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Non-teacher spouses and pets
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mthompson0324



Joined: 05 Jan 2016
Posts: 5
Location: USA

PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 4:29 pm    Post subject: Non-teacher spouses and pets Reply with quote

Hello, I am interested in finding out if anyone has taught abroad and gone with a spouse that doesn't teach? My husband is a biomedical tech with a networking and biomedical engineering degree. He is not interested in teaching but does want to live and work abroad. I m looking at teaching jobs but don't know how it works if I get a job teaching and he is not employed. Can he get a visa fairly easily just because we are married or no? Are there places that do that more easily than others? Second question, we have a dog that we want to bring with us. Have any of you done that and where? Again, are there certain locations that are easier to take animals to than others? I have been looking at positions all over Asia and am interested in working in Europe as well. If you have any information or recommendations I'd appreciate it!
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 4:52 pm    Post subject: Re: Non-teacher spouses and pets Reply with quote

As with your other thread, we'd need to more info about your qualifications since his employment is contingent upon what work you get. Of course, he could apply for work and you could follow as a training spouse. But more info please!
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mthompson0324



Joined: 05 Jan 2016
Posts: 5
Location: USA

PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have bachelor degrees in psychology and criminal justice, and a masters in social work. I don't have TEFL/TESOL or a teaching license but am looking into getting those. I haven't moved forward with certifications since I am unsure how things will work with my husband and am currently working full-time. I have been working for the past four years as a mental health counselor for children, families and adults. I am currently a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and have been working part-time in an elementary school. I have been looking into mental health jobs overseas as well but got hung up on sponsorship so I am now also looking into teaching options.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's what I see are the issues:

- Since medical equipment is used worldwide, your husband has a better chance of getting hired as a biomedical technician with you as a trailing spouse. Visa rules generally tend to favor the husband, depending on the country. However, jobs in his field likely require that he be bilingual, which would limit you both to English-speaking countries like New Zealand, South Africa, Australia... possibly the UAE and Qatar, since English is widely spoken.

- Your lack of teaching experience and TEFL cert would limit you to Asia; non-EU Europe is an option if you get a CELTA. Possibly Mexico and South America. You might check with the DoDEA's job site to see if there are open positions overseas for social workers. However, again, your husband may not be able to get work if the job requires him to speak the language. That might also end up being the case for social worker positions as well.

Hopefully others will chime in with some suggestions, but your prospects for your initial plan of your husband as a trailing spouse are slim to none. Look into English-speaking countries where both of you can get jobs in the fields you're experienced in.
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 7:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I have been looking at positions all over Asia and am interested in working in Europe as well.


Western Europe isn't an option for non-EU citizens regardless, and Central/Eastern Europe where you could work legally don't pay enough to support 2 people. Your husband is unlikely to find work unless, as nomadsoul points out, he can speak the local language. This is probably why you haven't found mental health jobs as well.

The only positive here is that Europe is generally dog-friendly; mine's lived in 5 countries here on the continent. But I have an EU citizen spouse and specialist qualifications.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 9:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Technician jobs in medical fields in the Middle East are mainly covered by workers from Asia or other Arab countries. Salaries paid reflect this, and might not be attractive to those from "The West"
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Hod



Joined: 28 Apr 2003
Posts: 1613
Location: Home

PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 10:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

spiral78 wrote:
Western Europe isn't an option for non-EU citizens regardless, and Central/Eastern Europe where you could work legally don't pay enough to support 2 people. Your husband is unlikely to find work unless, as nomadsoul points out, he can speak the local language. This is probably why you haven't found mental health jobs as well.

The only positive here is that Europe is generally dog-friendly; mine's lived in 5 countries here on the continent. But I have an EU citizen spouse and specialist qualifications.


I like dogs but am more of a people person. To sum up the above I'm OK Jack advice, the dog will be fine, but the husband gets the kennel.

I studied engineering at uni and worked as an aerospace engineer in my home country and abroad. I preferred the abroad part and wanted more, but it proved tricky. To get my fix of living and working overseas, I knew I had to retrain. TEFL was the answer.

If your husband wants to work abroad, he needs to think about becoming interested in teaching.
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Xie Lin



Joined: 21 Oct 2011
Posts: 731

PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 10:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mthompson0324 wrote:
I have bachelor degrees in psychology and criminal justice, and a masters in social work. I don't have TEFL/TESOL or a teaching license but am looking into getting those. I haven't moved forward with certifications since I am unsure how things will work with my husband and am currently working full-time. I have been working for the past four years as a mental health counselor for children, families and adults. I am currently a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and have been working part-time in an elementary school. I have been looking into mental health jobs overseas as well but got hung up on sponsorship so I am now also looking into teaching options.


Is there a reason you aren't looking at school counseling positions at international schools? Your current qualifications, depending on how much experience you have in a school setting, take you a long way towards meeting the requirements for many schools. Qualifications required for school counselor positions vary somewhat, but license (to practice) plus masters degree plus clinical experience with children gets you most of the way there. Two to three years experience as a school counselor in the US would make you competitive for K-8. Secondary positions often ask for college counseling experience/training as well. (Note "ask for.")

Have a look at ISS (International School Services) or Search Associates.: They will evaluate your CV, and help you decide if you need another credential to be competitive, or additional US school experience, or whether you're good to go. International School Review is another site with discussion of qualifications. For optimal competitiveness you will want to look at how to acquire school counselor certification, but that may not be too lengthy a process for you, and you can get hired initially without it. You might need additional work in areas such as testing or career counseling--or not.

