Hello everyone, I am new here. I am looking for some general advice about teaching overseas.
I am registered with Search, and I have signed up to go to the London fair. I've sent several letters of interest via Search and heard nothing so far, although I did receive a job offer prior to signing with them which I ultimately turned down because I felt the contract was a bit weird, and also because the free accommodation meant sharing a bedroom with another lecturer.
My question is, with my admittedly limited experience, do I have any chance at all? If not, what do I need in further training, and where can I get the all-important two years of fulltime teaching experience?
Advice for a recent graduate?
Advice for a recent graduate?
Last edited by nui on Sat Oct 22, 2011 9:18 am, edited 2 times in total.
Hi mathgym,
No, I don't, unfortunately! I was originally interested in teaching at college/university and did not know I would need it. My university was also extremely disinterested in its students and I couldn't get any kind of advice from anyone about what I ought to do or study in order to be a teacher (at any level).
For example, should I try to get university work in China/Korea/etc, or any job to get my foot in the door, and earn my certification while I am working?
Thanks very much.
No, I don't, unfortunately! I was originally interested in teaching at college/university and did not know I would need it. My university was also extremely disinterested in its students and I couldn't get any kind of advice from anyone about what I ought to do or study in order to be a teacher (at any level).
For example, should I try to get university work in China/Korea/etc, or any job to get my foot in the door, and earn my certification while I am working?
Thanks very much.
Last edited by nui on Sat Oct 22, 2011 9:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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internationalgirl2011
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 4:38 am
I would subscribe to tieonline too. Lots of schools post their openings on that web site. As far as getting your credential, there are some online programs. One is called FAST TRAIN Program ~ FAST TRAIN
fasttrain.gmu.edu
Other universities offer online training too. Some countries require the certification for a visa, others require a BA or MA, and others want to see you are in some type of training towards certification.
Good luck
fasttrain.gmu.edu
Other universities offer online training too. Some countries require the certification for a visa, others require a BA or MA, and others want to see you are in some type of training towards certification.
Good luck
Nui: I'm just wondering as to how you managed to get on Search Associates without a teaching license? Has anyone else managed to get into big fairs like Search and CIS without a teaching license? The reason why you're probably finding it difficult to get a job in the UK is because of your lack of license.
For the most part, in the schools that I worked with ( very fortunate to work at premier, top international schools in Europe and Asia ), they always required a license. Not sure how it is for other schools, but I am assuming that it can happen where you can get your foot in the door at some school that would allow you to work without your teaching license....but you would never know which ones they are bc I don't think they would want to openly advertise that they hire people without teaching licenses. If they do advertise it openly, I am not sure that they would be the best places to work at.
As far as needing that 2-year experience in the international education field, it usually means that you have to apply or get into a school that is not considered the top or premier. Every newbie has to start somewhere and those schools are not necessarily bad. However, there are also a few cases where newbies got into top schools on their first try and it must be due to their subject specializations that the school is in dire need of or they have a sleuth of qualifications lined up in their resumes. When I finished with my teaching license, I took a year off to polish up my license by taking two additional qualifications ( high school senior division and primary ), which in turn made me extremely marketable. However, this can also be a drawback to most new teachers bc most schools require that you have recent 2-year experience. So if you finish your teaching license degree and take 1 - 2 years polishing up your license with additional qualifications, you could also get overlooked because you don't have the experience to back up all your qualifications! There's always some sort of Catch-22 in the international education field.
Good luck with the job search though! You managed to get into Search Associates so you must have something in your CV that attracted them.
For the most part, in the schools that I worked with ( very fortunate to work at premier, top international schools in Europe and Asia ), they always required a license. Not sure how it is for other schools, but I am assuming that it can happen where you can get your foot in the door at some school that would allow you to work without your teaching license....but you would never know which ones they are bc I don't think they would want to openly advertise that they hire people without teaching licenses. If they do advertise it openly, I am not sure that they would be the best places to work at.
As far as needing that 2-year experience in the international education field, it usually means that you have to apply or get into a school that is not considered the top or premier. Every newbie has to start somewhere and those schools are not necessarily bad. However, there are also a few cases where newbies got into top schools on their first try and it must be due to their subject specializations that the school is in dire need of or they have a sleuth of qualifications lined up in their resumes. When I finished with my teaching license, I took a year off to polish up my license by taking two additional qualifications ( high school senior division and primary ), which in turn made me extremely marketable. However, this can also be a drawback to most new teachers bc most schools require that you have recent 2-year experience. So if you finish your teaching license degree and take 1 - 2 years polishing up your license with additional qualifications, you could also get overlooked because you don't have the experience to back up all your qualifications! There's always some sort of Catch-22 in the international education field.
