Job Discussion Forums

[WanderingEducator]

TL;DR at the bottom!

Hey everyone,

I am a certified language teacher with a Master's Degree who is looking to gain some experience by teaching English overseas.

I am in my mid-twenties and have a few medical issues that are not a big deal here in the U.S., but I am concerned that they may prove problematic in my search to teach overseas.

First and foremost, I was born with Cerebral Palsy. I have an extremely mild case of it, and am lucky to only have a slight limp as a result of it. It has never caused me any serious issues, and I would consider myself normally mobile in the vast majority of circumstances.

However, this past January I was looking to apply to teach in Korea, and I inquired on the Korea Job boards here about whether or not having Cerebral Palsy would hinder my chances of going there.

Essentially, I was told that the Korean medical check, coupled with the Korean cultural standards for self-image, would likely rule me out completely from being accepted to teach there. However, I was also told that countries with less stringent medical checks would likely accept me without issue.

Then, to add insult to injury, the following month I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

My question is, how badly does having mild cerebral palsy and type 1 diabetes hurt my chances at teaching abroad, whether it be Western Europe, Eastern Europe, or Asia? I know that type 1 diabetics teach abroad all the time, and I was okay to teach most places prior to the T1D diagnosis (even with the CP), but is the combo of the two of them a dealbreaker?

TL;DR: I have Cerebral Palsy (a mild limp) and Type 1 diabetes. What are my chances of being accepted to teach abroad in West/East Europe & Asia?

[spiral78]

As a US citizen , it is not medical issues that preclude you from western Europe; it's visa issues. There is a strong EU hiring preference by law which applies to all other passport holders. More info on this on country/region boards below.

[WanderingEducator]

Thanks for the reply, spiral78!

Okay, so I won't likely face any medical-history-based discrimination in Western Europe.

What about in places like Taiwan and Hong Kong?

[spiral78]

You might get more (and more accurate) responses if you post in the General Regional forums below.

You're correct that your medical issues won't be a factor in Western Europe, as they aren't going to give you a visa anyway, unfortunately .

However, I can elaborate a bit further as regards Central and Eastern Europe, where US citizens can get work permits (it's often a hassle, but do-able).

The issue here would not be national regulations regarding health issues and visas, in most cases, though there may be some schools that will discriminate. The main issue would be simply whether you are mobile enough to get around to do the job. The largest job market in these regions is business English, which usually entails travelling around a city to get to the offices of your students. Most classes in this context are not based in a school classroom. Given that you're able to get around, and that the diabetes doesn't limit your time/energy for the job, it shouldn't be problematic.