Job Discussion Forums

[nawlinsgurl]

Hi everyone,
I am interested in teaching ESL in Hawaii (or Alaska and Fla.) after I go to Japan. I would like to know the best way to go about doing this and the chances/places to consider a fairly well paying job in the States. By this I mean what certification/Ma/etc do I need and where are the best places in the States to look for the best paying jobs?
Thanks a bunch in advance

[nawlinsgurl]

I guess this was a crazy question, as no one has answered.
Maybe I shouldn't be soo far out. Humm...ok "does anyone know a good place in the US" to teach ESL/ESOL? By "good place" I mean a state or region.

[Irish]

It's not a crazy question but "a fairly well paying job" is kind of a tall order in the islands. Of course, that depends in part on your definition of a fairly well paying job. Maybe we should start with what you need. What do you consider a "good place"? Is it all about money to pay off bills, a certain type of weather, cultural pursuits...? What I consider good might be unacceptable to you.

If you do a search, you'll find other threads where we've talked about Hawaii before on this forum. (One was about teaching and another concerned opening a school there -- I'm not sure if there are more.) Although those posts are probably more than a year old by now, I think they are still generally accurate. PM me if you want more, but I'll warn you now that I'm not very optimistic about making a decent living doing ESL in Hawaii. That's why my current location reads Turkey.

Best of luck. Perhaps others will have some useful suggestions for you.

[dervish]

nawlinsgurl,

I first would ask you..........Are you a US citizen, where did you obtain your education (country), what subject, and what is your highest level of education?

Each state has individual certification requirements, so you would have to check each department of Ed seperately if you want to teach in a public k-12 setting.

Private schools are open to hiring teachers that are/are not certified.

Language schools are their own game.......they can hire anyone.

Florida........nice weather, sub tropic climate, cheap living, ok salaries, desperate for teachers (not necessarily ESL though).

Hawaii.........expensive, everyone and his brother would like to teach there, jobs limited, not too many folks in need of ESL lessons.

Alaska........I heard is expensive too, I don't think there would be many ESL opportunities there, as it's not really an immigrant stomping ground.

Example: my husband is a Turk, he just had his transcripts/degree evaluated (as all foreigners must), then he had to apply for work permission (which is likely if you're willing to teach). He has a business degree, so he can teach business classes (not a great need for business teachers), however he can take certification exams and become a Math teacher.

hawaii, just go on vacation. i heard it gets real boring if you live there. Alaska i think would be amazing, but difficult securing employment. Florida is accessible to many places (east coast, and s/c america for travel)

I hope this has been helpful!

[sussy]

I teach ESOL for the school board here in South Florida. I teach adult ESOL through the county's community school program. The requirements to teach in the community school are a BA and the legal right to work in the USA. I don't believe they would bother to go through the VISA process for anyone, because down here, English teachers are a dime a dozen. I know full-time teachers that want to supplement their income by teaching ESOL a few nights an week and are on a waiting list.

The pay is approximately $20 an hour for approximately 20 hours a week. Since it is community school, most of the classes are in the afternoon, however, it is possible to find work in the morning as well. The teachers are not on contract and do not receive benefits. It is possible to work a full 40 hours by working for two different schools within the county, but this still doesn't merit full-time benefits.

Some areas of Miami might provide more opportunities as a result of the massive immigrant population. There are possibilities for employment, but without the correct creditials and papers, working in Florida will be impossible or unless you can find privates, which pay approximately $35 to 40/hr. I would suggest contacting the county school board in whichever area of Florida you are interested.