Job Discussion Forums

[asplagis]

I'm a 32 year old Canadian male, and like a portion of my brethren (please, please tell me I'm not the only one), I'm a little lost about what to do with my life at this point. How's that for honesty?

I still owe about 18K CAD in student loans accumulated through my spendthrift years as an undergrad student and the much less spendthrift days of my short-lived foray into the world of graduate studies (quit my MA in Sociology when I realized that I'd need to aim for a PHD or else the degree would be fairly useless on its own, outside of bragging rights), so money issues weigh heavily on my mind these days.

Mind you, I saved up about 5K since returning from Japan.

I have a steady job now. Had it since coming back from Japan a few years back, actually, but the hours aren't as steady as I'd like and it does seem like a bit of a dead end career-wise. With some of my co-workers looking to leave in the coming months, my boss is obviously not in the mood to lose yet another supervisor, so I'm quite certain that I'm at no risk of losing my job anytime soon.

Japan? Yeah, I did the working holiday thing back in 2006. Worked odd low paying jobs until I could enter the marvellous world of inexperienced and grossly unqualified ESL teaching - and got burned. Worked for a small private school who promptly closed down and failed to pay me for my work after about two months with them. Then I started working for a conversation caf� where teaching was not really on the menu, and the hours all but plentiful, yet I really miss the staff and my bosses.

You know where this is going, right?

I caught the Japan bug. Some guys catch it from dating Japanese girls, but for me, it came from living in the Kansai area. Using a bicycle to go wherever I needed to go; densely populated subcultures; centuries upon centuries of historical artifacts; awesome underground music scene; and feeling as if everything seemed so familiar yet strange - as if a dream where all reality tends to bend, blur at the edges, ebb and flow. Nothing was ever completely alien, some parts even looked a little too familiar for a foreign setting.

So there you go. I fell in love and now I can't seem to go back. But even if I did, I'm not sure I could survive given my financial situation.

I started looking for work in other Asian countries last year to reduce geographical distance between me and Japan. Yeah, it is sort of like dating the best friend of that girl you fancy just so you can get closer to her. It's not very nice, Hell, it's downright unethical, but you still do it because you're obsessed with that girl even if you should know better.

Problem is, my BA degree comes from a French language institution (graduated in 2000, for those of you keeping tabs on my timeline). "You're a frog, eh?" Not quite. I spent my formative years in Ontario with my mostly English speaking cousins, then my family moved to Quebec and I attended French school from first grade and up. I never stopped speaking English and my English classes in school were of no use to me since I was already fluent. I needed more advanced teaching so I took it upon myself to teach myself what kids my age elsewhere in Canada would be learning at my age. Heck, for the longest time, my aim was to teach high school English, but then I got interested in politics and other various sundries...

The BA from a French institution was a mistake, I admit it, but then how was I supposed to know that I'd end up falling in love with Japan or looking for work in other Eastern Asian countries?

Korea was out of the running early on due to the above. I once wrote a letter of recommendation for a former employee of mine (before I left for Japan) and found meeting all of their anal retentive demands to be a frustrating experience (they never did bother calling or e-mailing me to verify my identity/position in the company).

I did consider China based on the experience of a friend who had spent a number of years there as a teacher. However, the conversion rate of the Chinese RMB to the colourful Canadian dollar isn't favourable enough for me.

Vietnam isn't completely out of the question, although my Khmer friends don't agree with the idea of me working over there and are doing their best to dissuade me.

This leaves me with Japan, stuffed to the gills with teachers (especially after the fall of NOVA), and where face to face interviews are the norm (not to mention how fewer schools than ever offer visa sponsorship), and Taiwan.

Taiwan looked great last year. Alas, for a number of reasons (mainly relating to my polite objection to doing illegal but lucrative kindergarten work and pissing off the potential employer's Canadian representative during a phone interview - "But we'll protect you if the cops come!"), I didn't leave. I read somewhere that getting a TESL certification would improve my chances of landing legal work with a good school (i.e. one who would help me get my ARC and wouldn't force me to teach kids under 6... oh and one who would pay me on time), so I delayed my departure in order to polish off a generic TESL certification (no name given, for fear that they advertise here), which isn't easy considering I work evenings and weekends.

