Job Discussion Forums

[Titanic Explorer]

I'm 43, live in Boston MA (USA) have a M.Ed in Education, TEFL certification , experience tutoring local immigrants in English, and have keen love for travel.

Once I got my TEFL certification I had hoped to go to Japan or France to pursue teaching opportunities, but it never materialized- I got distracted with grad school, where I procured a Masters degree in education, with focus on moderate level learning disabilities.

I'm not bogged down with family responsibilities, as I don't have a wife or kids, nor am i trapped in a lease, so I can just 'get up and go'.
Here is the problem:

.I've been told that as I'm in my 40s, opportunities to teach abroad are very limited, as most countries (Japan) in particular want teachers in their 20s. I was sad to discover the JET program has an age cutoff and I'm too old.

New EU laws make is very difficult for Americans like me to land work in Europe- My favorite place on earth is France- teaching there would be a dream, but not being an EU member and being in my 40s seems to be 2 strikes against me.

Is there hope and are there opportunities for the 40 something person who wants to teach English abroad?

[Isla Guapa]

Come to Mexico!

[Zero]

China is wide open.

[Glenski]

Japan takes people far older than in their 20s. Don't listen to people who say otherwise.

JET has an upper limit of 40, yes, but it's a flexible rule. Show you are what JET wants, and they'll break it.

Just realize that you may be working for a foreign boss, or for some foreigner who is half your age and who has practically zero qualifications.

[BadBeagleBad]

I have never heard that for people in their 40�s. I think when things start to get harder are when you are in your upper 50�s maybe. But even then, I don�t think it is a deal breaker. I recent went to a workshop given by a woman who was obviously well on the dark side of 60, on using the internet in the classroom, yet obviously knew what she was doing. I wouldn�t have hesitated for a minute hiring her. I think for older teachers who are obviously tired of teaching and have an �old� look and feel about them, yeah, maybe it�s harder, but I think those would be in the minority.

[tttompatz]

Change countries. There are plenty of opportunities out there.

If you have your teacher's license to go with that M.Ed then add Taiwan, HK, and top tier international schools to you list as well as middle of the road universities in MOST countries in Asia.

Even for those of us in our mid 50's, if you are charismatic as well as competent in the classroom there is no shortage of decent paying work.

And don't be fooled by looking at the base salaries of jobs overseas. You can often save more by earning less. One thing I have noticed about many Americans is that they look at the salary in terms of USD instead of looking at the quality of life and savings potential (a far better way to compare salaries across different economies).

For example:

I was earning about USD40k + benefits in S.Korea and after living expenses were taken off I ended up with a NET SAVINGS of about US$15k per anum.

In Thailand I only earn about US$30k (a drop of US$10k per year in earnings) but my savings are about US$20k (an increase in savings of about US$5k) with a better standard of living due to the differences in the economies and costs of living.

.

[Titanic Explorer]

[Teacher in Rome]

[naturegirl321]

40s is still young. It's when you get in your 50s and 60s it gets harder. Look at different countries and different programmes. Spain and France have Ministry of Education teaching assistantships for Americans, pay is low though. International schools might be your best option. Go to intl school job fairs. best of luck!

[TheHanMan]

Bloody hell mate, don't worry about being in your forties for goodness sake, you're golden.

If you like Europe then consider Eastern Europe, it will be easier for you to secure employment there and is a wonderful part of the world.

Good luck.

[MotherF]

Head south. Check out the Mexico subforums for specifics.

[riverboat]

The fact that you are 40 wouldn't be a problem here in France. Most of the work is teaching business English, ie to working adults, a lot of employers would probably favour you since you have more business/life experience than a 20 year old or whatever, who may be taken less seriously by some clients. I know plenty of people over 40 who are working here.

However, the only Americans I know working as English teachers here are either a) married/PAC-sed to French citizens or b) have a European parent thus affording them a European passport. I don't think many language schools would be prepared to sponsor anyone who needed a visa to work here, regardless of how good they were, since its such a complicated and (I believe) expensive process. I know for my school it would be completely out of the question.

Have you looked into any of the international schools in Paris? Like http://www.asparis.org http://www.absparis.org http://www.isparis.edu ? Maybe they have different rules or are more able to sponsor, I'm not sure.

[coledavis]

Russia and Ukraine are fine.

[timothypfox]

You might try tieonline dot com as it has listings of jobs in international schools around the world if you want to go that route. There are always some japanese listings. I don't normally advocate a website that you have to pay for a subscription to find work (I think it is about $24 for a year), but it got me looking at the job market around the world at international school and in the subject area of ESL.

[GuestBob]