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denise
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 3419
Location: finally home-ish
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 Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 4:55 pm Post subject: |
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| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| As for split shifts, if you live close enough to work, they're great. I'd teach for 4 hours, go home, eat lunch and take a 2 hour nap every day, then go back to work. I loved it. |
Yes, distance and travel time do matter. In my first TEFL job, which was made up of roughly 50% on-site classes and 50% off-site classes, I had a 7:30am class at the absolute opposite end of the city (I caught the 6:42 tram in the mornings, which was quite an experience in the dead of winter!), a late morning class at the school (center-ish of the city, so at least convenient for lunch and other activities), and evening classes either at the other end of town or back at the school. Going home in between really wasn't an option. My work day finished at 6 or 7pm. Aaaaah, but I was young then and had the stamina for such things!
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kc4real
Joined: 15 Jan 2009
Posts: 27
Location: VA, USA
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| Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Your 19, well I'm 31 and I feel like I wasted my 20's in and out of college, I have 2 associates degrees and finaly finished my BA a year and a half ago, but the point is I didn't know why I was there, and didn't have a consistent path so it took me a long time and I can never get those years back, I probably would have been better off to try some different things and then go to college when I was ready. I could have an MA, or be a doctor by now if i had planned ahead, don't make the same mistakes I made, don't waste your life in some college cause everyone else tells you to go there, sure there are some schools in South America that won't hire you but there are some good ones that will too, and let's be honest all you need is one good one cause you can only work at one, maybe two tops at a time! If you decide to go to college make sure you know why your there and work hard at getting through, best of luck! |
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denise
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 3419
Location: finally home-ish
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| Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:32 am Post subject: |
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[quote="kc4real"] don't waste your life in some college cause everyone else tells you to go there, [quote]
Right--going to college simply because other people are telling you to is perhaps not the best reason. If, however, you know you want to get a TEFL job and you know that your odds of getting a good job increase quite a bit with a college degree, I'd say that's a good enough reason to get yourself into college and stick with it long enough to get a degree.
Otherwise, go out there and start looking for jobs, and be prepared to be offered jobs at the low end of the spectrum. And don't complain about it, because it was your choice.
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Justin Trullinger
Joined: 28 Jan 2005
Posts: 3110
Location: Seoul, South Korea and Myanmar for a bit
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| Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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I see some real advantages to starting at the low end of the spectrum, though. Do it while you're young and energetic and you get the best stories.
Best,
Justin |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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| denise wrote: |
| kc4real wrote: |
| don't waste your life in some college cause everyone else tells you to go there, |
Right--going to college simply because other people are telling you to is perhaps not the best reason. If, however, you know you want to get a TEFL job and you know that your odds of getting a good job increase quite a bit with a college degree, I'd say that's a good enough reason to get yourself into college and stick with it long enough to get a degree.
Otherwise, go out there and start looking for jobs, and be prepared to be offered jobs at the low end of the spectrum. And don't complain about it, because it was your choice.
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At the very least, having a college degree makes one more marketable. |
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Madame J
Joined: 15 Feb 2007
Posts: 239
Location: Oxford, United Kingdom
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| Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| kc4real wrote: |
| Your 19, well I'm 31 and I feel like I wasted my 20's in and out of college, I have 2 associates degrees and finaly finished my BA a year and a half ago, but the point is I didn't know why I was there, and didn't have a consistent path so it took me a long time and I can never get those years back, I probably would have been better off to try some different things and then go to college when I was ready. I could have an MA, or be a doctor by now if i had planned ahead, don't make the same mistakes I made, don't waste your life in some college cause everyone else tells you to go there, sure there are some schools in South America that won't hire you but there are some good ones that will too, and let's be honest all you need is one good one cause you can only work at one, maybe two tops at a time! If you decide to go to college make sure you know why your there and work hard at getting through, best of luck! |
Completely and utterly agree, I can relate to almost everything you say. I am considering starting a teaching degree in a couple of years and will probably be pushing 30 when I finish, but as this will be my second attempt at university I want to make absolutely sure that teaching is the right career path for me.
I wasted (well, I don't consider it a waste due to all the wonderful life experiences I had throughout uni, but you know what I mean) nearly three years struggling with a degree I hated, and ended up having to jump ship. The only reason I started that degree in the first place was because a), it was in a subject that everybody told me I ought to do (even though I'd actually fallen out of love with it several years before) and b), like plenty of other 19 year olds, I didn't know what else to do. I'm sure I would have been far better off giving myself a few years to think my choice of course through thoroughly.
University is such an expensive commitment as it is that it seems absurd to go without genuinely wanting to, as so many people seem to. I'd advise the OP to give himself as much time as he needs to mull it over, and in the meantime start an entry level EFL position as a nice little taster of the profession. I know degrees are needed for the longer term, but, well, everything's already been said hasn't it? |
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