Job Discussion Forums

[peachz4u]

Hi, I'm a 50 year guy currently living in Vancouver, Canada. I'm thinking about making a career change and teaching ESL abroad, which is something that I've been considering for a long time. I have a BA in English and a minor in Communications, along with 20+ years of corporate experience including internal communications, project mgmt, and, most recently, change mgmt. I have a few questions I'm hoping some folks with experience can answer:

- I'm trying to determine whether CELTA certification is needed or whether another TEFL option would be okay? Some of the non-online TEFL courses are less expensive but I've heard the requirements for certain countries in the Middle East can be more stringent.

- Thoughts about working in Saudi vs. other Gulf States such as Bahrain, Oman, and of course UAE (i.e. living and working conditions, what's included in compensation packages/work contracts, realistic salary expectations and amount per month that can be saved, etc.)

- Is it possible to get a good contract in the UAE without any ESL teaching experience? (Would business experience offset this?)

- Typical start date (only/mostly September or???)

- How to identify recommended schools / places to teach at (and not); also organizations/placement agencies that are recommended and to be wary of

- What is the possibility of working with adults vs. children (especially due to business experience)?

- How much of a deterrent (if any) will my age be?

Any feedback from those in the know would be much appreciated!

Regards,
Andrew.

[nomad soul]

To qualify to teach children in the region's k-12 public and international schools, you'd need a teaching license from your state/province, in addition to a couple of years of pubic or private school teaching experience (relevant to your degree major) in your home country.

Employers recruiting teachers in the region won't find value in your business experience; they have plenty of expats and nationals to fill that need. They're interested in native English language skills and relevant teaching experience and academic qualifications. For instance, a TEFL-related MA plus 2-3 years of university-level TEFL experience is the standard for teaching adults in Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE. Tiny Bahrain rarely advertises for teachers but also requires years of TEFL experience. There are language schools in the region, but they tend to hire locally.

In your case, your BA is fine for teaching adults in KSA and Oman; however, you lack both a TEFL qualification and experience. That pretty much nukes your chances for teaching in the region at this point.

That said, if TEFL is still sometihing you want to pursue, consider East and South East Asia, where many newbies go. South America and Eastern (non EU) Europe are also possibilities. Check out the country and region-specific forums and job ads on this site to see what type of quaifications/experience are needed.

Another option for work in the Middle East is to look at job sites like bayt.com and gulftalent.com to see if there are opportunities for non-education jobs in the region---those that better match your corprate experience.

[scot47]

Unlikely that you will get anything reasonable in ME until you have a CELTA or similar and 2+ years experience.

[Gulezar]

Whoops!

[peachz4u]

Thanks to everyone who responded. Of course not the answers I wanted to hear but important to know where I stand in terms of planning my next steps.

[hash]

[water rat]

If I was from Canada, and our age, I'd take advantage of living in a welfare state. Don't you guys get free everything there? Learn to live modestly. You could just rent a small apartment near the public library and low-cost supermarket and a bus line and you'd be set. Surely what I suggest is easier than getting the qualifications you need to teach abroad, and then the trouble of actually teaching students. Count your blessings. I'm a native of the cruel land south of your border. Do you know they're thinking of replacing 'In God We Trust' on our coins with 'Work or starve!'?

[plumpy nut]

Living on public assistance accomplishes nothing for the both the individual and the public. If you want to be unemployable and be forced to live off of public assistance for the rest of your life go ahead. What if the public assistance disappears? As far as "Work or Starve" in the U.S., it's actually work or be on the street, street people don't starve but actually are fed very well as long as they are willing to go to one of the myriad of missions that are around every sizable city. In the city where I am from there was and maybe still is a disabled or homeless, maybe both guy called "Tex". He always was a pugnacious, complaining porker always with probably equally worthless companions, but last time I saw him his weight exploded off of the charts from eating mission food, he was walking with a cane and might have diabetes now because of it. I remember him comparing missions and complaining that one particular mission the food wasn't fit for slopping pigs.

[johnslat]

Dear plumpy nut,

"As far as "Work or Starve" in the U.S., it's actually work or be on the street, street people don't starve but actually are fed very well as long as they are willing to go to one of the myriad of missions that are around every sizable city."

"Is Giving Food to the Homeless Illegal in Your City Too?
Last week, a 90-year-old vet got busted by cops for feeding the hungry. He's not alone."

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/90-year-old-florida-veteran-arrested-feeding-homeless-bans

Regards,
John

[hash]

[veiledsentiments]

[johnslat]

Dear hash,

Not everywhere: "The laws for trespassing vary from place to place so it's best to check before you dive. In some cases, municipalities have pressed charges even when the owners of the dumpsters haven't wanted to. If you're not trespassing on someone's property you're generally safe, provided you're neat, you don't harass anyone and the dumpster is open. Trash in public for pick-up is considered not to be protected under privacy laws but trash on private property or locked up trash is protected--so don't trespass.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/list_6766864_laws-dumpster-diving.html

"When trash is not considered “abandoned” and it is still considered the private property of the trash can or dumpster owner then, obviously, taking all or part of that private property is theft. In some municipalities and states, there are specific theft laws punishing dumpster diving. Even if those laws don’t exist in a particular place, generic theft laws can be used against people who take someone else’s property whether it was in the house, in the yard, in his hands, in a trash container or anywhere else.
Look for city and state laws at http://law.justia.com/."

Regards,
John

[water rat]

[auhruh]

[peachz4u]

All,

I just wanted to clarify a few things as some of the responses I've received have come as a bit of a surprise to me.

First, I am grateful for everything that Canada offers. A comment was made stating that I should appreciate what I've got. Well, wanting a different life experience doesn't mean that I don't appreciate my life here or the work experience I've had up until this point.

Second, I realize that this would be a big change, so I wouldn't go into this thinking it would mirror my present day life or that it would be a cake walk in any way, shape, or form. I know there would be a lot of sacrifices and adjustments, and that teaching involves way more than just showing up in a classroom. And I'm not sure that the business world is always level-headed or logical; there are always "small 'p' politics to contend with. All in all, there are both pluses and minuses in any given situation.

I've always been interested in travel and other cultures -- I've visited 30 countries worldwide so far and would like to visit more. I've also spent extended periods of time away from home so this concept is not entirely new to me. I thought about going abroad and teaching English about 15 years ago but was given a very good job offer here, so I chose to stay at that time.

All this having been said, it does sound more difficult than I may have first realized, so I appreciate alternate suggestions like leveraging my corporate experience in a different type of job/role abroad. This type of feedback is very helpful and constructive. Comments about dumpster-diving -- to be perfectly honest -- less so!

Anything else -- please write back! I'm all ears at this point....