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IF I had it to do over, I would not enter into ESL teaching.
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sammysez



Joined: 20 Nov 2016
Posts: 119
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:33 pm    Post subject: IF I had it to do over, I would not enter into ESL teaching. Reply with quote
Not trying to be Debbie Downer, but if I had it to do over, I would not become an ESL teacher. Basically I'm eating my degree, because it's really not paying the bills like I thought.

If you have the travel bug to go overseas, which I never had, then it's probably worth it.

It's definitely lost it's profitability since the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Salaries seem to be going down. Perhaps China or Japan will be the saving of salaries for ESL teachers.

Any one else?? your thoughts?
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mitsui



Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Not Japan. The best days are gone.
China, though, I would recommend.
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coffeespoonman



Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 512
Location: At my computer...
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 5:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've had the opposite experience. I got degrees in English with the expectation that I would never be marketable, yet I've managed to have a fun and very profitable career these last 13 years.
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suphanburi



Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 916
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 5:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I think the issue is that it is either good for a gap year (or two) then return home and start a career
OR
try it for a year or two then begin your professional development and move off the entry level EFL jobs and get into EFL / teaching options with upward mobility, career advancement and decent wages.

The issue is that most EFL teachers get lazy. They get into EFL and never move past the entry level jobs because the job is easy, pretty stress free and doesn't require any continuing professional development.

For those who do move upward there are decent paying, related options:
    professional teacher (salaries of US$3-5k/month)
    Curriculum development and publication (sky is the limit)
    School administration ($5k+/month)
    Upper academia and/or conference work (50k/year +)
    Related self employment - school / academy owner (in some countries this is not an option).


While teaching has never been a profession to get rich in it certainly, outside of the US, has options that provide a decent level of disposable income, job security and retirement options.
It sucks to be a teacher in the US.

.
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Jmbf



Joined: 29 Jun 2014
Posts: 663
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 9:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
suphanburi wrote:
I think the issue is that it is either good for a gap year (or two) then return home and start a career
OR
try it for a year or two then begin your professional development and move off the entry level EFL jobs and get into EFL / teaching options with upward mobility, career advancement and decent wages.

The issue is that most EFL teachers get lazy. They get into EFL and never move past the entry level jobs because the job is easy, pretty stress free and doesn't require any continuing professional development.

For those who do move upward there are decent paying, related options:
    professional teacher (salaries of US$3-5k/month)
    Curriculum development and publication (sky is the limit)
    School administration ($5k+/month)
    Upper academia and/or conference work (50k/year +)
    Related self employment - school / academy owner (in some countries this is not an option).


While teaching has never been a profession to get rich in it certainly, outside of the US, has options that provide a decent level of disposable income, job security and retirement options.


Great advice again from Suphanburi. This should be made into a sticky.
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rahcnas



Joined: 08 Mar 2016
Posts: 1
Location: Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 6:46 pm    Post subject: Re: IF I had it to do over, I would not enter into ESL teach Reply with quote
sammysez wrote:
Not trying to be Debbie Downer, but if I had it to do over, I would not become an ESL teacher. Basically I'm eating my degree, because it's really not paying the bills like I thought.

If you have the travel bug to go overseas, which I never had, then it's probably worth it.

It's definitely lost it's profitability since the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Salaries seem to be going down. Perhaps China or Japan will be the saving of salaries for ESL teachers.

Any one else?? your thoughts?


I am curious. What would you do instead? Salaries are going down if you compare them to previous years but you have to ask if this is only happening in this industry. I am fairly new to the industry (only teaching ESL English for 2 1/2 years) after spending many years in administrative positions and have realized that the employment arena of the last twenty years or so is changing if not has changed. With the rapid growth in technology some types of careers are already on their way out: e.g. Postal Service workers, Switchboard Operators, Data Entry and Word Processors and Typists. More careers will become obsolete within the next 10 years and new careers are emerging that were not around 5 years ago. As the supply of persons willing to teach ESL English increases, salaries will decrease.

Suphanburi listed decent paying options and mentioned that these provide job security and retirement options outside the U.S. Personally I think "job security " will become a thing of the past as more technology is used in the workplace as well as the availability of increased numbers of people looking for work. We have to deal with "what is" and do what most human beings hate "make changes".
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Yanklonigan



Joined: 23 Jan 2017
Posts: 36
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 11:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
No, I would not bother with teaching overseas if I could do it over again. Three tours of duty spread-out over six years was too long. Overall, the experience detoured me from my real career track. It set me back as far as retirement goes. It was fun, but it was a waste of time in the end.
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jpvanderwerf2001



Joined: 02 Oct 2003
Posts: 1117
Location: New York
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 2:54 pm    Post subject: