Job Discussion Forums

[missing]

Well, after 2 years of teaching in China, I returned to the U.S. last fall. Now, 3 months later, I find myself looking for a way to leave the country again. The itch is still there.

I've read many threads and posts of people who've been doing this for years and years, and I wonder if they (you) planned it all along, or fell into it, and what you were doing before that, what your plan is for the foreseeable future....

I'm 28 and I guess I'm feeling the pressure to find some sort of normal job to support me in the U.S.- one that will allow me to settle and prepare for the future. The problem is, I don't know what I want to do, career-wise. Not to mention I can't find a decent job, with my rather useless art degree...

What I do know is that living abroad for 2 years has left me yearning for more. I am considering going to India for a year. But then what?? Back to the U.S. only to find myself in the same predicament? Off to another fascinating destination in search of something I can't explain?

I guess I'm writing to all of you to look for some support, feedback, advice on what to do. I know many of you have been in the same situation before. (Although chances are you left again, or you wouldn't be reading this forum?)

Talk to me, comrades...

[wildchild]

you might try going fishing, maybe trolling in a lake, or jumping in a lake!

[denise]

Isn't there a saying that says something like, "I'd rather regret something that I've done than something that I haven't done"? If you are certain that you want to leave and aren't having any luck with the job search back home, you might as well go. Better now than later, once you do find a job and are more tied down.

But...

What do you consider a "normal" job, though? Many of us who've been doing this for a while (I've been in this field for seven years--not long by lifer standards but getting there...) actually consider teaching a normal job, even a career. If you don't feel the same, and you do go to India or elsewhere, returning home for that elusive normal job might be even harder because you'd have an even longer gap in your CV.

Good luck,
d

[missing]

Wildchild- um, thanks for the advice. I haven't quite figured out how it would help, though.



What do you consider a "normal" job, though? Many of us who've been doing this for a while (I've been in this field for seven years--not long by lifer standards but getting there...) actually consider teaching a normal job, even a career. If you don't feel the same, and you do go to India or elsewhere, returning home for that elusive normal job might be even harder because you'd have an even longer gap in your CV.

Denise,

Let me re-phrase that. By "normal" what I meant was a job in the U.S. that would allow me to...support myself, to not have to worry about how to make next month's rent, to live comfortably, and hopefully to mentally stimulate and challenge me. In saying that, I recognize that teaching English abroad has afforded me all of these things and more.

I guess what I'm struggling with is exactly what you said in your last sentence- if I leave and decide to return again after one, two, or ten years, what challenges will I be faced with then?

If I look at teaching abroad as a career, then it makes sense to continue with it, since it's been my career for the past 2 years. Maybe I've just been brainwashed by the majority that believes it's just an interim job...

[ls650]

[naturegirl321]

I personally would like to keep moving to different countries for my whole life.

[Venti]

Perhaps you stated your reason for leaving China and returning to the US after two years and I missed it. If so, I'm sorry. But, I'll ask anyway.

Why did you return to the US? If it was because you were done with China and no longer had the desire to remain there, you're probably better off waiting until a year or so has passed before you leave the US again for an overseas job. If it has only been three months since you returned, you're probably still dealing with the shock of being back home after having lived abroad for an extended period of time. It's possible that you might even be missing some of the things (or people) in China that you didn't think you would miss before you left. This is normal. It doesn't mean you made a mistake by leaving.

I returned home after a year teaching abroad. I was miserable for the first few months and was dying to go back. I was sure I had made a huge mistake. Eventually, I got back into my old teaching gig after returning home and came to feel good about my decision to return. However, the desire to go back to Japan never completely left me and, after a year of being back home, I decided to go back to Japan. That's where I am now. But, I could've easily stayed back home and continued to advance my career had I no desire to leave. I came back to Japan because I really wanted to be here. The point is, I gave it a year.

If you're already losing heart after three months because you haven't found employment that is meaningful to you, and are thinking you have no real options other that to bail out on the US again, you really should take some more time to find that "normal job" you say you want.

Anyway, don't decide until you've been back close to a year.

[markjs1973]

Hi "Missing",

Have you decided which course of action to take? I'm in a very similar situation to you.
I'm 33 and haven't really decided which direction to take. I'm looking into teaching in China/Japan, but I'm not 100% sure yet. I've travelled before and loved it. Let me know how you get on.

[rusmeister]

Agree with Venti. Take your time.

I was in a similar spot some 7 seven years ago. I was running away from stuff though, just as much as I was seeking. It took me a while to learn that, "Wherever you go, there you are." I was taking my problems with me. I had to have my life crash, wind up homeless, learn to accept help from others, join a men's group, pull my life and family together, earn my teacher's certificate and eventually convert to Orthodox Christianity.

I now live abroad. The desire to live in the States is still there, warring with the professional respect I get here, my wife no longer wants to live there at all, and it's a hard row as an isolated American in Russia, but I know what is most important to me, and why I made the decision to live here. No regrets.

Just the other night, I was walking home from work and feeling mega-depressed (the weather has been above freezing most of the winter - which is horrible for Russia, and there has been no sun at all (maybe a few hours all winter), when a man on a bike with a kid zipped by me, and the kid said (in the English that I had taught him) "Hello, Mr. xxx! (my name)" and was gone. I don't know who it was, but boy, did it lift my spirits! Then I came home to my wife and kids...

[missing]

Thank you, Venti- your words really hit home for me, as they were pretty much right on.

I did leave China because I was done with it. Though I can't seem to remember the feeling now, I know that towards the end of my time in China, I was feeling a bit anxious to return to the U.S. and try to get a new career going, maybe try this thing called "settling". I do miss everything about living/working/traveling abroad. Not a day goes by that I don't think about it.

Maybe I do just need to give it a little more time. Even 6 months. If the feeling to leave the country for a new destination is still there this summer, I can still leave.

Also, for some reason, I have a feeling of guilt that accompanies my feelings of wanting to leave the country again. Like I'm giving up, or running away from something. There might be something to be said about this, too.

[MikeySaid]

[Henry_Cowell]

[rusmeister]

Henry's right.
"It comes down to a simple question: What do you want, Will Ryker?"

[Gordon]

[Jizzo T. Clown]