Job Discussion Forums

[Usurename]

Hey, I'm thinking of getting my certification in January or February and I was curious if there is anybody looking for jobs in that time bracket or if I'm better off waiting until summer. I found one job that did, but its application deadline was today. Is that going to be pretty much the case anywhere?

All help appreciated.

[Glenski]

Certification is one thing. Do you have a bachelor's degree in something on top of that? Work visas usually require it.

And, do you have a country of preference (or one that you don't want to work in)?

Speaking for Japan, I'd say that it would be extremely rare to find a job with that sort of contract, and you'd be hard-pressed to break even on setup expenses.

[Guy Courchesne]

I think you'd be hard-pressed to break even anywhere for the short period. The larger cities in Latin America may present you opportunities for a short stay, though much of South America would mostly present start dates from the first week of March.

[Usurename]

Thank you both. You pretty much confirm what I suspected.

To answer some of your questions though, I do have a B.A. I am most interested in teaching in Russia, but the good majority of those positions start in September or so. I was basically looking for something short-term that would give me teaching experience abroad (as well something to do for that time period). As thus, I am pretty unpicky about country. I heard Korea has a lot of good opportunities, but from what I can tell most of those are 1-year contracts. I heard about South American schools starting in March. I may have to check that out.

Basically, I don't want to blow a bunch of money on flight expenses just to get a nice piece of paper saying I'm certified to teach English.

[naturegirl321]

You're right, most LA country schools start in March and you usually have to sign a six month or one year contract. You might be able to find a short-term position in a language school where you are living and then head over to Russia in Sept

[Jetgirly]

If a teacher quits or gets fired, the first thing schools do is look through the pile of resumes they already have on file. I left my school (with proper notice!) last March, and they needed to hire someone to replace me. Another teacher was fired the same week (I felt really bad about that!), and they needed to hire someone else as well. Make sure your resume looks fantastic, write a kick-ass cover letter indicating you're willing to move with very little notice, and keep your fingers crossed.

I think the IH in Moscow hires pretty frequently, just because it's a huge school (not because it's horrible). I would definitely send them my resume a few weeks before I finished my course. The Inlingua there hires pretty frequently as well, and you could always start at Inlingua and switch to IH in September or something. I wouldn't suggest working at Inlingua long-term.