Job Discussion Forums

demitrescou · Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 122

In my quest to unveil potential career alternatives to TEFL, I've come to the conclusion that after several years Teaching English abroad an individuals opportunities to move into other lines of work back home or elsewhere will be limited, if not non-existent, without retraining.

Even with retraining is it not true that an ex-Tefler might still be up against a brick wall if they've chosen to retrain in a field where there is abundance of qualified individuals and not enough positions to go around. (e.g. law, journalism etc etc)

That said, would it not be more appropriate & smarter for anyone considering a career change to look into and retrain for something for which there is ample work available, where a shortage exists.

With this in mind I found my way on to the UK's shortage occupation list (directed at migrants but useful for all citizens of my island) and discovered Speech & Language Therapists to be on the list.

Does anyone here have any experience with this field of work? If so, what can you share with us about it.

The first 3 paragraphs of this post could have been omitted. My apologies.

sparks · Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 632

I'm not one but once looked into it as a viable career move too, also have family in medicine who know about it. It's got almost nothing in common with teaching English if that's what you're thinking. You would have to go back to school for a good long while. Mostly you work with people with brain injuries who have impaired speaking capabilities. You give them exercises and train them in techniques to regain speech. Much more scientific than ESL. Good paying jobs in the States but requires 5 years of school.

dutchman · Joined: 10 Mar 2010 Posts: 84

You could perhaps study phonetics, and become an accent / dialect coach. You could teach accent reduction courses to ESL / EFL students or you could work with actors who are native-speakers but who need to perform in a different accent of English.

Trinley · Joined: 29 Apr 2010 Posts: 144

I agree with the above 2 posts. Teaching ESL is not a foot in the door to becoming a Speech Pathologist. You'd have to go through the same education and training as anyone else. The best it could do is give you some knowledge of articulatory phonetics, which may come in handy when you're studying to be a Speech Pathologist.

I'm back in the US after teaching for 5 years, and it seems the options are limited to either teaching ESL here or starting over in another field. That alone is motivation enough to get out of teaching ESL as soon as possible.

Teacher in Rome · Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Posts: 1286

I don't know anything about the requirements for speech pathologists, but I'd broadly agree with the other points raised. If you want to stay in TEFL, then the best thing you can do is get qualified, gain experience and network so you hear about the best opportunities. It's a long-term game, in my opinion, and there are plenty of people around who are doing well enough out of TEFL.

But if you want to change career, you're facing the same obstacles as anyone else wanting to change career: lack of relevant experience, possibly lack of specific qualification / training, lack of contacts in that area. And changing career in a recession is much harder than in times of prosperity. Demitrescou - I'd forget about journalism unless you have other skills (many journalists are expected to bring along media skills such as audio / video production, other digital skills) and are prepared to chase a rapidly dwindling number of opportunities.

If / when the economy picks up, the key thing to address (in my opinion!) is your transferable skills - those that can be applied to different sectors. But rather than thinking about a straightforward career swap, you could also consider having your feet in different camps: do some teaching, but augment your income by doing something else. In times when there's far less job security, or a career for life, increasing numbers of people are doing just this.

demitrescou · Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 122

Thanks for the wisdom guys. Nice comments.

I don't think I explained my mumblings clearly. I know that Speech Therapy is not related to TEFL and that to go that route would require retraining (another 3 year degree). I've done the research in that respect.

I was just putting it out there to get some thoughts on the prospect of retraining for something new. Do you want out of TEFL and are you willing to retrain for something new? If so, doesn't it worry you that one could spend several years retraining and end up not finding work in that given field because it's a saturated one with 500 applicants for every opening, and your background in TEFL falls short up against the work background of others?

If these issues irk you as they do me, what are your thoughts? My feeling is that at this stage in my life (or later), I have to be realistic and play it safe. If I'm to retrain it'd have to be in something where there is ample work available. A field where there is a documented shortage of qualified staff.

