Job Discussion Forums

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[Gregor]

You're probably right. Older people going into this know what the alternatives are. Kids going into this straight out of university are often doing it as a lark or a gap year, later to go back to a "real" job/life/whatever.
That's what really kills me. I've had teachers actually complain about having to "work so hard." Man. That is a kid who has never flipped burgers or stocked grocery store shelves or help to pave a road.
Jesus. I'm not saying that communication and cultural gaps don't occasionally get frustrating, but even as a DoS, my current job only slightly resembles real, actual work if I squint my eyes. :-)

[carnac]

Gregor - this time around, agree with you completely. Spent 20 years in airline management, which included time spent consoling parents of kids blown up in the PanAm103 disaster, and holding in my arms a passenger dead of a heart attack while his wife stood over us asking me "Is he ok?" in Lithuanian. What could anyone say to her? Among many other incidents. Got out, got Masters, started teaching. And listening to teachers telling me they were stressed. Stressed..
Still have a hard time listening to teachers telling me how diffficult life is.
I teach and administer and go home. And my pager doesn't go off in the middle of the night telling me something terrible has happened.
We can do this standing on our heads easily. A little perspective.

[guangho]

I'm not a bum. I'm a jerk. Here's my story.....


I got out of college and moved to New York. Enrolled in a paralegal school. Spent five years blissfully forging documents until one day I saw an ad (isn't that how these stories always start?) for a copyediting job in China.

Wow, I thought, China. Never been there, ergo nobody hates me there yet. I looked around my little corner of Dante's Inferno and noticed forty, fifty-year old guys doing the same thing I was (forging docs, remember?)and for the same pittance. Nah. Off I went to Guangdong Province.

It was a short trip as my new best friend and employer had me working on a visitor visa and paying me in cash. I should have known something was up when getting envelopes stuffed with nearly 7,000 RMB but you know, it is not often that I get envelopes filled with cash and I rather enjoyed the experience.

Anyhoo, back to New York for me until I saw..... DAVES ESL CAFE
I was hooked. Kimchi beckoned from a far-off land renowned for its tolerance, racial diversity and spirit of inclusion. Korea seduced me with the siren song of a paycheck. Several paychecks if they were to be believed. (Which they were not but you'll learn that soon enough in TEFLing). I packed and escaped the deceased heart of post-industrial America (upstate NY where I was staying at the time.)

Two jobs went down the drain because evidently a salary is something special that comes only rarely in this field so I went to China, got my CELTA and am now looking forward to a University job or the like. I may just get my greasy mits on one of those jobs in my references would get on the ball.

There. That is my story. Life is like Dave's ESL cafe. You never know when you'll get flamed.

[Chancellor]

[Wocca]

WOCCA is my nickname and online ID. An expatriate Australian man of British ancestry, I have been in China since 2002.

I am currently in Chengdu, Sichuan Province at the University of Electronic Science & Technology of China (UESTC). Chengdu is famous for its history, culture, landscapes, & the panda bear.

I have also studied and taught in Thailand & India. My ESL teaching has been at all various levels ranging from primary school to university postgraduates.

In recent years, I have travelled extensively through south east Asia, and previously in the UK, Europe & the Middle East.

[Gregor]

Chancellor,
Seriously. You really don't know what I'm talking about from impressions you get from Dave's OR from your New York State teacher friends.
The latter is a completely different job with a completely different set of requirements and expectations.
The former includes a whole lot of people who are either the ones I mentioned before - uni pukes who've never worked before. Or they've forgotten why they came out in the first place and they're afraid to go home. Or they are in the minority of TEFL teachers who have stayed in the field but are simply not suited for the job (that's the minority because usually, people who are not suited for it get out of it rather quickly).

[tedkarma]

I started TEFL at 41 - in 1992 - but hold no grudges against the "youngsters" that started at 31 or younger . . . (Geez! I never actually calculated my age at starting TEFL!)

Didn't even know this line of work existed - but was in the US Peace Corps as a volunteer in Africa 89-91 (managing a textile manufacturing company in Botswana believe it not!) - and they sent us fliers about other overseas jobs as our departure time neared. Read an ad about teaching EFL in Korea and the rest is history.

Fortunately, I already had an M.Ed. and an MBA so that nicely greased the wheels along with a PGCE I got along the way - so have had quite comfy university/college jobs ever since in Korea, Saudi, Taiwan and Thailand. Did do a hard slog at the very first with a few months in a couple hogwans in Korea - teaching kids (Thank goodness that didn't last!).

I am VERY SPOILED - but am quite able to do my fair share of whining given the right circumstances!

