Job Discussion Forums

[Aristede]

Hi all,

I could use some advice on a good route to take. I am 49, from the U.S, have a B.A. (social sciences), and recently got the CELTA cert. I have no previous teaching experience, though.

I am open to working in most regions worldwide, but am focusing on Asia because (1) I am in Asia now (2) It is a long way to S. America, and winter in Eastern Europe seems unappealing.

To my detriment, I did not get the infernal apostilled records before leaving home, which seems to knock Korea and Vietnam off the list. Unless I have overlooked something, Thailand, China, and Taiwan appear to be the best bets.

Priorities are quality of life over money, but wouldn't mind compromising if the money were good. I would rather teach in a good-sized city than a smaller one or rural area. Since this will be my first teaching job, I believe working a moderate number of hours would be better than overloading.

I would prefer to teach adults, but knowing that those jobs are limited, would be alright with teaching a mix of adults and children. If I did have to teach exclusively children, I'd rather not teach the 3-6 range. I would also rather teach smaller classes rather than large ones.

Can anyone suggest a good place to start or recommend a particular school or chain? Looking at the job ads, it is hard to tell who is reputable and what stands out as good or bad. Any advice would be appreciated.

[sojourner]

Aristede,

I believe that with many Korean hagwans, employers often insist on a transcript being sent to them in a sealed envelope by one's uni. In other countries, immigration authorities and schools merely want a certified copy of your degree or/and uni transcript.Where are your documents now ? Couldn't you ask a friend/family member to take the originals and (copies) to a JP (or the US equivalent) for his/her stamp and signature ? Alternately, you could ask your uni to send you a replacement degree.

You mentioned that you would prefer to teach adults. You might want to consider the uni sector in China. In most cases, you would only be required to teach between 14-18 hours pw (each "teaching hour" being of about 40-50 minutes duration). Apart from Oral English, you might even be given an opportunity to teach Writing, Western Culture, Intercultural Communication, etc.

Normally, Chinese unis would like their FTs to hold MAs or/and PhDs. But in the smaller cities it's still quite possible for a BA holder to land a job.Salaries are not crash-hot - can be below 4 K RMB in popular places such as Beijing and Yunan province (often with workloads well in excess of 18 hours pw ! ). Elsewhere, without any previous teaching experience, you would probably initially be offered around 4 K - but you could insist on 5 K - the uni might agree, or compromise on 4.5 K - the next year, if you decide to stay on at the same uni, the salary will probably be increased to 5 K.Unfortunately, in your first year you will probably only receive 10 monthly salary payments. However, if you decide to stay on for an other year, they'll probably agree to pay you 12 monthly payments.The money may not seem much, but the c.o.l. is pretty low in the smaller cities. As I've indicated in early posts, it's possible to live (albeit, only just !) on 500 RMB per month ! But with a light teaching load you'll have plenty of time to take on some private students, or work in a language school.

Apart from your salary, you will also be provided with a rent-free, furnished flat (usually on campus, 1br, occasionally 2brs - on rare occasions only a studio apartment setup ). Also, there'll be an annual airfare allowance, varying between 9-10 K RMB, as well as a travel allowance of between 1 - 2 K RMB per term.There could be a number of other percs, such as a utilities allowance, weekly taxi fare to the nearest largest city, free drinking water, etc.

Competition for uni jobs, so I've heard, is becoming much more intense now, on account of the global economic crisis - but, if you ignore the large cities and more popular provinces, you might still have a chance - so, if you send copies of your resume to, say, 20 unis in the smaller urban centres, you would probably get favourable responses from at least 6 or 7. Have you ever worked in the corporate world or in public administration ? If so, consider applying for uni jobs teaching Business English, as well as the more usual Oral English.

Many posters to these fora appear to have little time for recruiters. In my own case, three of the four jobs I've had here, in China, were found for me by a recruiter. If you are reluctant to use a recruiter, then do a google search for unis and colleges in cities/provinces that appeal to you - and, then, send copies of your resume/covering letter to the institutions' FAO offices.

Before accepting a job offer, ask the reruiter or FAO to provide you with the email addresses/ph numbers of past and current FTs, so that you can ask questions re housing, on-campus shops, teaching facilities, etc. Also, use Dave's search facility to access any previous posts re the uni in question. And, of course, submit queries to Dave's (Job-related) China Forum !