In the meantime, the world experienced an economic crisis and I was too busy with work to pay attention to the effects on the ESL world. Now I'm told Taiwan is a terrible place to go. The country is suddenly saturated with fellow Canadians waving their less than optimal for the job market BA degrees and TESL certifications hoping to find some golden financial Shangri-La.

I guess I'm in the same boat. Sort of. I mean, I have a fairly well paying job for someone with a "useless" BA and no major marketable skills. OK, so it's not that great. 24K to 26K per year, depending on how things are going, with no benefits and a lot of headache (you try dealing with unionized call centre employees!). But it's a living and I don't have expensive habits (outside Fantasia Festival during the summer and attending concerts throughout the year - but I'd never pay more than 25$ for a ticket). My understanding is that I'd be going into a rather similar job situation, but in another country with all that comes with it.

I'm sorry for boring you with details, but you did ask for more comprehensive assessments.

So, should I go or should I stay?

I've already applied for work in Taiwan by way of recruiters (Footprints and Reach to Teach) and currently using the services of the somewhat inept job placement service offered by my TESL school, although I can always decline any job.

I hate indecision, but I need a second opinion here and I figure ESL teachers might be able to help - or tell me to stay the Hell away from their business and killing their market.

[nickpellatt]

I havent got any answers for you, but I enjoyed reading your (lengthy) post, and thought it was worth a reply to say thanks for sharing your story and best of luck!

I havent got a clue how the student loans thing works ... Its different in the UK, and so if you MUST pay back the loan, then I can see how China may not be so attractive. Its easy to enjoy a great lifestyle there, but it probably doesnt allow for you to save and/or pay back loans in your home country.

Again, I dont really know how the French BA thing works ... I dont thinkit would be a huge problem in China though, but that doesnt really help you for the above reasons. Im guessing the certificate you have is an online one? Again, this may not be a problem in China, but some places wont recognise an online course as being a valid one...lots of threads discussing this at the moment.

Like I say ... sorry I dont have any answers for you, but I do hope things work out

[naturegirl321]

Don't konw about the French BA thingy, though, it's from Canada, which is one of the seven English speaking countries, might be ok.

China doesn't pay much. Japan might be possible, but I think that most good jobs are found after you arrive.

Taiwan pays less, but I've heard cost of living is less

I'd say save up money, then go, but you need money as a back up.

[Glenski]

Should you go or stay?

Personally, I don't like answering these types of questions. You're 32 and should be able to make up your own mind. I'm not a job counselor, but it sounds like you need one. Seriously, no kidding aside.

If you want to come, make plans. Don't come on a whim and hope a job lands in your lap. The market here is very full of teachers, and it's an employers' market right now. You have a generic BA and a TESL certificate, plus a smattering of experience. Slightly better than the average newbie, but with a flooded market, you should consider boosting your odds if possible.

Go with JET if you like. The application process is long, but they pay airfare, and you might even end up with low or no rent. Since most posts are in the countryside and with several schools, you need to consider if that is acceptable.

Otherwise, you probably know the general ropes: come here to job hunt, and you'll need to support yourself (US$4000-5000 for 2-3 months), or stay in Canada and deal with far fewer opportunities (a dozen or so) that expect you to pay expenses to interview on their time, not yours.

Figure out a timeline first. When do you want to be here? There are dead times of year to apply. Once you know the timing, work back 3-6 months and apply then.

Should you come or not? That's all up to you. We can really only tell you how.

[Tainan]

You sound like you're doing a pretty good job of thinking through your situation yourself. If you love Japan so much you should be there, not somewhere else. I think JET is a great idea. It would at least be a good stepping-stone. Or go back to grad school and study Japanese? That would bring you closer to the culture at least....good luck.