Good luck with the job search though! You managed to get into Search Associates so you must have something in your CV that attracted them.
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inspiration
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2008 12:52 am
It looks like a teaching license isn't mandatory to register with Search. After all, international schools are not state but private schools, so basically, each school can hire whoever they consider as valuable, I suppose.
Having said that, I've got the impression that a teaching license becomes an issue in relation to obtaining a visa, as mathgym mentioned. Mathgym, you stated that "some countries require the certification for a visa, others require a BA or MA, and others want to see you are in some type of training towards certification", which I think is true, but can you specify "some countries" or "others" based on your experience or other evidence? Thank you.
Having said that, I've got the impression that a teaching license becomes an issue in relation to obtaining a visa, as mathgym mentioned. Mathgym, you stated that "some countries require the certification for a visa, others require a BA or MA, and others want to see you are in some type of training towards certification", which I think is true, but can you specify "some countries" or "others" based on your experience or other evidence? Thank you.
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interteach
- Posts: 217
- Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 2:25 pm
Hi,
Yes, Search didn't require it (and in the school advertisements, there is a question something along the lines of 'Will you consider hiring a teacher with experience, but without certification?').
That said, I am definitely willing to get certification; I just did not realize I would need to, because I was initially only interested in teaching at university. I'll look into the online program mentioned. I'd heard that if you received a TEFL cert online the schools did not look favourably on it; do you think it is the same for getting a teaching certificate online as well?
Yes, Search didn't require it (and in the school advertisements, there is a question something along the lines of 'Will you consider hiring a teacher with experience, but without certification?').
That said, I am definitely willing to get certification; I just did not realize I would need to, because I was initially only interested in teaching at university. I'll look into the online program mentioned. I'd heard that if you received a TEFL cert online the schools did not look favourably on it; do you think it is the same for getting a teaching certificate online as well?
Last edited by nui on Sat Oct 22, 2011 9:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
Well, there is some sort of "informal snobbery" that occurs when it comes to colleagues looking down at people who have obtained the teaching degree license through online means. Part of it is bc we still have a slightly traditional mindset when it comes to technology. Parents still believe that watching tv or playing around on the computer is the evil of all evils....when we are being taught at teacher's colleges that technology and the use of it should be used at home to enhance media literacy or modern literacy ( after all, we just don't read books on print anymore...we have Kindle, text on computer, graphic posters, digital advertisements all around us etc ). So this type of " traditional mentality " tends to stick with online degrees when many Universities have good e-distance learning programs which is essentially....studying and obtaining a degree online.
But of course, why would you need to explain that to people as long as you are certified and you can do the job well? I obtained my license through the good old fashioned way of attending a University institution and sitting for hours at lecture halls and doing practicum after practicum. Where I come from, the teaching license program is only 1 year but highly intensive and extremely competitive. At the school that I got in (which is considered as an Ivy League), they were only taking in 300 out of the 800 applicants.
I say go for the online and get the experience! Who cares what people think whether your degree is from an online source or not? If they look down upon it despite your amazing professional contribution or experience, then they're really not the school they profess to be.
But of course, why would you need to explain that to people as long as you are certified and you can do the job well? I obtained my license through the good old fashioned way of attending a University institution and sitting for hours at lecture halls and doing practicum after practicum. Where I come from, the teaching license program is only 1 year but highly intensive and extremely competitive. At the school that I got in (which is considered as an Ivy League), they were only taking in 300 out of the 800 applicants.
I say go for the online and get the experience! Who cares what people think whether your degree is from an online source or not? If they look down upon it despite your amazing professional contribution or experience, then they're really not the school they profess to be.
Thank you, Android.
Currently I'm considering just taking anything that comes my way to get that all-important 2 years of experience in. My question would also be: should I settle for a low salary and not-so-great contract, or hold out for something better? I'm thinking of taking a language school job just for that reason, although I really would like to work in international schools or universities.
Currently I'm considering just taking anything that comes my way to get that all-important 2 years of experience in. My question would also be: should I settle for a low salary and not-so-great contract, or hold out for something better? I'm thinking of taking a language school job just for that reason, although I really would like to work in international schools or universities.