That seems to me your shortest route to work abroad, as well as the best paid, and takes advantage of the experience and qualifications you already have.

.


Last edited by Xie Lin on Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:30 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Xie Lin



Joined: 21 Oct 2011
Posts: 731

PostPosted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 6:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And welcome to the café! Very Happy

.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 6:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Xie Lin:

What about the OP's husband? He expects to find work as a biomedical technician. Confused
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mthompson0324



Joined: 05 Jan 2016
Posts: 5
Location: USA

PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 3:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In response to the school counseling post I am definitely interested in that route but have been told that to obtain a school counseling certification I would have to get a second master's degree. I inquired about that with the graduate school I went to but may need to look into that more. All of the sites suggested or that I have looked at require a longer period of time working in a school as a school counselor (which technically I'm not as I am a contracted social worker not employed by the school) as well as a counseling certification. I am unfortunately not eligible for the recruiting fairs I have found for the same reason. I plan to continue researching but keep running into pretty tough barriers.
As far as my husband, he would not be interested in teaching and has also been having a hard time finding overseas jobs. He could do a variety of things including networking, computer repair/IT work, biomedical, etc. He has a fairly wide skill set regarding repairing and working with technology but we aren't sure where to look or what to do with that either.
Thank you all so much for your recommendations, keep them coming!
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 7:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

mthompson0324 wrote:
I am unfortunately not eligible for the recruiting fairs I have found for the same reason. I plan to continue researching but keep running into pretty tough barriers.

As far as my husband, he would not be interested in teaching and has also been having a hard time finding overseas jobs. He could do a variety of things including networking, computer repair/IT work, biomedical, etc. He has a fairly wide skill set regarding repairing and working with technology but we aren't sure where to look or what to do with that either.

Thank you all so much for your recommendations, keep them coming!

Since this is an ESL forum, I'm not sure what other recommendations we can offer. Your idea of teaching abroad is off the table; the countries where you can teach English without experience will, in turn, be a major challenge for your husband to get work in his biomed field due to a language barrier. Plus, basic IT jobs (e.g., computer repair, networking, etc.) are easily filled by qualified locals first, followed by expats who speak the language. That's why he's finding it difficult to obtain similar work overseas.

Unless your husband can get a steady tech-related job via an American company that allows him to work remotely (i.e., outside the US), then, sure, look into entry-level TEFL jobs for yourself. Otherwise, stick with English-speaking countries where both of you can work in your respective current fields: mental health for you and biomed equipment repair for your husband, and have your pup with you. Start checking out jobs in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the Caribbean...
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rtm



Joined: 13 Apr 2007
Posts: 1003
Location: US

PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mthompson0324 wrote:
Hello, I am interested in finding out if anyone has taught abroad and gone with a spouse that doesn't teach? My husband is a biomedical tech with a networking and biomedical engineering degree. He is not interested in teaching but does want to live and work abroad. I m looking at teaching jobs but don't know how it works if I get a job teaching and he is not employed. Can he get a visa fairly easily just because we are married or no?

Whether your husband will get a visa based on your visa will depend on the country. I know it would work this way in Japan.

My bigger question is what your goal is. That is, are you (and your husband) seeking to put your careers on hold for a year or two, have an experience abroad, and then go back to jobs in the US that are similar to what you have now? Or, are you hoping to make a more permanent move abroad (either in the fields you are in now or teaching English)?

Among the couples I have known who moved abroad and one spouse was not interested in teaching, that spouse either 1) had very strong local language skills, 2) taught English anyway, or 3) was very bored. As others have said, there are places in the world where work such as your husband's is done in English (e.g., many of the Gulf countries). But, you don't have the qualifications or experience to get an English teaching job in those places. You could try to get a job in your field in those places, but that is beyond the scope of these forums.
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Xie Lin



Joined: 21 Oct 2011
Posts: 731

PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nomad soul wrote:
Xie Lin:

What about the OP's husband? He expects to find work as a biomedical technician. Confused


"Expects?" Expectations do not change reality. Given that his job is not listed as "urgently required" anywhere, there is VERY little chance of a job in his field, unless:

1. He obtains a job with a US-based multinational willing to transfer him abroad. (As already mentioned, this is less likely without language skills; but perhaps not itotally mpossible, depending on the desirability of his skills.)

2. He finds a position abroad through DoD. This is not impossible, and would not require language skills. He could check the USA goverment jobs website.

3. If he is under 30 and wants 12 months or less in another country, he can apply through working holiday type schemes in S. Korea, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. I may be missing a country offering this type of visa to US citizens. But he has to be under 30, and it only gets him a year. And then he still has to find a job.

4. Some countries have internship and "volunteer with stipend" work-arounds to comply with visa regulations. These will be at subsistence level, however.

Otherwise, expectations of a job in his field are not based in reality. He's not going to get a work permit in an English-speaking country any more than any other country, unless he qualifies for a listed occupation. (This is something he should check out, though--I don't know for a fact that no country in the world is in urgent need of biomed techs and can't fill the jobs locally. Worth checking, I suppose.)

And in each of these scenarios, the OP is left as the trailing spouse. ONE of them is going to be--unless they join the Peace Corps as a couple! Very Happy

.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Xie Lin:

I was being a bit facetious since the OP and her husband obviously have unrealistic expectations about working overseas.

They've been given enough advice from this forum in terms of what's doable and where to seek work. We're not here to find jobs for them; they've got to take on that task themselves.
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