Job Discussion Forums

DougPr · Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 5

Hello. I'm currently in my 18th year in the US Navy and will be retiring in a year and a half. I'm currently serving on a ship out of Yokosuka, Japan and will be until my retirement.

It's been a tough job for the past 18 years and I'm seriously considering becoming an English Teacher after I retire. I'm single with no children.

I don't have a degree, so that would be my first goal. I have 6.5 years experience in teaching after two tours of Instructor Duty, and I have earned the Navy's Master Training Specialist designation. My hope would be to end up teaching somewhere where I can still take advantage of what my military retirement offers (health care, access to on-base facilities like Commissary, Base Exchange, American-priced gas, etc.) Somewhere like Japan close to one of the American military bases.

Do you have any basic recommendations as to how someone in my position would proceed? I'm thinking an Education degree and a TESOL cert would be a great way to proceed. Or should I pursue the education side from a different direction? I'm thinking the Education Degree over a TESOL degree would afford me the option of still performing some technical training on the side, or more teaching options state-side if I end up going back.

But I'm definitely open to more ideas. Thank you in advance.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

It depends on what type of English teacher you want to be. If you want to teach in an institute, getting an intensive monthly cert, like the CELTA would help.

If you want to teach in schools, and with your quals, you'd be able to get your foot into DOD schools, then you'll need a teaching license. And you could even live in base.

What kind of teacher do you want to be? Do you have a BA degree?

wiganer · Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Posts: 189

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Zero · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 1402

Like the others said, much depends on what and whom you want to teach. Another important consideration is how much money you will need to make. You'll make more and have better benefits if you go the licensed teacher route, in international schools or DOD schools. But with your military benefits, maybe that's not so important.

At any rate, you should have a G.I. Bill, right? If you just want a basic ESL job, I'd get a degree in whatever interests you. Education would be fine. There are plenty of schools operating programs online now that have full regional and national accreditation, and a degree from one of them should be perfectly adequate for your basic ESL job in most countries. The advantage is that some of the online bachelor's programs can be very fast. Certain schools are known to be quite liberal in letting you gain credits from military training, CLEP exams etc. Good bets are Excelsior College, Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey and Charter Oak State College. Get a TEFL certificate on top of that, and you're good to go.

DougPr · Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 5

I guess I'm reaching the end of my time in the military and I'm not finding joy in my field. I have some certifications (Security+, MCSA), and years of experience on shipboard networks and computer systems. But the past 8 years have turned into mostly middle management and not much technical hands-on for me. I enjoyed my two teaching tours though.

Military retirement isn't much. I'm looking at 20k a year with annual cost of living raises. Any job I take will just stack on top.

One thing I would like to finally have is freedom. A typical 9-5 job with 10-20 days vacation per year doesn't sound very free to me. I love it in Japan, and I've loved my visits to other countries and always wished the visits would be longer and without forced restrictions (curfews, duty days, and forced "liberty buddies" for a four day visit.)

I've never really had freedom to do what I wanted, and I feel like this field will at least allow me to experience different cultures. I'll be 38 upon retirement.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

tttompatz · Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:54 am Post subject:

Good news and bad news.

Bad news is that, for the most part, becoming an ESL teacher in Asia is not possible for you. You lack the degree (visa requirement in many countries).

Good news is that there ARE places (like the Philippines) where the infrastructure that you seek (support for vets and medical / VA services) is available and you can:
a) get a residence visa for long term residence that will allow part-time work and
b) you can live very comfortably on your "pension" if you choose to not work.

Baring that, go home.

Get a degree (school is cheap for vets) in the area of your interest and go to work (either at home or abroad).

.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

As for degrees, there are lots of fasttrack programmes, check out the Uni of maryland, they work closely with the military. You could get lots of credits for work expeirence and other stuff that you've gotten in the military.

People are right though; you do need a degree. You might as well get them, as military do get nice benefits.

You might also be able to get a retirement visa in some countries. cost of living is low in lots of the world. I know fro Peru, you just need to show that you have $1000 a month.

Zero · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 1402

A $20,000/year head start is exactly what you need to make TEFL truly viable career, if you don't want to go to the Middle East or the country where they eat kimchi, or a select few other situations. You're the perfect age to enjoy all that the world has to offer. You can get a fast-track degree in probably 18 months, and while some purists might deride you for a fast-track route, if it is regionally accredited int he U.S. it will stand up for all purposes for which you need it. Japan might not be the perfect option. If you don't necessarily have to be close to a base, I'd try China. Work 16 hours or so at a university, apartment provided, and just enjoy being out of the rat race. I envy you. I think your life situation is perfect for ESL, and I wouldn't say that in many cases.

DougPr · Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 5

Getting a degree was always something I was going to do first thing. I wasn't talking about skipping that. I will get over $100k in college money from that new GI Bill and I'm not going to skip out on that kind of benefit. (beats the $12k I signed up for in 1993)

It sounds like an actual education degree doesn't help much in landing one of these jobs. It seems as though getting the degree that relates to my field (IT) and then getting certified on top of that degree would work better.

My teaching tours were 6 years of teaching Navy sailors A+, Microsoft Windows 2003 Server/XP client, Network+, UNIX, and tactical communications systems. It's not language or teaching kids, but it is experience in a classroom environment (24 seats per class). I earned my Navy Master Training Specialist designation while I was there, which is earned after demonstrating the ability to develop curriculum, teach effectively, and manage a course of instruction.

I'm pretty sure that after naval deployments, crazy watch hours, horrible bosses with no "I quit" option, and sleeping with 100 other dudes in a cramped bunk environment, I can handle a lot. And I doubt the workload would even approach what I've experienced.

I appreciate the candor though. I still have 1.5 years to weigh my options and you've given me more meat to chew on.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Re: 6.5 years of teaching experience (2 teaching tours)
About all this is good for is the personal feeling of being relatively secure in front of a group and perhaps some kind of lesson planning exposure. I had thought you might be able to use English teaching experience to bypass the degree requirement for a visa, but your description of the teaching clearly rules that out. You're going to have to get a degree for off-base English teaching. Ask around for what you need to do teaching on SOFA.

I'd just like to add what may already be obvious, but bear with me. "(T)eaching Navy sailors A+, Microsoft Windows 2003 Server/XP client, Network+, UNIX, and tactical communications systems" is a far cry from teaching English to any Japanese. Your Navy Master Training Specialist designation is not going to prepare you for eikaiwa-size classes or eikaiwa students, especially the kids, housewives, businessmen, and retirees. Learn about the vast differences between your Specialist designation and TEFL, and get some certification to go along with a proper degree.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Zero · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 1402

Sorry, nothing personal toward anybody, but I have to call B.S. While ESL certainly has its challenges, I do not think it's fair to compare them to the kind of challenges one would face in an 18-year Navy career. Some fields are, quite simply, harder than others, and ESL is neither all that hard nor all that grueling. I think this guy can handle whatever the field throws at him, with a little appropriate training.