Job Discussion Forums

[Warren]

Hello.

I posted this message in the General Asia Forum, but it seems that very few people frequent that area, so i thought i'd try here:

"I'm interested in any work in Malaysia as well, and find it interesting on how such a widely known website has few postings on the country. My finace is Malaysian, and as an engineer she may have good employment opportunities over there. If we ever moved there, i'd be interested in teaching english. I have a B.Eng. degree as well, but this is not a B.A which i notice is the specific educational requirement for many jobs. I hope that doesn't matter too much. So who's working in Malaysia right now??"

Any comments would be great.
Thanks.

[elainenatal]

Hi Warren
I would like to get a job in Canada building a new bridge from Vancouver across to Victoria on Vancouver Island. I have a M.A. in Applied Linguistics, do you think that I can get the job?
Thanks

[bnix]

Now,now,Elaine,we know ANYBODY can teach English,right?Entomologists,engineers, unemployed skydivers,etc.etc.
Anyway,he could tell a future employer that B.Eng degree stands for "Bachelor's in English"...most of them would never know the difference,anyway. Engineering,English,entomology...maybe it all boils down to the same thing!

As to why there are not many job postings for Malaysia, maybe there AREN'T that many job openings,hence not many postings?
Really,one wonders why someone qualified in engineering would want to teach TESOL. Engineering jobs pay more(well,at least ,usually).Are job prospects that poor in engineering these days?

[PanamaTeacher]

Warren--Engineers from the US are in huge demand everywhere, and that profession pays much better than being a beginner ESL teacher. I really think you are barking up the wrong tree.

[Warren]

You people really missed the boat as to the meaning of my original posting. Especially the one with an M.A in liguistics, strangely enough.

So much animosity to engineers and scientists wanting to switch to something different! People do CHANGE careers. In case you've been living in a cave for the last few years, you'd know that the Canadian/north american economy is not enjoying high times. And yes, many junior engineers, scientists and technologists with little experience are facing a hard time finding jobs and keeping the ones we have. Most of my engineering buddies have been laid off, and they were all stars in school.

And why is everyone mentioning pay???? I didn't even bring up the topic of money in my posting. I'm aware that ESL teaching jobs do not pay large salaries but that's totally irrelavent to the information i was asking for.

I simply wanted to hear from anyone on this board who is currently teaching English in Malaysia. What are the visa requirements? What if you're married to a Malaysian citizen? And does your degree necessarily need to be in Arts or Education (Many ads want a "B.A.")?

No more low-blows please..

[PanamaTeacher]

I'm sorry Warren I thought that maybe you did not know that engineering is a good job to have overseas. I don't know anything about Malaysia. I was just trying to help. I came here looking for a job in my profession and found that teaching was the best I could do. But I have a friend who has been able to get all kinds of work as an engineer. Anyway, you have fun in Malaysia.

[Sherri]

A few years ago I visited a friend of mine doing the CELTA (certificate for English language teaching to adults) course at the British Council in KL. It was my impression that there wasn't much work going locally--but that was just my impression. There were a lot of wives of expats on the course who wanted to teach part time and didn't really seem to care about the money. Again I don't know if this always happens, or if it was just this particular course. There is work teaching at the British Council too, but I would think it is very competitive since it would probably be one of the best places to teach.

I have put some contact info below. It might help you to contact them directly and ask your questions. I would highly recommend doing the CELTA course or some similar EFL qualification before you start teaching and I know that the course in KL was very well-regarded. It might be a good way to get your foot in the door and make local contacts.

One of the reasons the people above gave you a hard time is because from your post it sounded like you intended to teach EFL without getting any relevant training. I am sure that is not the case! Good luck.

http://www.britishcouncil.org.my/english/tckl/teachertrain.htm

Contact us
British Council
Ground Floor, West Block
Wisma Selangor Dredging
142C Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur

Tel 03-2723 7900
Fax 03 2713 6599
[email protected][/i]

[Celeste]

Here is a little info for you:

http://members.tripod.com/adams_esl/asia.html#7

http://thestar.com.my/

http://www.newmalaysia.com/job/

http://www.imi.gov.my/

Good luck.

[Warren]

PanamaTeacher,

Thank you for understanding. I know there are some great jobs overseas for engineers, and i've applied to many of them. Without the 10-20 years of experience needed and knowledge of the local language, it remains a dream. How is Panama? If you don't mind me asking, what was it you went there to do originally, then switched to TESL?

gracias,
Warren.

[Warren]

Thank you Sherri. That's just the reply i was looking for. I would certainly persue training in the field before jumping in there. I'll check out the information you gave on British Council.\

Thanks again!
Warren

[bnix]

I hope you have good luck if teaching TESOL is really what you want to do.
True,it is possible to get a job in TESOL with a BA in anything(well almost, I guess),but you would be well advised to try and get some training in teaching.Your business,of course.I did not realize engineers were having such a tough time.I think there is a tendency to think'Hey,engineering,that is a HARD discipline.They should have no trouble getting jobs."But obviously(and sadly) you know more about that one than me.

As for people being "stars" at university, that usually does not cut a whole lot of ice in the real world.

As for the "low blows'...well ,not really.People in this field tend to have a cynical view of people in other fields who "suddenly"decide to teach TESOL.
Anyway,if that is what you want to do, good luck.Malaysia sounds interesting, but what about the political situation there(terrorism,etc.)?

[PanamaTeacher]

Warren--when I came to Panama I had already been told that in most countries in Latin America you could just show up and teach conversational english with no experience or certificates or anything.

I came here on a tourist visa. I was teaching 2 or 3 days after I got here. My other career option was shot down immediately because my written spanish was terrible, and it was complicated to get into it here in Panama. I found teaching to be easy and the country was relaxing so I've stayed on. What I discovered is that real ESL teaching takes a lot of knowledge. To get out of the $3.00 an hour jobs I had to learn english all over again. It has been 7 years and I am still learning.

Once you get to a place, I suppose things work out. It's natural to want everything set-up before you go but that is not the only way.

[Sandgropers]

We were on holiday in Kuala Lumpur in January this year and just out of interest we knocked on a few doors belonging to various language schools there. We got their addresses from the local telephone directory. We were surprised at how keen they were to employ us immediately ( we are both qualified teachers ). As we were on holiday we didn't take up any of their offers as we were just making enquiries for future use. The point is although you don't see many jobs for Malaysia adverised, they are available once you are there and they can interview you face to face. We would suggest that you get yourself some EFL qualifications eg CELTA which is well regarded in Malaysia.
Good luck
Cheers