Job Discussion Forums

[rpc]

Greetings.

My name is Ryan. I'm 32, live in Washington state and have recently taken an interest in the prospect of teaching English abroad. I've spent several hours reading and collecting insight from this forum, and with hesitation, for fear of contributing to what appears to be almost painful redundancy, I thought I'd present my circumstances and goals to the community here, in hopes of putting some concrete to the nebulous notions I've gathered about the TEFL industry. Importantly, I hope you'll pardon the similarity my post bears to countless others; there's just something about having your own questions answered, even if they're the same as someone else's.

So here are some specifics about my situation:

I have no college education and no money. I do, however, suppose myself to be generally familiar with grammar, syntax, punctuation and spelling. I'm also an eager learner, when it comes to language, which I think would lend itself well to gaining one of the various certifications that I've been reading about online. Most importantly, I'm at a point in my personal world where I'll do whatever it takes to get myself out of the Pacific Northwest and in to a region of the globe where the sun shines regularly.

Unfortunately, my lack of credentials, my financial dilemma and my not knowing any more about the TEFL industry than what I've read online has me stuck in a state of one-hundred-percent-enthusiasm-and-zero-practical-knowledge-ish-ness, which I'm just barely unnaieve enough to know is not good. That's why I thought I'd ask for guidance here.

So here are some specifics about my goals:

After having contemplated for months, with waxing and waning sincerity of intent, the move to another country, and after watching Michael Moore's controversial documentary "Sicko," which highlights the ineptitude of the U.S. health care system, among other things, I've decided that I want to live - or at least think I want to live - some place in the North Mediterranean. (My reasoning is simply this: The grass really is greener there). However, after speaking with a friend of mine who taught English in Thailand for a couple of years, I've come to understand that this region of the world is saturated with qualified, competitive TEFL professionals, meaning that a man with my lack of training and stature could probably expect to starve well before finding gainful employment. This being the case, I'm hoping that working in a "thrid world" country could be a great way to gain some real-life experience teaching, given that, from what I've heard, they have a higher demand for TEFL careerists. And if I can get a job in a Mexico, or a Thailand, or an Anartica, or on the moon, then I figure that I might be able to take classes, in hopes of getting an actual degree. From there, my hope is that I could find work in the French Riviera, etc.

So, to put it frankly, how can a guy like me most reasonably get from having only four thosand dollars and a warm jacket to a job teaching English in some country that's warm and what most people would consider pleasant? Importantly, after speaking with a friend of mine who taught in Thailand, I'm inclined to think that enrolling in a program that offers both an esteemed certification (CELTA or TESOL) and some sort of job placement after certification would be best, because I just don't know enough about moving to a foreign country to do it without someone holding my hand and guiding me through the process.

That said, which program would you go with, if you were me? If you wouldn't get involved with a program, how would you go from where I am to a position like the one I've described?

Thank you, truly, for any and all insight you can offer here.

Respectfully,
Ryan

[naturegirl321]

Ok, well you know what you what, which is good. About working in Europe, at leat the EU, without a legal work visa, or passport from one of the EU countries, it will be hard for you to get a job.

4K will go a long way in the third world. My husband and I live off of less than 1K amonth, but we own our own place. housing is going to be the most expensive thing on your budget.

You could get a job, in many places, like CHina, Thailand, Mexico, Indonesia, etc, even without a degree. A cert would be good, but job placement isn't worth much. All they will guarantee is that you can get interviews, but actually a contract, they can't guarantee that at all. If they do, be aware.

schools will guide you through the process, not the cert places. After you finish your course, you're pretty much on your own.

CELTA; Trinity and SIT are the big name places.

If you don't do that, simply apply for jobs and see what you end up with. China, for example, will only give you 500 usd a month, but you get free hosuing, meals and flights more often than not.

[denise]

[spiral78]

If you're getting started with the idea of ending up with a job in the Med - well, that's a very, very, very long leap for a US citizen (EU hiring laws: read more about it!).

However, there are lots of other very pleasant places where you can teach...

I disagree with naturegirl on the training centre thing, though. There are lots of very good reasons to take a course in the country where you want to start working, if at all possible.

Training in-country offers you a great chance to get your feet wet in the country/culture while you still have a support system � they usually arrange for your housing during the course, airport pickup, and local orientation. Your practice teaching students will really be representative of those you�ll be working with when you start. You can be sure that your certification will be recognized by local employers, and a training centre can give you invaluable contacts and advice regarding reputable local employers.

Denise is right about the money - don't get yourself on thin ice financially. A little bad luck can go a long way when you're far from home!

Basically, I'd suggest you do some research on where US citizens can work legally without a BA. Target a few of those countries that should interesting to you. Save up more money. Take a course in-country - and be sure to time your travel and course to coincide with the peak hiring period for that country, to maximize your chances of getting paid employment asap after the course.

