Job Discussion Forums

[agolland]

I have am currently in Thailand traveling with my friend. I will probably be traveling until mid July and want to start teaching as soon as I can afterwords. I know the school semester starts in mid May (just a couple weeks from now) and ends in mid October, then picks back up in November until March. I do not have a TEFL certificate, but do have a BA and am from a native English speaking country (USA). My question is is it possible to get a job without a TEFL certificate for the second half of the first semester (around July). My family is going to be in Vietnam for the month of December and was hoping I could teach until the school break and then come back in January. Will there be any schools that would hire me? Is any of this possible? Would you recomend getting a TEFL coarse in July and trying to teach then? I'm really freaking out about this and would love any advice.

[roguegrafix]

You have a lot of ifs, buts and conditions--perhaps too many to be happy teaching in Thailand where you need to go with the flow and roll with the punches a bit. However, you have the qualifications to get a job, probably even a good job but whether that is a legal job or not, how would you know. The prime jobs will probably be all gone by the time you get here but you'll get a job especially if you try the smaller towns outside of Bangkok. Whether you can hack it or whether the school will put up with you and your conditions is another matter.

[MaiPenRai]

Why dont you look for work at a language school instead of a public school? They are more used to teachers coming and going and as they are businesses, you probably wont feel as bad for leaving them for a while.

There will probably be schools that will be looking in July as other teachers have left contracts early, but in your situation, you may not get a work permit and other benefits. check out www.ajarn.com when you are ready to look for work seriously.

As an teacher, I would say that you should let the school know your plans for leaving. As a job seeker, you may be better off not mentioning it until a few weeks/month in.

[agolland]

Thats some real good advice! Would you know the names of any language institutes off the top of your head? If not it's fine, I frequently check ajarn.com and am sure I'll find stuff on the internet. Thank you!