Job Discussion Forums

Prof.Gringo · Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 5:16 pm Post subject: Best short term work to make $

Hello!

I am wondering something...

What jobs are best for a TEFL teacher (newbie or vet) to make some quick money back home before setting out on a new adventure?

How long does/did it take you to save up enough $$$ to take a TEFL course, fly overseas, look for a new job etc?

What work would/do/did you do in your home country?

Thanks!

Northern Sol · Joined: 16 May 2009 Posts: 24

The best paid jobs for somebody who doesn't have an insane number of qualifications are in Japan and South Korea.

You might find some useful articles on working there if you follow the link below.

http://knol.google.com/k/gordon-brown/grand-list-of-articles-about-english-as/w71x4ifw3dyj/4#

Prof.Gringo · Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 7:39 pm Post subject:

wildchild · Joined: 14 Nov 2005 Posts: 519 Location: Puebla 2009 - 2010

wait tables...

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

I did generic office work--but it certainly wasn't quick. Took me two years to build up a comfortable level of savings, but then I wasn't living nearly as frugally as I could have.

d

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

Budget, record everything you spend for a week, cut out unnecessary stuff. WE were able to buy a flat, 25K after saving for only 1.5 years, and let me tell you, we don't make much in Peru. We just sold it about a year ago and bought another for 40K and two SUVs

Suffer for a bit, take the bus, lower your housing costs, cook at home and you can save.

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 3:35 pm Post subject:

Sold pre-arranged funeral plans once. Was a living statue another time.

Best,
Justin

nickpellatt · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 1522

I do follow an extremely frugal lifestyle which allows me to travel (going up Kilimanjaro in October, and heading back to China in December) and I dont actually work that much at home either.

Depending upon where you live, work back home doesnt have to be non-TEFL work. In honesty, its much easier to settle back into life in your home country when you are doing the same line of work as you do on your travels. I arrived back home last year on a monday and was back in an EFL classroom on a thursday. Returning home doesnt have to mean call centres, office jobs or something else dull ... and at this time of the year there are a number of summer camp type jobs that offer food and board allowing you to save pretty much every penny you earn. This is certainly true of the UK anyway, and definately true for the seaside towns and in London.

I dont earn a fortune ... but enough to fund the next trip away ... (but the upside is I dont really work that hard either. 4 hours a day doing lesson plans I am very comfortable with is much easier than 8 hours in an office)

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

you're best bet is probably to just not go home. save the money you earn form teaching EFL to fund the trip to the next country. Or, if you HAVE to go home, just save A LOT and have the funds at home that will get you set up at the next place before you even leave the first country. It's a lot cheaper to get to Japan from Korea than it is from New York.

Employers in Korea (and the JET program and some ALT companies) typically pay for the flight over, and so they are a very common way to start (and both Japan and Korea pay enough that if you try, you can save enough that you won't be in the position of having to go back home before going to a new country).