Job Discussion Forums

mgs2 · Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 58

I am a 20 year old full time university student based in Sydney. I have just got my TESOL certificate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and have been teaching now for about one month. I will shortly return to university and will not have another break until the Australian winter in July. I will have a one month break in July and I'm interested to know if there would be an chance of teaching overseas for that one month. I am confident that I could come back to Vietnam and find work straight away and work for that month.

What other countries have strong teaching job markets that could allow me to find a short amount of work quickly and easily?

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

China, you can try the summer program offered by GLObal TEFL.The program this year is from July 9 to July 29.

http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/china/index.cgi?read=19838

But unless you have a degree it will not be so easy to find a short term position.

Aston school in China offers 6 week summer contracts but I believe that you need a degree.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

camps are probably your best option for paid work

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Issues you have to consider include whether you will make up your money from setup costs, plus the necessary visa for work.

mgs2 · Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 58

Thanks for the responses. What exactly are camps in the sense of english teaching, I have not heard of these before? You are correct when you say my concerns are the cost of travel and accomodation relative to how much money I could make. That's why I'm curious to ask if I can get work quickly and how much work.

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

The things I was talking about you would sign a contract before leaving. They would need your contract to issue you a visa. Currently in China, you would be given a year long visa even if you just work for the summer. Apparently work permits cannot be approved for only two months.

mgs2 · Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 58

Well I wanted to know if it would be possible to come in on a tourist visa. What do you mean by sign a contract before leaving? What type of contract would you sign before leaving?

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Of course, one can enter a country on a tourist status, but most countries prohibit working on that. That is why I mentioned visa issues. In your case, you might want to look into working holiday visas, depending on the country.

You must also realize that short-term work usually doesn't make up for setup costs you incur when coming to a new country. It certainly doesn't for Japan.

Also realize that unless you find a program that actually hunts for people for these summer camps, you are probably not going to get the job because work requires a work visa, most visas are issued for a whole year, and most summer camps don't sponsor such visas, so they usually hunt for people already in country with visas who have the free time.

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

Anyways without a degree you will probably only find work in third world countries.

mgs2 · Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 58

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate your informative responses. You touch on the exact issues that concern me, setup costs relative to how much I could earn, and my ability to work. Based upon the feedback you're giving me, it appears that South Korea is not really an option for me, as it is very difficult if at all possible to find work due to the fact that I don't have a degree. What other countries would posters recommend to me where it is possible to easily find work without having a degree? I know Vietnam is certainly one, but I'm curious to find others.

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

China. You could find a job in many third world countries but the pay would probably not cover your ticket to that country. Even if you worked at year in x country you may not recoup your airfare.

You can try South America but you will only earn around $500US a month.

mgs2 · Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 58

Yes thats seems to be where I'm heading that China is my best option. Is this basically the trend, more developed countries require a degree, while less developed countries don't require a degree (e.g. Vietnam).

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

But you may have visa programs in China. I guess it depends on how good your school's guan xi is.

One problem is before a business visa could be used but not you have to leave the country every 30 days on a business visa.