Job Discussion Forums

[Nate]

Hello,
I am 22 and I can, of course, make up my own mind on what I want to do. But I'd like to keep my parents happy too. I've been able to convince them that CELTA is indeed a real, official teacher training course. I plan on taking an IH CELTA course in Mexico late this year.

I realize this is unlikely, but my parents want me to go over to China as part of a group and be employed with other foreigners. Does anyone know of any group like this? They're worried about the "officialness" of it all and even simple things like getting from the airport to my place of employment.

To the best of my understanding the most common way to get a job is to fly over there myself after I get an offer of employment in my home country, then check the place out and sign the contract... this may be what I do eventually. However, I would like to explore all the options here.

Thanks for any help!
Nate

[Roger]

So you are based in "south", which has an annglosaxon ring to it, and "Florida", which to me sounds like a South American republic where Spanish is the official language...
I am putting the puzzle pieces together - you must be American;
there are, as far as I know, plenty of USA-based organisations that send teachers to China;
other avenues include American-operated private businesses such as AES (mixed reports, but overwhelmingly good).

[stavrogin2001]

Becareful with some of these programs. They offer a lot of things, but in the end they are really only finding you a job that you could get on your own if you got online. The worst part is you have to pay them!

I guess if your parents have money to burn, go for it.

China is super safe, You have nothing to worry about if you chose a school that has other foreign teachers. If it were Columbia or a former Soviet Republic you might want to be worried and go with a group, but even then you have to ask yourself why you are coming here.

Are you coming to China to meet other white people from you same background and nationality, or are you coming here to learn about something new and different?

[Nate]

Thanks for the advice.

Anyone have any specific recommendations besides AES? I found some things on google but would like personal opinions, too.

WorldTeach.org seems questionable, Western Washington University had a program and AES seems like a definite possibility. I would like to explore all my options however.

And stavrogin2001, I am coming to China to learn something new and different as well as meet people from different backgrounds and nationalities who I might have something in common with.

[lagerlout2006]

I met people from the UK who did this. It was extremely expensive. They got a week or 2 of orientation in Shanghai-as a group-and then were sent to jobs. Jobs were at Colleges. I would be wary of anyone wanting to send you to a language mill...You could find something on your own in the area of your own choosing. But I guess if cash is no object it might be OK...You would get to know people right away.

[rj]

You might check out colleges here in the US and see if they have programs. I believe Marshall Univeristy (WV) and Ball State University (TN) have programs, but I don't know anything about them really. If you did an exchange program with a college for a semester, your parents would be happy, you may get college credit for it and I would think it would provide you a safety net of sorts if there were misunderstandings with the host school. No idea how well such things work in reality, but in theory it sounds good