Job Discussion Forums

[Ev]

I'm a 21 year old brit, just finishing the second year of my degree. I'm taking a year or two break from my studies and I plan to use them teaching abroad. I've already done a CELTA, have been volunteering as an ESL teacher since January and have a job at a summer school.

I'm not looking to save loads of money, but I would like to save enough to travel during the school holidays. Furthermore, holidays are a big deal, and I've been suprised by the amount of jobs I've looked at that seemingly offer 2-3 weeks vacation per year. Am I missing something or do I need to look for 10 month contracts, if so which countries normally offer these sorts of contracts?

I've been looking at jobs all over the world, and most of them ask for degrees. I know from applying for summer jobs that this is often superficial, and that you just need to apply anyway. So I'm thinking of just applying for appealing jobs in various countries to see what is actually viable and then going from there.

Do you think this is a good idea? What advice can you give me?

I have been researching places quite a bit, as well as browsing these forums, so I appreciate you get these kinds of requests for advice often. Apologies for the long post.

[naturegirl321]

Two weeks is normal, unless you have a job that gives you holidays with no pay, some do, like in Europe, or paid holidays, like in schools.

Look for 10 month contracts. Just apply even if you don't have all the quals, but if you have most, you never konw and they could hire you.

[denise]

Sometimes a degree is required for visa purposes, not for the job itself. In those cases, I really think you'd be wasting your time applying--you'd have to go as a student or something. Otherwise, sure, you can apply, but realize that you'll be competing against people who have a degree and a TEFL certification. You can still get jobs, but realize your limitations.

I wonder if you've fallen prey to the myth that an EFL job is a vacation. No such luck. It is a 40-hour per week job--for me, what distinguishes it from other such jobs is a) teaching, for me, is far more interesting than any ol' office job,and b) you get to live your daily life in another country. But that's it: you will be living your daily life, not traveling and living the life of a tourist. You can still travel, though, because many jobs run only during the academic year--summer months may not even be included in the contract.

d

[Sonnet]

Sorry to sound old/boring, but... my advice is to finish your degree first.

After 2 years of my degree, I worked for a summer school in China, and got hooked on EFL & living abroad. I tried to defer uni for a year or two. Thankfully, they didn't let me, so I had to go back home & finish it.

After you graduate, you're free, and there are so many more jobs you can choose from - visa restrictions are only ever going to get tighter, and if you spend a year or two out of uni living abroad, it's quite likely that you'll become increasingly tempted not to go home & finish getting that useful piece of paper.

So... if I were you, I'd spend the year (or two?) finishing uni, then take a decent cert. course, and then start living abroad. TEFL & foreign climes aren't going to disappear in the time it takes you to finish school, y'know.

[Ev]

I'm not going to finish my degree next year, I definitely need a break, but no I'm not under the impression that TEFL is easy or a holiday. Rather I think that Uni is one long holiday. If I enjoy it and decide that I don't want to finish my degree, then so be it.

Thanks for the replies. I'll hunt for some 10month contracts.

[Justin Trullinger]