Job Discussion Forums

[jamesmgregg]

I wonder if anyone would be willing to "assess" my situation and give me a few pointers.

I hold a Master's degree in music, taught music at University for 7 years and have been a Training Consultant for an automotive finance company for the past 4 years. I've traveled in Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and England and am especially fond of the Eastern states.
I've been thinking of TESL for awhile now, and a few years back conducted research into the certificate program at IH Akcent.

1) Chances of a good position considering my qualifications?
I am open to the idea of teaching for a few years and possibly moving into other positions, if possible. I'm most interested in Europe, particularly non-EU or newly-minted EU countries (as mentioned above).

2. Best certificate program?
(Yes, I know the can of worms I'm opening with that question).

3. Still true that getting a certificate abroad is better than getting one in N. America?


I sincerely appreciate any words of wisdom from the group.

[spiral78]

While your MA and traveling experience will help, remember that you'll still be a newbie in the field of teaching English as a foreign language. You might get lucky, but you should expect to start in starter positions. These jobs pay enough to live fairly well by local standards and to travel within the country. You won't be able to get ahead until you've made some contacts, gained some experience, and are eligible for the relatively fewer better-paid positions available.

Quite honestly, with MA in TESL/TEFL and ten years of experience, I've found that I'm almost out of the market in most of Central/Eastern Europe in terms of positions that pay enough to be 'worthwhile.' There are simply few jobs around that pay well by outside standards, and it takes time and connections to find them (I've been lucky in this respect, but have ten years worth of connections and family in the region).

It is still better to get certified in the country or region where you want to be. You will make some useful contacts in this manner, and your students for practice teaching will be the same kind of students you will actually be teaching.

On the point of moving into other positions, it's fairly rare to move from TEFL into executive level positions. Not impossible. But most who jump from TEFL into other professions either take entry-level positions, up to lower management at best. You might try sending your CV directly to multi-nationals in the countries you're interested in, to take the more direct route.

[tedkarma]

I tend to agree with spiral on almost all his comments.

Career transitions outside of TEFL tend to be easiest if you look for training positions in HR. It looks like you have some experience there already.

Best TEFL Cert? If you want to stay in Europe - probably CELTA or TEFL Int'l. In Asia - you'll find a whole host of quite good programs in Thailand.

Take a look at "How to Select a TEFL School" at:

http://phuketdelight.com/TEFL.htm

to help you decide the best school for you.

[jamesmgregg]

I appreciate your replies!

I re-read my original post and realized I put too much emphasis on the idea of moving up the career ladder - I would be quite happy with entry-level teaching positions, so long as they paid the bills and left me with some discretionary income. I'm not looking to replace my USA salary, I understand the unrealistic nature of that particular goal

I also didn't intend to imply that I would use my TESL experience as a springboard to corporate positions with multinationals, I was asking if it was possible to move from teaching at a school to an administrative position at that (or another) school.

However, since we're entertaining those notions...
I am active as a performing musician, particularly in the classic jazz idiom, and would certainly want to continue playing and possibly make an "on-the-side" career out of performing or teaching music.

[isanity]

I really don't see the attraction of management positions in language schools- all the boredom of management back home, but without the money.

[jamesmgregg]

With all due respect, isanity, I think it probably depends on your situation and outlook.

I'm not familiar with how the average language school works, but I do believe that, if allowed a certain degree of creativity and flexibility by the school's owners, it could be a "you get out what you put in" situation.

I'm in management right now for an automotive finance company and I love it. I am given latitude to implement ideas, upper management is very respectful and has a "servant leadership" mentality, and the company is very good at generating excitement among the workforce.

I suppose it's for me to discover for myself whether or not that's an idyllic situation not easily replicated in language schools!