You would probably earn more money at a language school (eg EF, Wall Street), etc, but you would have to work much harder that you would if you were at a uni. Also, a number of posters to the China fora are v.critical of many language school chains, in particular, EF.

Good luck !

Peter

[LoPresto]

If China interests you, keep in mind that most universities/regular schools will not begin their next semester until mid to late February.

[Aristede]

[Glenski]

[Aristede]

[MrMrLuckyKhan]

Personally, if you have a BA and the ONLY thing you think is stopping you from landing a decent job is that you don't have sealed transcripts and a notarized copy of your degree, I would be focusing your time and effort on finding out how to accomplish getting those done rather than assuming its too difficult/expensive to do. Even if it cost you some hefty fees in order to get do it, the money (which you said is a factor) you earn in places like Korea (I know, I know, this is NOT the Korean board) will probably pay for those fees in less than a few weeks/months. Just some food for thought....

Also, SE Asia is fairly big as well. So unless you prefer not telling us exactly where you are, I would inform these knowledgeable people what country and city you are in. Rules/regulations/procedures/requirements very drastically from city to city, much less country to country.

[Aristede]

[misteradventure]

Twenty years ago, this would seem to be a reasonable post.

Today, it is not.

For a couple of dollars and a night in an internet cafe, you can call the respective offices in the USA and get direct answers.

I get transcripts and police records for people all the time. That's right- not even for myself, but strangers!

If they will let you fax the documents and signatures (even scan and email), you can request them to courier them to you someplace (you will have to pay a fee of course- FedEx isn't free!) If you have an AMEX credit card, the local office will accept documents for you.

Some countries will accept a document from the consulate, or an INTERPOL warrant check. Ask.

I suggest you act quickly- it is FInal Exam season in some areas.

Skype is less than 5 cents a minute.

[Glenski]

[jpvanderwerf2001]

[naturegirl321]

Contact your uni, you could probably ask them to do the apostillisation etc for a small fee. Then mail it to you.

Apostillisation is different in different states. Three years ago I simply sent my BA to the Sec of State, had it apostillised in 2 weeks, NOw I have to get it notarised, then certified, THEN off to the sec of state. Same degree, same uni, the first is simply covered with Peru stamps and stickers and signatures that they won't accept it where I'm going.

[Aristede]

[MrMrLuckyKhan]

Aristede, if you are in BKK I assume you will be crossing into Cambodia by land? If so, you will enter through the Poipet border.

IF you plan on possibly teaching in Cambodia, it might be worth your while to get a BUSINESS visa on arrival instead of a TOURIST visa. The tourist visa is $20 and the business visa is $25. The business visa can be extended forever without leaving the country; the tourist visa can be extended once for 30 days and then you have to leave. They usually require 1 or 2 photos for each one.

You do not need ANYTHING special at all to get a business visa, just an extra $5.

You've probably already bought your tickets, but if not, just buy one of those mini bus tickets to the border for about 250 baht. Everyone (I literally mean everyone from the bus company to 6 yr old holding an umbrella over your head while u walk) will swear on their mother's life that the visa prices have gone up AND its impossible for you to get any visa, much less the business visa, yourself. They are completely lying to you.

I just entered about a week ago, and it was even easier than before. I have done it many times myself in both directions (from Thailand and from Vietnam) and have paid $20 and $25 for the tourist and business visas, respectively.

Again, if you let someone else do it, you will probably be paying them about 1200 baht ($37) for the tourist visa.

Use some of that money you saved doing it yourself to get a faster taxi from the border. I always split the trip up and go to Battambong or Siem Reap first. A seat in a shared taxi to Siem Reap should cost ABOUT $10ish, depending on how much luggage you have sometimes. I paid $12 last time, but I made the guy promise he would leave in 20 minutes even if he didn't have anyone else in the car (which was helpful because I've just moved here and I'm lugging around 35 kilos, including a bag of books) so I had the whole taxi to myself.

Even if you are flying into the airport and not entering by land, the same info applies to the visas there.

Good luck! PM me if you have any random questions. And in Cambodia, I don't think any of your concerns you've expressed here will be a problem.

[Aristede]