Job Discussion Forums

[dragonpiwo]

When you're young, you don't think about pensions, health care, tax and getting old. EFL's a laugh. You get to travel, date hot people and experience new places.

I've been an EFL teacher for 20 years. It's getting harder and harder. I work in the Middle East, used to work in Eastern Europe and have worked in the UK at language schools and an FE college.
The thing is, to get the fewer and fewer 'good' jobs, you need to 'invest' in more and more expensive qualifications. It's a bit of a trap because even then there's no guarantee. The well-paid jobs are on the slide in the ME due to the low price of oil. I went back to Eastern Europe last year in between jobs and was offered entry-level pay, split-level shifts and thought screw that. The UK regs mean schools are closing.

If I were younger, I'd get straight out of EFL. It's a duff job these days with no prospects.

It used to be that the pay and the cost of living were doable, but in most cases now you'll live in penury in a nice place where you can't afford to do the nice things in that place.

There was always the Middle East bolt-hole but that is closing.

I'm lucky, I have a house bought by me on Middle Eastern wages. I pity the next generation and I'm only mid-40s.

[guobaoyobro]

Sorry you feel this way, but it really depends on what you want.

I've only been in the game a few years, but I save a ton of dough in N.E. China, can travel on the holidays, and live as I please here. I could bail to a different city after a short traveling break, and do the same.

Again, in the long-spectrum, I just got on.

I found it all pretty easy to get into, too, so surely with some due diligence, anyone else could do the same, as I'm kind of a space cadet.

Not sure what more you could want, than that.

- Thoughts from the other side of the coin.

[nomad soul]

[dragonpiwo]

My situation is fine, I'm lucky. Countless friends are struggling to make ends meet.

I specialized in Oil and Gas/Technical English years ago. I work for oil companies and have for 15 years. Such jobs are disappearing. The vast majority of TEFLers, work in language schools, which pay direly. Uni foundation years are getting cut left, right and centre. More and more people are fighting for fewer and fewer jobs and meanwhile the cost of living marches on.

China is the last big market. Then it's over. Not everyone's cuppa.

I think it's madness to get into this business now.

[nomad soul]

[Jmbf]

I think what's happening is the decline of the era where the backpacking TEFLer could cruise around the world with minimal quals and still make a 'decent' living (usually due to the low living costs where they teach). However, costs of living are increasing all over the world while the pay for entry-level EFL jobs has stayed mostly stagnant. It's forced those who want to stay in the industry longer term to up skill themselves in order to secure the better paying roles. Not entirely a bad thing in my opinion.

[suphanburi]

I actually think it is more complex than that.

15-20 years ago backpackers were teaching EFL to a niche market and going pretty good in the local economies for their minimal work.

Now, EFL has largely gone mainstream with primary and secondary schools being mandated by national governments to teach EFL.

With that movement of EFL from the niche market in language centers to mainstream education the days of the "Tourist Teacher" are pretty much numbered and those who want to stay in the game are being required to gain legitimate teaching qualifications.

.

[dragonpiwo]

Plenty of MA qualified teachers in cruddy jobs these days. In the Gulf it all went wrong when the a.) budgets got slashed and b.) the market got flooded with, largely American MA lit teachers, many of whom are relatively inexperienced and arrive via Teachaway etc and c.) when companies outsourced training to the usual suspects.
In much of Europe the difference in pay for being highly qualified is minimal.

[spiral78]

[dragonpiwo]

Dead on Spiral.