Job Discussion Forums

[Kowloon]

[Jmbf]

[spanglish]

[CTravel32]

[LH123]

Hi CTravel32

(say hello to Bogota for me - I used to live there, and have fond memories of aguardiente, tejo & empanadas...)

My 2c...

Get certified - either the TEFL route (CELTA or CertTESOL) or a mainstream US teaching cert. While you may be getting a bit of interest here and there at the moment from potential employers, with a piece of paper or two to your name your options will expand significantly. Think of it as an investment - pay for CELTA on your credit card (or whatever...). I think IH Bogota do it, no?

Locations:

Sub Saharan Africa: outside charity/government-run volunteer programmes, I haven't heard of much English-language teaching work in this part of the world.

Eastern Europe: It's possible that some places will stump up for a work visa for you. Demand for teachers is high in some areas, but the pay and standard of living will probably be less than what you are used to.

Central Asia: As in Uzbekistan, etc..? In my 16 years in EFL/ESL I have only known one person to work in that region (for the British Council). It's not like there's nothing out there, but it's pretty off-the-beaten-path in terms of EFL work. My instincts tell me that there is not much there, and you would need a good deal of luck to find something that works for you.

Maybe some countries in SEA like Myanmar or Bhutan: There's a lot happening in SEA, although Myanmar and Bhutan aren't top of the list when it comes to lucrative employment opportunities. As others have said, big (comparatively wealthy) cities in SEA like Hong Kong and Bangkok are probably your best bets...

You have chosen some unusual possible destinations for the next step in your career; psuedo-mathematically, I would explain your situation like this:

Unqualified + Colombian spouse who need a visa + Wants to work in places where there is not much work = Not much chance of getting a satisfactory job

I would re-focus on the 'hot spot' areas where you know there is a decent demand for teachers; instead of starting off by saying 'Here's where I want to work!', instead start by asking 'Where are there realistic job opportunities (for me and my wife)?, then going on from there.

My money would be on SEA...

[suphanburi]

The Colombian spouse issue is not much of an issue.
If he has legal work then she can get a dependent spouse visa to be with him.

The issue of her working (legally) is a different matter.
In some countries in SEA it just won't happen.
In other countries, like Thailand as an example, she simply needs (in addition to an authenticated copy of her degree) to take a TOEIC (TOEFL/IELTS) test.

.

[timothypfox]

From the discussions here, it looks like you can go the route of getting a CELTA or TRINITY type certification. Or, you can get public school certification. How can you go about getting public school certification? The easiest way I know is through the state of Florida. It is possible to do this online although you may have to be over there to do a test.

There are also large subsidized teacher training programs such as NY Teaching Fellows or Teach for America - which would in exchange for 3 years of public school work pay a large chunk of getting you certified and an MA in TESOL.

The TESOL MA may have more teeth in certain parts of the world such as Asia and North America. But, I've heard you can do much with a CELTA type of certification particularly in Europe.

Once you've decided where you want to go and what your teaching goals are, you will need to work on skilling up appropriately for a good job.

The question is, do you want a quick change or are you willing to take a few years to skill up and plan things out.

[spiral78]