive job market have one, so anything less puts one at a disadvantage.

Again, due to competition for jobs, wages are subsistence level and it is not feasible to pay off debts back home from European newbie level jobs.

Finally, jobs in this region aren't normally found from abroad - you generally have to be here, and be prepared to interview in person. This means significant start-up costs in terms of flight and your upkeep for the first couple of months before a getting a paycheck.

It does not seem to me that Europe fits your requirements, as you noted in your OP that you would prefer a starting job that does not require certification and need to make loan payments.

[fluffyhamster]

As I say (that is, as far as I'm aware), the issue with countries like Korea is that the employer can cancel your work visa and thus prevent you from changing jobs or even staying in the country. Which is surely something to think about given the many unscrupulous employers there are in TEFL generally. Plus the last I read Korea was tightening up on the visas/making their issuance more involved and time-consuming - same thing IIRC in Thailand and Vietnam (though I suspect the latter two are more fraught in comparison). So personally I'd try Japan first and China second. But the best thing would be to post in (and for Korea, join) the country-specific forums to get actual local and up-to-the-minute reponses (assuming whatever FAQ stickies fail to answer any potential queries you might have).

[naturegirl321]

Knowing Spanish and Japanese won't hurt you if you look for work in Taiwan or Korea. YOu often don't have to know any foreign langauge to teach English.

[tttompatz]

[fluffyhamster]

Thanks for the info, tttompatz!

One thing I wanted to check on is whether the Thais are pushing that "cultural testing in order to get the visa (renewed?)" thingy any longer or harder - sounded a bit of a money-spinning time-waster!

Another is whether Vietnam is a harder/less safe bet nowadays to get into than China (which indeed burnt me a bit in my youth - ah, the joys of border runs to Hong Kong renewing, what was it, F visas when the school really ought to have got us all a Z (but hadn't been able to cos, it later inevitably turned out, they weren't yet quite fully-approved)) - any advice you can offer on that also?

[Zero]

Ha! You only speak English, Spanish and Japanese, and you expect to start a career in EFL? Most of us here speak five languages or more -- it's starting to be a requirement. I personally speak 18. I know that across the China EFL scene, extreme linguistic proficiency is the norm.

[tttompatz]

[Castanett]

I am a US citizen, yes so getting a tourist visa is out of the question. I guess I'll hop on to the Korean forums and then browse around some of the countries that you all posted on here.

Thanks again

By the way, good on you knowing that many languages.

[AGoodStory]