For most of us, this would probably mean pursuing something you're not really passionate about. Is that such a sin? Doesn't there come a point where you have to accept that we can't all end up in our dream job?

These particular thoughts are messing with me right now because I'm due to start the MA App. Ling. & ELT in less than a month and having nerve-wracking doubts. I think I need to start a new post on that cause I need some wise words and wisdom from my peers and seniors on here as there's none to be had from family and friends. Whatsoever.

AGoodStory · Joined: 26 Feb 2010 Posts: 738

This thread may be of interest to you, demitrescou:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=88695

You might want to contact JZer--earlier this year he was thinking about a career shift from TEFL to speech therapy. He has probably made a decision by now since he mentions August in the discussion.

Trinley · Joined: 29 Apr 2010 Posts: 144

demitrescou · Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 122

Nice post Trinley and thanks for the link AGoodStory.

Trinley · Joined: 29 Apr 2010 Posts: 144

Okay, so you're apathetic about TEFL. Forgive me if I'm badgering you, but why do an MA in App Ling? Is there something you plan to do with it besides TEFL? I have a BA in Linguistics, and I feel that pretty much all I can do with it is TEFL (I know with other skills and connections, more is possible, but it seems to be a pretty limited, academic field to me.) A former landlord of mine had a PhD in App Ling and he taught TEFL at a university. It seems to me that unless you combine that degree with some other skills, you're likely to just end up doing the same work, albeit better paid and not in a scummy language institute.

Have you taken any vocational aptitute tests or spoken to a career counselor? I would think about doing that before taking on this MA. From my point of view, an MA in App Ling is a lot of time and money spent going toward much of the same, about which you've already said you're feeling neutral. Maybe you're just a neutral kind of person though. Not everyone needs to be consumed with passion and determination to do only one thing in life. We also need people to teach languages, fix machinery, sell paper, whatever. I doubt those people are passionate about their jobs, but they're content to support themselves and make a contribution. The worst thing is when you do have a passion and you're distracted from pursuing it.

Teacher in Rome · Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Posts: 1286

demitrescou · Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 122

Shroob · Joined: 02 Aug 2010 Posts: 1339

Trinley · Joined: 29 Apr 2010 Posts: 144

Perilla · Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Posts: 792 Location: Hong Kong

An interesting discussion. I think my own experience is somewhat relevant.

About ten years ago I was going through a similar dilemma, when I was working roughly 50/50 as a TEFLer/freelance journalist in HK. After much thought I made what turned out to be the wrong choice - I decided to chase my ideal vision of academia - some form of high-end university position, with mostly research based work, very little actual teaching and huge holidays.

With this in mind I embarked on an MEd TESOL with Tasmania Uni. I chose this course as it offered massive flexibility in terms of choice of topics and assignments (I didn't want loads of boring practical teaching stuff) and perhaps most importantly it was cheap.

While doing the course, which I enjoyed hugely studying interesting (but relatively useless) things like creative writing in Asia and the evolution of English, I realised that in fact I was chasing a mirage - I was NEVER going to get my dream academic job, for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, because I realised (or discovered) that this kind of old-fashioned 'pipe and slippers' university tenureship doesn't exist in the TEFL world. Second because to get anywhere near these non-existent posts I'd also need a PhD, and that simply wasn't a feasible option as it would take too long and cost too much.

A disaster then, taking the MEd? Not at all. As I mentioned, I enjoyed it. So I carried on with the split career and eventually found a f/t editing job and was able to drop TEFL (though I don't rule out the possibility of going back to it at some point). I found out after getting the editing job that my MEd had impressed my new employers - although not directly relevant it had still helped my cause.

The moral of the story, I think, is that it's worth going ahead and doing an MA (or whatever) as you never know what's round the corner and it may help you find something you didn't expect. At the very least it will get you a better TEFL job. But I'd say that if you're not 100% sure about which direction you want to go, choose a masters that isn't too narrowly focused and - maybe most important - which you think you might actually enjoy doing.