Job Discussion Forums

[Kiels]

Hello,

I'm wondering which places you would suggest I could earn good money teaching English.

I've already taught in China and Thailand for short amounts of time (2 months and 4 months respectively) but am now looking to be finding somewhere I can pay off my student loans! I've considered the Middle East and Korea but I'm not sure; I think I have enough experience to be getting good jobs and money (perhaps even jobs in International schools) but I'm not sure where to look. Thank you for any help.

I'm also not bothered about which age range I teach. Obviously I'm trained in primary, but have taught teenagers in China and here in the UK and actually really enjoy teaching older students.


These are my relevant qualifications and experience:

Graduating this June (2010) with a BA(Hons) in Early Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status, First Class Degree.

BA(Hons) English Literature - 2006 - Newcastle University

TEFL course June 2008(very short and only applicable if they have no specifications for the TEFL course! But has worked for me twice now in TEFL job applications)

Lots of placement experience in primary schools from my teaching degree
Worked as a Teaching Assistant in Maths and English
Have taught Literacy classes to NEETS (16-19 yr olds Not in Education or Employment)
Work part time as a Personal Assistant to a disabled teenager.
Obviously taught in China and Thailand as mentioned above

Please do not advise me to get a DELTA/CELTA since I don't have the money to do so and believe QTS should be more than adequate for most of the jobs I will be applying for.
Thanks again!

[khmerhit]

i hear that the international schools usually hire experienced teachers but you might want to test this and apply anyway--who knows you could be on yr way to a long expat career starting now----they hold job fairs for internat sckools in london and boston a few times a year-----failing that you could just cold call as it were and send yr cv to them and see what reply you get--there are a couple of such schools in
















C A M B O D I A
try it and see

[Glenski]

Help us help you.

How much do you have to pay off per month in those loans?

"Lots of placement experience in primary schools from my teaching degree". What exactly does this mean? You have a freshly minted BA degree and 6 months of work overseas. A tad bit more than the majority of people, but barely enough to be considered worthwhile by some employers. Play up your experience, of course, but don't get your hopes too high.

[robertokun]

Probably the UK.

[Molson]

For international schools you've pretty much missed the boat. As February dies down, most schools have already hired their teachers for the year.

You might get lucky and have some schools who couldn't find someone. Primary is a good area to have a certification with, as lots of schools have a need in that area.

The problem is, most schools want teachers with previous experience. I am certified for primary and secondary, but I couldn't get any employers to touch me for primary as I have zero experience in that area. I did have substantial experience teaching high schoolers, so I was able to score a job teaching high school at an international school.

Language schools don't really count as experience to international schools.

If you want to ditch the international school route for awhile, I would suggest Korea is a good place to look for paying off loans. The Korean won isn't as valuable as it used to be, but Korea provides you a plane ticket over, free apartment and roughly $2000 a month in salary. You will be hard pressed to get that much in China as a new comer, and in China the foreign currency is controlled very tightly, so getting money home to pay loans in the beginning isn't going to be easy.

[Kiels]

As it stands in the UK, you don't pay off any student loans until you are earning over �15,000 and this is still applicable if you work overseas. I graduate this July and am heading to China to work for a company I have previously worked for, but this time in Xian. I know I won't be making enough money to have to begin paying off my loans. Also, with working in China again, I'll have at least another 7/8 months experience teaching overseas which will alleviate concerns over my experience. I was asking for advice from people with more experience than me teaching abroad about places I could earn money and would be worth researching. Next March I will be looking for a new job and probably a change of country.

Glenski,

[naturegirl321]

There will still be some positions open, check www.tes.co.uk

Last minute jobs open up, well, last minute, like July. Also, there are some countries that teachers simply don't usually go to, like Uzbeckistan, Tajikstan, etc. Less compeition for teachers means taht you have a chance.

Also try www.ibo.org and just email the schools.

Good luck

[DaveW125]

[Molson]

Kiels:

Most international schools want experience in accredited schools. If you were aiming at going that route, couldn't you work for a year or two in the UK to gain that experience?

That being said, most is not ALL, so there are always openings for teachers without experience at international schools, I just think those go early and are usually at fairs located at universities such as the Iowa fair in the US or the Queens fair in Canada. Do a bit of research and see what you can find out.

About your loans, how does your country know what you are making outside the country? Also, with Korea you could make enough to pay back a large percentage of your loans if you were to teach ESL. In China I don't get why people come here and live off 15k or less a month RMB. If I couldn't add at least 10k RMB to my regular salary in privates this country wouldn't be good at all to come up with some savings. (And my regular salary is over 20k RMB)

If you are thinking of China, at least think of where you can utilize doing privates. Where is there demand, and what will they pay. For instance, in the smaller towns, people generally only pay 100-150 RMB an hour. I have started to up my rate to 250 RMB an hour. As a certified teacher you should be able to sell yourself as being more knowledgeable than the typical ESL teacher in China. I sell myself and find there is demand...more than I can actually handle.

Anyways, good luck.

[Master Shake]

[Glenski]

[denise]

I'm sorry, but I don't see how you have enough experience to be going for "the good jobs" just yet. You're definitely qualified for teaching jobs, but the jobs that most people consider to be good (in terms of salary, benefits, and working conditions) require at least a couple of years of teaching experience, if not advanced degrees and experience gained AFTER obtaining those degrees. And how does the fact that you've chosen teaching as a career mean that you've got more experience than others in your position?

If you had a full year or two of experience, I'd recommend Oman. It's lower on the salary scale than other ME countries but makes up for it in other ways. But even with a couple of years of experience and a BA + TEFL, you wouldn't be eligible for the top jobs yet.

Are you willing to work your way up? I hope so, if this is going to be your career.

d

[scot47]

2+4 months is not much experience. Once you have a few YEARS experience you might think of the Middle East.

[Justin Trullinger]

I'd add- nearly all international schools I'm familiar with WANT QTS plus two years experience.

As it happens- you can't always get what you want. So if they don't GET QTS plus two years, they'll start considering your ap. Send'em out.

One advantage you have is that you don't seem to choosy about where you go- so now would be a good time to wallpaper the world with your CV and see what offers you get.

Another thought:

[tudodude]

Saudi mate. Bugger all to buy except food and made to measure suits. Bahrain once a month for saneness.
Save it all then go back to Thailand. I did that and it rocks!