[naturegirl321]

Sorry, denise and spiral are right. About the 4K, it can go a long way, if you only buy a one way ticket and live close tot he country that you want to be in. I guess I've lucked out and never had bad jobs that I had to up and leave. And even peple who do do that, often can find a job in the same country so that they don't have to go home.

Asia might be easier to start in becuase they eliminate lots of strat up costs, like housing, which is a biggie. NOt all ASian countries pay for housing though.

Aboutt the training, yes, you do get your feet wet, but you'll probably be tooo busy to look for jobs while you're taking the course. BUt I guess it does help

[rpc]

Thanks for the insight, everyone.

Sounds like you're echoing the same sentiments I've been gathering from my own "research": Start out in a third world nation to gain experience and because my funding would simply last longer. From there, it sounds like the quest is to get a job in Europe, which is tough to do.

I did find this, though:

http://www.canterburytefl.com/

It sounds very promising, and I'm pretty set on contacting them. I'll wait for insight from the community here, though, in recognition of my own ignorance on the subject. Needless to say, this is a big life move for me, (as it would be for most anyone, I'm sure), so any helpful information you guys can offer will be supremely appreciated!

[Chancellor]

[naturegirl321]

[rpc]

[spiral78]

You're right - a course provider can't file for a visa for you - only an employer can.

Course providers should, however, be able to give you realistic, concrete, up-to-date information about the visa process. If a course provider is telling or advertising something that sounds impossible - it probably isn't entirely above board overall.

[naturegirl321]

ONe thing about the EU, there' are loopholes, they're called teaching fellowships or assistants. Here are some for the EU and ASia

The Embassy of Norway in Canada has exchanges for Canadians aged 18 to 35.
http://www.emb-norway.ca/Passport/Youth+Exchange/MoU+Eligibility+Requirements.htm

MOFA in Japan has working holiday exchanges for people with passports from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Korea, Germany, the UK, Ireland and Denmark who are between 18 and 30 and currently residing in their country of citizenship.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/w_holiday/programme.html

The Working Holiday in Korea is for those from Australia, New Zealand, Canada or Japan who are 20 to 25. http://www.workingholiday.co.kr/old_workingholiday/english/wh/wh.html

Finland offers Americans the chance to teach English or do an internship if you're over 21 and either a college junior, senior, or have graduated in the past two years.
http://www.amscan.org/training_us_to_scan.html

France offers assitant teaching positions for Americans aged 20 to 29.
http://www.frenchculture.org/spip.php?rubrique424&tout=ok

Spain has teaching assistant programmes for Americans and Canadians who have a college degree.
http://www.mepsyd.es/exterior/usa/en/programs/us_assistants/default.shtml

[rpc]

Excellent info, naturegirl.

I've decided to stick with Latin America, for now. I'm focusing on TEFL courses in Costa Rica, for example, or Mexico. I've been checking out books and DVD's from the library, in an attempt to get familiar with these places, and I'm just magnetized by the climate, the culture and the promise that my measly few thousand U.S. dollars wil probably stretch in to a TEFL certification, a place to stay and food for a month or two. So I'll be perusing the Latin American forums on here.

And thanks again, everyone.

Round of beers on me!

[spiral78]

I've just read their Canterbury's current advert on Dave's and noticed that all the letters from non-EU citizens (teacher from India and teachers from various U.S. States) are dated 2007 - back when it was relatively safe to teach illegally. From January 2009, chances of getting caught are much higher, and the border run option has been eliminated.

I very much wish that schools and other posters would acknowledge the risks of teaching illegally. Newbie teachers are obviously entirely able to make their own educated choices, and may obviously choose to take the risks - but those who say that the risk is negligible are just being misleading.

You might not get caught - and it might be totally worth it to you to try to do it illegally - but you should know that there are actual risks.

Some years ago, when I was a newbie on my initial training course, we ran across a newbie teacher standing on a street corner, all her luggage piled around her feet, begging people for enough money to phone home to ask her family to wire her money for a plane ticket. I'm eternally aware that a little bad luck can go a long way.

Yeah, I've taken risks and I think most people do (and probably should). But to be aware that it's a risk is vital!!!

If you say, yeah, I understand, but I'll try it anyway - go for it! You might somehow get lucky and find a legal loophole, or get lucky on a daily basis and never get caught. I'll respect that. But I don't respect either individuals or schools that try to imply that the risks don't exist. That's how impressionable, hopeful newbies can be betrayed into actual probems.

I'm not implying that Canterbury isn't being honest in their actual contacts with prospective teachers - I have no idea whether they are or not. But the website info would definitely appear to be somewhat outdated, and a newbie could easily be misled by this, I think.