Job Discussion Forums

[skygirl]

Hello,
Ive been reading alot on this board and Im feeling pretty discouraged. Im an American who will be taking a 2-3 yr career break. I dont have a college degree and I do not have blond hair and blue eyes. I will be taking either the CELTA or Trinity in September. Im not sure which or what country I would I have the best chance of getting work. Id love to go to the Czech Republic but I know I'll have lots of competion there. Any Advice or ideas would be appreciated. Once I take the leave from work I cant go back if this doesnt work out . Please help. thank you!!

[movinaround]

If this was just a break, I would say go for it. You still have a chance in the Czech Republic or Poland, but it is becoming much, much harder. The problem is giving up your job now if you can't get it back. Having no university degree means you will almost definitely never be able to get a really good job in ESL/EFL. You can do it, but as a career you would find your options extremely limited. British citizens have a bit more hope with their EU passport, but this doesn't apply to you The CELTA is good, but only if you plan on staying in for more than 2 years. Also, getting a job back home will be difficult too with no university degree. Is the job you have now any good? If it is, stay in it and save money first. Then when you have a security blanket, start thinking about it.

[skygirl]

thanks for your reply, I was unclear about getting my job back. I meant that if Im approved for either a 2 yr or 3 yr leave of abscence I can not go back to work before the leave is up. I hope that makes sense. So I definately have a safety net but want to TEFL during my leave. Im afraid I'll take a course and not find work and have to come home and then wont be able to go back to my current job until the leave is up. I thought taking either the CELTA or the trinity would help improve my chances of finding work and then I'd at least have one good thing going for me. I have to take this leave now (sept) or not at all. This is a one time opportunity with my work simply because we are overstaffed at the moment.

[movinaround]

[spiral78]

You would most likely be able to find something decent in the Czech Republic, especially if you are willing to live/work outside of Prague. Cesky Budejovice or Plzen are decent options.
The thing is, you would have to count on making only enough money to live on, with some travel and nice times inside the country. If you don't have debts to pay back home, or any great desire to travel Europe, you could certainly support yourself quite decently inside the country.

You're right that there is a lot of competition for jobs in Prague - but it's still totally feasible to find something that will sustain you, if you are willing to go there, have the wherewithall to get yourself through a certification course, and back yourself for one or two months until you can get stabilized.

[thrifty]

Any TEFL job that you can get without a degree will probably be poorly paid and illegal. Why would you worry about a CV. You need to be on the ground, knocking on doors and taking the leftovers.

[spiral78]

It's still legal for North Americans to work in most of the new EU countries, including Poland, Czech Rep, Slovakia, Hungary, etc.

[Kaspar Hauser]

Here's a bit of advice you probably won't want to hear: if you want people to take you seriously, learn how to spell (alot, competion, abscence, definately), how to punctuate and how to use capital letters. This is especially true if you�re going to Europe. Europeans think we�re all illiterate morons anyway. Why prove them correct?

[thrifty]

[spiral78]

Most European governments (none that I know of) have any degree requirements for language teachers. It's up to the language schools to decide whether teachers without degrees are acceptable for their students/clients.

[thrifty]

Really? In Turkey to teach legally and hence qualify for a work permit, teachers need a degree. Of course the crappy language schools often employ illegals.

[spiral78]

Obviously, those teachers without degrees aren't usually teaching at state-sponsored schools or universities (though I've known a few exceptional teachers with, say NATO or military teaching experience but without degrees who are employed by regular unis).
It's just that there aren't governmental regs requiring degrees. I think that most Asian countries also require degrees.

[stillnosheep]

Conversation schools in China often hire teachers without degrees. With a Celta or Trinity you'd be better qualified than many applicants.

[paulmanser]

No offence but just get the degree...........

That's what I'm doing.

[Calories]

no offense hahaaaaaaaaaaaa come to china you don't need a degree get it later when you want to do something worthwhile that's what i'm doing