I did serve my time/pay my dues in earlier life by working my way through uni - and also working administrative positions and supervising/ managing people (never again!). And the Peace Corps was no easy walk in the park either.

I love this occupation and intend to retire in on Phuket - in about ten years - though never expect to quit working. Good planning and good jobs - can give you opportunities you never would have had back "home".

[tedkarma]

[Chancellor]

[lady z]

I am thrilled to see the first thread I ever started still going, and I have really enjoyed reading the replies. Regarding the question of whether or not teaching english is an easy or difficult job, it is probably relative and completely subjective. I can't offer my perspective since i haven't started doing it yet, but I'll tell my story anyway:

July 2004 was a big wake up call. I turned 30 and finally realized that I was not immortal, life was not a dress rehearsal, and that drastic change was necessary. I decided to break up with my fiance and boyfriend of five years because I had had enough of his obession with his music, excess drug use, and frequent temper outbursts. I decided also that I'd put my dreams of travel on hold for ten years too long, so I quit my job, sold my car and all my belongings and left the country.
For an entire year, I celebrated my 30th year of life and travelled. I went to Australia, Malaysia, South Africa, Namibia, Malaysia, India, Thailand,
and a bit of Europe, (Rome, Santorini, Creta, Hungary, Switzerland, and Paris). Though it went by extremely quickly, a year was a long time to think. One of the things I realized was that I didn't really want to go back to the States. I missed my friends and family, but I didn't miss the culture and the country. I realized that I would like to live abroad for awhile. I also realized that I would like switch from the counseling/social work field to teaching (for a number of reasons that I won't get into here). So, TEFL seems like a likely fit for me, and next July I am going to give it a shot. In the mean time, I am back in the States, working as a counselor, and volunteer tutoring refugees who want to learn english, and being hooked on Dave's.

In addition to being entertained, I have learned a tremendous amount from reading the threads on the forums here and from the amazing people who have been here awhile and post regularly.
Thanks for telling your stories, tefl superstars!

[Gregor]

Chancellor,
OK. It's a real job. That's fine. Lady Z has a point - I love my job, so how hard is it going to seem to me?
It's just not that trying is all. I've worked as an apprentice embalmer, a short order cook, a hospital porter, an offset press operator, a musician and a gas jockey (selling petrol, that is). This is the easiest job I have ever had, by about a factor of 20. Is it still a real job? OK. Sure. That's fine. I'll go along. It's still pretty chill, though.

Good luck with the change, lady z. Why wait so long? But good luck, whenever you get going...

[lady z]

Thanks Gregor. The reason I'm waiting so long is because I have to save money, tie up some loose ends here, and, attend my sister's wedding in July, (It seems like it would be harder to leave and then try to come back so soon just for the wedding) and then I am off between July 23rd and 27th....8 months.

BTW, thanks for your fabulous posts--most recently the advice you gave in "thanks, no thanks". Good luck with coming back to the U.S. and keep on rocking!

[Chancellor]

[jasonconga]

fall 2001- after 9/11, the TV show I was working for in So CA was disbanded, and my girlfriend at the time, who was originally from PA suggested we move there because it was a cheaper. I'm a writer, I said to myself, and every new experience is good.

jan 2002 - I hated it, the weather, the people, my relationship fell apart and I decided that I believed whole-heartedly in my happiness so I figured I could go to another country for a month, finish a book I was writing and then come back and see. A friend, well she's not a friend anymore for other reasons, told me Greece. So I bought a ticket on priceline NYC - Athens for 350 bucks and on April 22, 2002 left for Greece.

Upon arriving, I stayed one night in Athens and then chose the furthest island I could go to, Rhodes. After the overnight ferry, I found the hostel and there was a girl coming out of the door. I immediately fell in love and we are together still 3.5 years later. We traveled for the month more or less together and her, being a German girl, went back to GErmany and me to America. I broke up with the old girlfriend, drove back to CA, got a job waiting tables for 6 months, sold my car and moved to Germany in January 2003. Took my TEFL in Czech in February and by April had some work. Today, December 15, 2005, is my last work day of the year. I have two classes at the university and one with cooks at one of the school cafeterias. I have 8 different employers in 3 different towns and love it. I don't work in a school with 20 other teachers, I'm always on my own and it's great. I don't make a lot of money but great but for my "output" of soul that goes into work. Come on, I earned around $18,500 here in SW Germany and was on vacation for 125 days this year. It's amazing I'm still employed after all that travelling but the Germans love to travel as well and so they understand.

I'm a happy camper and tomorrow I'm flying to California for Xmas! woohoo!

cheers