Job Discussion Forums

jennjenn · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 32 Location: San Diego, CA, USA

If you have a pulse, I�d like your opinion. I�m graduating with my Bachelor�s in May and my long-term goal is to be an ESL instructor at a community college here in San Diego, but before I go for my master�s I�d like to teach overseas. I have four options and I have no idea what to do. I keep going back and forth! I�ve applied to a Fulbright program in Korea (teaching secondary school) and the JET program. I honestly think I have a good chance for both. I also have a sure-thing at a university in China, but I also want to join the Peace Corps and go to a Latin American country.

Money is only a concern because I want to pay off my credit card debt. I don�t really care about buying a house or anything; as long as there�s food in my tummy and books on my shelf, I�m good. But I would like to save money "just in case". I have minor student loans but I could manage them with any of these options. Also, wherever I end up, I want to hook up with a church or non-profit organization or something, and hold free classes for the less privileged, if I can. And I am really into museums, historical sites, traditional dance and other cultural aspects such as these. A final concern is that next semester (beginning January) I would have the opportunity to take either Chinese or Japanese classes at my school. Should I??

Pros and Cons:

Fulbright in Korea (assuming I�m accepted)

Pros:
1. The Fulbright name on my resume. No, I won�t be a �Fulbright scholar� but my professor says that it doesn�t matter�it�s very prestigious in any regard, and recognized internationally.
2. The ability to learn Korean.
3. Saving money. They pay 1.3 million won per month�not a lot compared to most ESL teachers, I know, but considering how low the cost of living is, I can save a lot. I hardly ever drink and am not into shopping, souvenirs etc.

Cons:
1. From what I gather on these threads, there�s not much to see and do in Korea...would I get bored?
2. I am required to live w/ a homestay family and tutor them in English a few hours a week. I think I can stand all that having grown up with Asian parents myself. Yet somehow I see this living arrangement as a con. It just feels weird. I dunno.
3. The final and biggest con is that since I�d be teaching kids, I wouldn�t have any adult-teaching experience to speak of when I return. When I apply for a full-time position at a community college here (which are rarely available), I want to be as experienced and competitive as possible.

JET (assuming I�m accepted)

Pros:
1. Learning to speak Japanese
2. Experiencing Japanese culture. I want to live in a rural area, so no problem there.
3. The money is pretty darn good and again, I�m a good saver. I think I can manage to save a decent amount, even with the higher cost of living.

Cons:
1. Again, I�d be teaching kids. I don�t mind doing that for a year or two but I�d rather teach adults so I can put that on my resume.

University in China

Pros:
1. The university is beautiful, from what I�ve seen and heard (Yantai University). Also, it�s right on the water, which is great.
2. My friend, who just came back from teaching there, said she�s never met so many friendly and hospitable people in her life.
3. I�d be teaching adults.
4. Experiencing Chinese culture.
5. Learning to speak Chinese.

Cons:
1. The money is nowhere near as good as Korea and Japan.
2. I don�t know if this matters, but doesn�t it sound better to say that I taught �with� Fulbright or Jet?

Peace Corps in Latin America

Pros:
1. I will significantly improve my Spanish, which is already pretty good. (And don�t forget I plan to settle in San Diego�lots of Spanish speakers here.)
2. I might not be teaching, but I�ll be helping people who really, really need help.
3. A once-in-a-lifetime experience
4. Something great on my resume
5. Scholarship opportunities for grad school

Cons:
1. The money is next to nothing.
2. I can�t pay my credit card debts while I�m overseas.
3. A two-year commitment (kinda long, isn�t it?)

In theory, I know I could do all of these. The thing is, though, that when I start, I�ll be 25 (I know that�s not old) and I want to settle down and raise a family when I�m about 30. I have to fit in my Master�s somewhere in that time span too. I looked at the grad school programs in conjunction with the Peace Corps, but it has been my lifelong dream to go to NYU and I�m not giving up on that for anything.

If you�ve read this far, THANK YOU�any advice, help or criticism is welcomed and appreciated. Or, let me know if you have other cool ideas.

karinb · Joined: 05 Feb 2006 Posts: 33

haha You sound like me.. I'm also graduating this summer and am highly anxious about what to do next/ life. Someone here can probably give better advice.. seeing as I have no tefl experience.. but I do have a pulse Wink

My first thought reading over your post is that you should make paying off debt (especially the credit card) a top priority... Exclamation

All of your choices have merit and I can see why you are very confused. From what I've gathered you want something where you can: pay off debt/ teach adults/ speak spanish/looks good on a resume/ is meaningful/ with possible grad school advantages... I don't think that any of the choices you listed can fit all of that criteria.. but some could fit three or four.. so figure out what exactly is most important to you and go from there. (and yes I know its 134234 xs more difficult then it sounds)

Good Luck Very Happy

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

If you're 25 now and want to get some teaching experience before going back for your MA and then spend two years in grad school, settling down and having a family when you are 30 will be difficult. To get a job in a community college or university in the US, you almost always need an MA and experience just to get your foot in the door--meaning a few hours, part-time. It's really difficult to jump straight into something full-time and stable. I don't mean to discourage you, but to warn you.

