Job Discussion Forums

[Mekyn]

Hello everyone,

I am just finishing up with my master's in tesol and i am trying to decide where I should teach. Basically my plan is to gain a year or two years experience teaching adults abroad and then come back to OR to teach at the local community college for 9 mon of the year and still have 3 mon free to travel and teach abroad.

Money is an issue for me because I have a lot of school debt. However, it would be good if i had experience teaching in a spanish-speaking country as that would help me get a job in my area.

So I think that I have narrowed my search down to either Mexico or Japan or a year of each perhaps. Basically, i think i can make more $$ in Japan but experience in Mexico would probably help get a job in OR which would be more $$ eventually.

If you have experience in either or both of these countries please advise me.

[Glenski]

What nationalities are taught in Oregon? If it is predominantly Hispanic, then Mexico is the place to go. If it is Asian, come to Japan.

If it doesn't have a definite slant either way, then decide what type of teaching is available in either country that will benefit you back home.

You want to work in a community college, so either a high school or college setting overseas would be good, IMO. It will be hard getting into a college or university in Japan without experience here, some knowledge of the language, and publications. For HS experience, I'd say JET Programme is your best bet, but other types of ALT (dispatch agency, yuk) are also options.

JET is out of the running until August next year. Look at the deadline for applications (November/December).

[markle]

money (especially starting up) would be tight coming here, whereas maybe not so in Mexico. You would recoup the initial outlay eventually (six mths maybe more) but if you were only coming here for a year it might not be worth it in a strictly financial sense.

[JL]

I'd second Markle's advice. If you don't step right into a job, you're going to be spending down savings pretty fast, in the beginning. And with a job, those startup costs are still going to bite. If a longer term in Japan is an option though, then the tables turn. I, myself, am getting ready to go to Japan for just a year. No matter how I've crunched the numbers, it looks like a net loss we're just goint to have to absorb.

[markle]

[JL]

[markle]

No I wasn't talking about you per se, just a general observation.

Good luck with it, just don't say I didn't tell you so....