Job Discussion Forums

[marisak33]

here's my story: i applied to JET, got denied, applied to AEON, got denied. my heart was and always has been set on going to Japan, although now i'm wondering if i should look to other countries. there are so many options i don't even know where to start. i have been looking for programs in china, korea and thailand. the thing is, i haven't ever been to asia, have no teaching experience, have no tefl certificate...so i would like to find a program that will set me up with a place to stay and give a alot of support upon my arrival, some training, etc...another thing is....i want to make enough money to save, save , save...JET would have given me all the things i wanted, but alas, here i am, needing to find another option. any ideas?

[herman]

I'm not sure I'm quite qualified to answer your question but, first -- just so others can help you -- do you have a bachelor's degree?

Your criteria won't be easily met at all (especially saving money) if you don't have a bachelor's. For someone with no teaching experience at all, saving (a lot of) money is pretty much out of the question. Well...before I continue I think we need to know whether you have a bachelor's (and any other related credentials you might have that you imagine could work to your advantage) in order to give you any suggestions worth your considering.

[marisak33]

I do have a BA in history, with honors. I also have experience teaching children. I spent last summer working at a horse camp and living with, teaching kids how to ride horses. That is it for my teaching experience. I have also worked abroad twice, once for a year in England and another time for 12 week in Mexico, so I speak rather fluent Spanish. ( not that it would do any good for my in asia!!!)

[sigmoid]

Have you looked into HESS in Taiwan?

I don't have persopnal experience with them but they seem to offer the type of thing you're looking for in terms of support. You can probably find some opinions about them on the Taiwan forum. It's teaching very young children.

here's their site:
http://www.hess.com.tw/en/index.jsp

and

http://www.hess.com.tw/careers/

[herman]

I agree with Sigmoid, HESS in Taiwan might be what you are looking for, and your experience with children would put you in favor with them.

I don't know about Thailand or Korea, but in China there are plenty of opportunities and some of those that are in smaller cities give excellent support to their teachers (I tend to notice a lot of these in the Northeastern region -- check the int'l job board here from time to time). China deals often include housing and help with adjustment, and in some cases pre-training or on-the-job training as well. The down side would most likely be not earning very much in American dollars, but quite a lot in Renmenbi since the cost of living in general is really low.

As you probably already know a Bachelor's degree is the minimum legal requirement for working in most Asian countries. Many have gone without proper work visa and still obtained jobs, but my impression is that those tend to be the ones under-credentialed.

Perhaps you should just check out each country a little and find out what kind of culture and environment you would enjoy being in and learning about most. Definitely don't despair -- be persistent with your search and job-hunting. Do remember though that this would be your first time teaching abroad so it is not that likely that you would earn as much as you might want to. I wish you good luck!

[Glenski]

You must be some sort of genius to have become fluent in ANY foreign language in just 12 weeks.

Teaching kids how to ride horses is not really what language teachers are expected to know, but at least it gives you some sort of handle on dealing with kids at some level. Try teaching them to sing or speak English instead, and you'll see it is a whole different ball game.

So, JET and AEON passed on you. There are still other places that hire from abroad and sponsor visas. NOVA, ECC, GEOS, to name a few. You're not going to find many, though, so unless you are prepared to come to Japan with US$4000 in your pockets to help you survive for a couple of months while you job hunt, then give Japan a pass.

Hard to tell why you didn't make the grade with AEON or JET. Interview skills? Or were you just not the sort they figured would be able to handle an overseas assignment in a land where you can't even read billboards. Many teaching positions require people to live in near isolation, so that could be a factor.