Not to pry, but have you figured out how to pay for your MA? Coming out of grad school with an MA and a ton of debt is really rough! (I speak from experience...) Salaries in the US are really low.

d

jennjenn · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 32 Location: San Diego, CA, USA

How will I pay for my MA...work in private schools while attending grad school, get a full-time job at the university so that I can go to school for free, apply for scholarships (NYU has a Peace Corps scholarship...eek). I dunno. I will find ways to make it happen. If absolutely necessary, I am willing to attend a public school in NY for much cheaper tuition.

As for settling down when I'm 30, I intend to already have the master's done before starting a family.

tedkarma · Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:47 am Post subject:

You must already know that the Fulbright programs carries more weight than anything else. In second place would be the Peace Corps because so many experienced hiring authorities will be former volunteers (as am I!).

While JET and other thing matter a bit - go for will give you a lift for years to come.

jennjenn · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 32 Location: San Diego, CA, USA

Are you really, Ted? Where did you go?

MELEE · Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 5:35 pm Post subject:

Call your local Peace Corp Recruiter and set up an interview to talk about your options. If you were go to Latin America with them, you would most likely NOT be teaching and definately not be teaching English. Or you could flip that around and definately teach English with them but definately not be in Latin America. I'm a huge Latinophile, I've dedicated a huge portion of my life to living in, working in, and studying about Latin America. But it's not all there is to the world. You can have a great experience and learn a lot about teaching English in another part of the world with the Peace Corps. Also the application process can be long, so you may want to get started on it, while you are waiting to find out about the JET and the Fulbright programs. How long is the Fullbright Program? I don't know much about it. You could do that, or the JET for a year, during which you could think about the Peace Corp. You can do a MA in TESOL and get credit for Peace Corp time from several different universities. All of that could be done after the JET or Fulbright, or given you didn't get accepted for either of those you could go to China. It doesn't have to be either/or. I think you should just decide which is the best first step, then you the other things later.
Plans are great, but just keep in mind that life has a way of sneaking up on you. I arrived in Mexico in 1998. I planned to stay for a year or two, then wanted to go to China and Brazil (I had previously worked in Japan and Ecuador) before doing an MA and getting envovled in administration of study abroad programs. But I met this great guy in Mexico and life took a different turn... it's 2006 and I'm still here.

jennjenn · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 32 Location: San Diego, CA, USA

It would be great to teach English, but I really, really want to speak Spanish as close to fluently as possible. That's one reason the PC is so appealing. I don't want to be around Americans. I want to be forced to speak Spanish (or whatever language is spoken wherever I go).

The Fulbright program is just a year. Yeah, I know life never turns out the way you plan...I've learned that firsthand too. I'm leaning towards JET for a year or two, then PC for two, then MA.

What does anybody else think???

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Add to your list of cons about JET:

Being placed in a rural environment where you may very likely have to jockey between 2 or 10 schools in a month. Lack of consistency with the students.

Being an ALT, not the main teacher. This could have a negative impact on people with established teaching careers or lofty goals.

saint57 · Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 10:57 am Post subject:

Jizzo T. Clown · Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 4:49 pm Post subject:

One thing to keep in mind about going for an MA--

If you plan to work full-time and have the uni pay your way, you'll most likely only be able to take one, maybe two classes per semester, which means it would take close to three years to complete it. But then, you'd be working full-time, so you would have a salary coming in.

My advice:

Have a plan but be flexible.

It seems that if what you want is to work in a CC in CA, then Spanish speaking skills (as well as having lived in a foreign country) might be just as useful as EFL experience.

At any rate, I wouldn't say "I must have this done by the time I'm 30."

Why not teach for a conversation school in Japan? You'd be teaching adults. Or Korea? You'd earn much more.

I guess the big question is:

What is your #1 priority: paying off bills or gaining useful experience

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Jizzo wrote:

jennjenn · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 32 Location: San Diego, CA, USA

I think useful experience and language skills are more important to me than money. I am not up to my eyeballs in debt or anything.

Saint...I thought the exchange rate was better than that right now?? Doesn't 1.3 million translate to about $1000usd per month?

After all of the horrific threads I've read on here (I've lurked for a long time) I don't have any desire to teach in a conversation school.

saint57 · Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 7:00 am Post subject:

1,300,000.00 KRW South Korea Won = 1,395.863 USD United States Dollars

xe.com

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN