Job Discussion Forums

[Xie Lin]

Well, darn! Where is the "facetious" emoticon when you need it? Expectation vs. Reality has been the theme of 2016 for me so far!

I often have one second semester student whose expectations for that first job are off the charts, but this semester I am blessed with three. You would think they all had doctorates in the field, 20 years of specialized experience, and scores of publications to their names. And, of course, not one of them sees any need to meet the "unreasonable and coercive demands" of a foreign government--after all, they are Americans. That this does not entitle them to work anywhere in the world at any time is not a concept that has yet dented their expectations. "But of course I wouldn't be illegal--I'm AMERICAN!"

.

[spiral78]

Beautiful post, Xie Lin! I know some of these folk also, but thankfully they are not my students, or my responsibility!

[Hod]

Bit harsh.

It's a great first step that people look to broaden horizons and live abroad. 99% (my guess) of people in developed countries never do so and venture intrepidly on miserable package tours for a fortnight every year. These types wouldn't have even thought about living overseas away from cheddar cheese or Eastenders, a UK soap opera, quite good too. I never miss it.

The husband with the biomedical career can really have his cake and eat it here if he thinks about it. He won't lose anything by doing a four-week course such as CELTA to retrain as a teacher. I'm still amazed that piece of paper is pretty much a passport to work anywhere. Once in country, he can teach away and get contacts. If he can't get any contacts, he's working and earning anyway.

If after a year or so he hates or has no aptitude for teaching, you can both head home, and he has a career to go back to. You've given it a go unlike the other 99% and hopefully had a year you'll always look back on.

But as said already, if he has no wish to be flexible and give teaching a go, stay at home.

[spiral78]

[Hod]

Yeah, but it is really. Americans in Europe aside, it's a four-week cert that allows people to work anywhere.

CELTA, Trinity or any equivalent, there's no such fast-track qualification in any other job enabling people to up and work abroad so easily.

[spiral78]

Anywhere except......(insert applicable limitations) is accurate.
Blanket 'anywhere' isn't true, and may mislead a newbie reading the thread. Though they probably won't read it anyway

[Hod]

The OP is new to teaching and yet to gain any qualifications to do so. The husband’s plans sound uncertain to put it mildly. The dog probably isn’t too fussed.

With such a plan, neither human will be working at the highest echelons of education for a while yet. To embark on a longer-term course of study now makes no sense. The CELTA/Trinity is an entry-level qualification that will let them work anywhere on the planet, except Europe as you’re so keen to point out, even though I was always meeting north American TEFLers in Germany, and threads in the Europe sections tell of such types successfully getting visas.

I’d rather “mislead” people into taking one of the four-week certs above than a worthless online course. In fact, I’d rather offer advice than the stuff you’ve dished up on this thread, e.g.

[spiral78]

You misunderstand me. I'm not suggesting that they get higher level qualifications - it wouldn't help them get into Europe anyway.

Yes, Americans can get work permits for Germany - that's well established and no-one disputes it. Ditto Czech Rep, Poland, Slovakia, and other points east.

Sure, I think they should both get CELTAs, and focus probably on Asia. I don't know of any suggestion that they should go for short/online certs, though I hear that they're accepted in parts of Asia.

In any case, if the dog has a choice, he's likely to prefer Europe, much of which (more north than south) is extremely dog-friendly. Mine appreciates the fact that his regular social life includes restaurant dining, pubs, and even the occasional cinema evening;-)

[Kowloon]

Would HK be an option here?

She gets a CELTA then moves to HK to teach. He gets a spousal visa at the same time. They give it 6 months to a year of him applying for everything and anything that he thinks could be relevant to his skill set and if it doesn't work out he either also gets a CELTA or they go back.

[nomad soul]

[Kowloon]

[nomad soul]

[Kowloon]