Job Discussion Forums

[three_decades]

Hi all,
I am brand new here, obviously, but happy to have found your neck of the woods. For the past two days I have been reading past threads from as far back as 2003 -- looking for some encouragement and advice on my situation.

I am a 28 year old white female from the US. I have an AA in Mandarin Chinese Studies and an AA in Liberal Arts. I am fluent in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese(level 3s on DLPT).

I am enrolling in a state university for this coming Fall to finish a BA -- I am thinking I will major in Anthropology and may try to minor in a new language, just to get another one under my belt(I am a foreign language geek).

As far as teaching experience, I do have a bit of private tutoring experience, but no real classroom hours(unless teaching beginner Spanish to 4th graders for a semester when I was 16 counts).

I am fortunate that I have the GI Bill to pay for my studies since I am a veteran. I am leaning toward getting an online TEFL later on since I don't see a CELTA being doable for me for quite some time.

I am thinking that after finishing my BA, I might have the opportunity to complete an MA by doing an assistantship with the university.

My sons are ages 4,4(twins) and 9 months.

Even though it is going to be 3+ years until I am ready to accept a position abroad, I want to start planning now.

I am going to need a live-in nanny/housekeeper wherever I go and I am going to need enough money to pay her and support my family. Different language/culture is fine as learning new languages and anthropology in general are what I am most passionate about.

What countries/cities would you recommend? During my assistantship I think I will get classroom experience, but would you recommend I get a job at a US school for a term first? It has been my dream since I was 13 years old, to travel the world, but I need to have a solid plan since I have three other people relying on me.

Thanks for your help and for letting me introduce myself!

[spiral78]

Wow.

Well, I can only speak for Europe, the region where I have lived and worked for more than 12 years now.

There are near-zero jobs in the greater region that would allow you to support three children. This would be true with an on-line cert, a CELTA, and/or an MA and experience (I have an MA and 12+ years of experience and a uni job in the Netherlands, and no way I make enough to support any children!!).

Never mind the difficulty of getting visas ...

I expect that some other regions will be more do-able. Sorry I haven't got anything positive to offer! Hopefully others will.

[three_decades]

[three_decades]

One more thing, spiral78 -- I was just reading over your response again. With all your education and experience, why is it that you wouldn't be able to support anyone else? I mean, I totally believe you, don't get me wrong, but how do these schools get away with paying so little to such qualified teachers??

[spiral78]

I think it's still considered basically a second-income job. Further, we don't fit anywhere in the uni really well. Here, students must have advanced English skill just to enter, so we're not language teachers.

What we actually do is teach formal/academic writing and speaking - similar to courses run in unis in native-English speaking countries. We teach integrated content and formal language skills - for example, I'm currently working (far too many hours per week) on our biggest faculty course, in Economics, where students are writing about topics like game theory and parallel behavior.

We cross faculties - I am also currently teaching in European Studies and we move across to the medical and psychology faculties as well, but belong to none of them. I think no-one really knows exactly how and where we fit in, and we aren't especially valued in some circles, though we have support from most faculty and students overall.

I think this is somewhat typical - one either teaches for tests (IELTS or Cambridge, for example) on book-based courses, or we kind of wing it in different kinds of fields, which allow us to write applicable curriculum. I'm not myself a teach-by-the-book teacher, so, well....

Another factor may well be that teaching is considered (in Dutch) a dog's job. Simply not highly valued professionally....

In other European teaching sectors (primarily the private language school market) there are simply so many newbies always around that employers can keep wages down without jeopardising their business in any way. It's been like this for quite a long time, and I don't see any change coming in the foreseeable future.

[natsume]

If you really want to teach, why don't you become qualified to teach? You didn't say what state you are from, if you are at all interested in k-12, it may be wise to start heading in that direction sooner than later, and hence on to International Schools, probably your best bet for a (non-University) wage that will support your family in Latin America.

If you are passionate about teaching English or one of your other languages, at any level, perhaps an MA in Applied Linguistics or TESOL will be the way to go.

Given your circumstances, and what seems like a solid start, I would think you should be aiming high with qualifications. Given your goals, unless you have a particularly strong desire to become an anthropologist, I would reconsider what is best for you and your family long term, think about what kind of career you envision for yourself, and start heading in that direction now.

If you want to follow your passions and be an anthropologist or linguist, go for it! But think PhD....

[Glenski]

1. I would say shy away from Japan.

2. At the age your kids would be when you get into the teaching game, wouldn't it be more prudent to consider what schooling they'd have to take abroad, instead of what nanny to babysit them?

[three_decades]

[three_decades]

[Justin Trullinger]

In most of Latin America, you'd need to consider private education for your children. And most EFL teacher's salaries wouldn't cover one child, let alone three.

With a decent EFL job, you could afford a nanny, but would struggle to rent a home sufficient for 4 (or 5, with nanny) people.

The only chance I see is if you were to get a US teaching credential, and get into an international school with tuition discounts in that school for your kiddies.

With an online cert as your only teaching qual, really forget it. It just won't happen.

Spiral and I are probably similarly qualified, and I've been in Ecuador for 6-7 years. I do earn enough to support a family under less strenuous circumstances, but probably not enough to support three kids as a single parent. And I've had to work up to the position I'm in- upon arrival, I barely supported myself. And I had quals and experience, though less than now.


Best,
Justin

[three_decades]

Thank-you for all the insight so far -- it really helps. It sounds like I may have to get more teaching experience in the states first if I am going to be making enough income.

My sons have some relatives in Veracruz... just thinking out loud, I wonder what my luck would be finding a job near there.

[three_decades]

Also, I just wanted to ask why some thought that private schools are necessary in Mexico? Maybe I should specifically ask that in the Mexican forum, but I have read that in a lot of different places.

I don't really see how supporting three children is a lot more expensive than supporting one, unless you factor in luxuries such as private schools. I am an experienced seamstress and can sew all their clothing, bedding etc if need be and have even done sewing as a side job.

I can grind grains and meat and cook from scratch... I am an experienced goat milker as well lol. I take care of 99% of my children's medical needs from my studies of traditional chinese medicine, homeopathy and herbs. I consider myself something of a jack of all trades.

I know it probably sounds like I am on the defensive, and I guess I am a little, but being a single parent is hard, period. The US doesn't make it easy either. That said, I don't think one should have to give up every chance of happiness or shred of a dream because they had a baby. I'm definitely going to finish at least my BA and have my ducks in a row and some money saved before I just plunge forward.

If I had no kids, I would just go wing it somewhere with what I have -- so I am being quite cautious.

[denise]

You mentioned the possibility of an MA, but then you said the Middle East wasn't an option. Why not? With an MA (and presumably a bit more teaching experience by the time you finish), you'd qualify for jobs here. I'm in Oman, where the salaries are a bit lower than in neighboring countries, but still, you get free housing and airfare and a salary that allows many people to have housemaids/nannies. Schools are a bit expensive--international schools, that is; I don't know any expats who put their kids in the local schools. There are single moms here who manage, but I don't know of any with three children.

d

[Glenski]

[three_decades]