Job Discussion Forums

[lynnknows]

I am looking to move overseas. I am a widowed woman with 3 children. i have a degree in education I can teach up to grade 5. i do not have a celta but i am going to take classes for it this summer.

My question is how hard it is to find a job for a single woman with children?
when is the best time of yr to look for a job?
what web site are best to find a job?
what schools are the best with a person with no esl experience. i have only taught grade school and preschool oh, and i was a child care director for a few yr. i taught english in a muslim school for grades 4 and 5 and social studies in grade 9, but they closed down.
also do you think it will be harder for an african american to find work?
i will also take any other information that anyone has.

thanks in advance
lynn

[Sekhmet]

Well... I don't think you'll have too much difficulty finding a job! If you get a TEFL certificate, it should be fine. However, bear in mind that most schools here in Egypt do not provide accomodation, plane fare, etc, so rent must be taken into account.

Another thing is that wages in Egypt are often not great. Make sure you know exactly what you're going to get before you come out here! Normally I wouldn't recommend this - it's much easier to find a job on the ground - but with kids, it's much better to have the stability to start with, I'd guess!!

In terms of finding jobs, look on the International job board on this site, plus also there are occasional good jobs on www.tefl.com and www.tefl.net However, jobs for Egypt seem to be hard to find on the Net!! A bit of searching through all the job sites should help.

Hope that helps a bit!

[lynnknows]

thanks for the information. i really needed it. i have no idea where to start.

[veiledsentiments]

Lynn,

First off, if you have Texas state certification to teach, I would look into the International School' system which has job fairs in the US each year. There is also TESOL that will have its convention in Texas in the next week or so. It may be a good place to find people to point you in the right direction for job searching. (check their website)

One big problem that I see for you is the children. Unless your children are Muslim and speak Arabic the school fees will be significantly more than your salary. Otherwise you need to look at finding a job where your children will be allowed to attend for free - and that it be a schools where you would WANT your children to attend.

I fear that most of the jobs that you could get would be fine to support a single person, but way low for a family with 3 children. Another problem is that many of the schools that present themselves as 'international schools' and teach in English are VERY bad places to work. The children are completely out of control and teachers get no help or support from the administrations. Be sure to insist on corresponding with other teachers (and ex-teachers are even more important). One problem is that very few of these teachers pass by this board.

The school year is the same as here, so right now is when places are hiring for next year. But, they won't give much credence to a future CELTA, they tend to only consider what you already have in hand. So, if you are looking to teach EFL, you really can't apply until you have it. (especially as you have no ESL experience) I don't think that race will be a big issue. I think that surviving on the pay in Egypt will be your biggest problem.

Sorry to seem so negative, but I want to be realistic.

VS

[lynnknows]

thank you VS. you gave me alot of things to think about. i think i am leaning more towards U.A.E. they seem to have more of to offer. well that is from what i read so far. i have esl esperience working inthe Muslim school. non of the children spoke english as their primary language. I enjoyed it.
i wouldl ove to teach in egypt but it seems like i will be spending my summers there.