Job Discussion Forums

[new horizons]

We posted on General and it was suggested we post here as well. Background: We are a husband and wife looking for teaching positions in the East. Most likely Korea but, we are keeping our options open. I have a BFA and would like to teach English. My husband, who has an MBA, would eventually like to teach something finance related at a university.
We have traveled extensively and are used to dealing with other cultures. But, while my husband has spent some time in Asia, I have not. We are a mixed race couple (I am Black, he is White) from the States who are in our early thirties. We have been informed that these last items; race, age, and to some degree given current events, nationality, may make it more difficult to find positions. Our question is: How difficult and, if we do find a school, what will life be like for us?

[Glenski]

I haven't seen your other posting, but all I can say is that foreigners of mixed races aren't treated the same way as a Japanese person married to a foreigner of a different race. The rules don't apply. You are unique and that's all there is to it. They will (usually) go through hiring practices for you and your husband just like any other foreigner. (I say usually because there are a few places that have reservations about hiring non-whites, but don't let them get you down.)

As for your husband teaching finance-related at a Japanese university, I suspect that he would have to do it in Japanese. If he can't, don't expect to get hired.

Your ages make no difference whatsoever. Teachers of English range from early 20's to mid-60's. University profs are usually early 30's.

Don't know why Americans would have any problems getting teaching jobs in Japan, even these days with the Iraq situation, unless you are related to George Bush. American English is very much in demand here.

[Roger]

As for the PR of C, expect the Chinese to be slightly patronising or condescending in their dealings with non-Chinese, which might translate into some more unfriendly behavioral patterns vis-a=vis non-whites (including Chinese from anglophone countries).
You might both get hired as English teachers, though as a black person your chances are a little smaller. On the other hand, your hubby shouldn't set his hopes too high on teaching anything but English.
Don't expect the Chinese education system to produce students that can rely on their English as a medium of instruction.
Very few schools conduct bilingual classes. Universities are not comparable to tertiary institutes in the West! Teaching finances, you would need a lot of good luck to get hired at a prestigious uni such as Tsinghua or the CHina-Europe Management School or some similar one in Wuhan.

[PAULH]