I went through Teach-Now a year and a half ago and got my certification in K-12 ESOL and 7-12 Social Studies (the latter I though would make me more marketable). I have a MA TEFL and years of "experience" in ESL (university, high school, businesses). I live in Korea and I am only looking at jobs here. I worked for a while as an intern at one IS and now I am working at a different school as an EA ("Educational Assistant"), where I pull elementary (1-6) students and work 1:1 on math, reading, etc. I am in the process of taking the PRAXIS tests to become certified in Elementary Education (K-6) through Washington DC.
My question is, will I ever be able to work at an IS here in Korea if I continue working as an EA? I know I need 2 years of post-cert experience, but I don't have a lot of options as I have a family in Korea (Korean wife and kids). My plan now is to continue working in my current role, get certified in Elementary Ed and keep applying to schools here until something opens up. I'm 40 years old though, so time is not on my side. Would it be better to leave my family for 2 years and go back to the US and teach there? Any honest advice is certainly welcomed. I feel like I've hit a bit of a wall.
Help~I'm US-Certified but Working as an EA
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wrldtrvlr123
- Posts: 1173
- Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
- Location: Japan
Re: Help~I'm US-Certified but Working as an EA
Going back to the states and getting some experience as a K-12 teacher (in any subject that you are qualified in) would certainly increase your prospects for future applications. Given the narrow target location for your future ambitions though, you might be better off sitting tight, keep increasing your areas of certification and applying to any international(ish) that you can think of.
I can't believe that some school there will not eventually give you a chance. You are already working on a local hire package (I presume) so any kind of teaching job in a K-12 environment, as opposed to an ESL one, would be an advancement for you and a step towards a better career.
I can't believe that some school there will not eventually give you a chance. You are already working on a local hire package (I presume) so any kind of teaching job in a K-12 environment, as opposed to an ESL one, would be an advancement for you and a step towards a better career.
Re: Help~I'm US-Certified but Working as an EA
Thanks wt. I appreciate the feedback!
Response
Sure, it sounds like you are making progress, albeit slow progress. You have two things working against you, one is that your restricted to a very narrow recruitment area and two that SK has a very small "middle" tier. Its basically a small group of upper tier ISs and a the rest lower tier ISS, there isnt much of a middle to bridge them.
Do you have a job in the US that makes the move to the US workable. The problems your going to find, is that there are a lot of social studies DTs who dont have jobs, its a saturated field, and youd have to coach in DC. Which is another issue, you are only credentialed in DC, and its a very small area. Youd have to start applying for other state credentials to expand your job search. Most DSs wont interview you accept in persona and unless you already have a credential, especially for a social studies DT. Unless you have a principal who has a job for you, you could spend a lot of time and resources and very likely end up with nothing. Elementary is no different. So unless you have something to actually go too in the US, you could easily end up with less.
Do you have a job in the US that makes the move to the US workable. The problems your going to find, is that there are a lot of social studies DTs who dont have jobs, its a saturated field, and youd have to coach in DC. Which is another issue, you are only credentialed in DC, and its a very small area. Youd have to start applying for other state credentials to expand your job search. Most DSs wont interview you accept in persona and unless you already have a credential, especially for a social studies DT. Unless you have a principal who has a job for you, you could spend a lot of time and resources and very likely end up with nothing. Elementary is no different. So unless you have something to actually go too in the US, you could easily end up with less.
Re: Help~I'm US-Certified but Working as an EA
Thank you PsyGuy. Some very good and relevant points. I'm getting certified in elementary ed because I don't want to coach (in the US) and I don't want to limit my search to just high schools at Korean IS's. I'm also comfortable with the idea of becoming a HR teacher.
From what I've seen, many states have a reciprocity agreement with DC and I would be able to get a provisional license if needed [for example, on the condition that I take (state name) history]. For me, the big question is, if I stay on as an EA in Korea for the next year or two (and assuming I become certified in Elementary Ed), with my experience as an EA, would I be a viable candidate for even the lowest-tier schools in Korea? If there's a chance then I would much rather go that route. If it sounds like a pipe dream then I may have to bite the bullet and move to the US on my own to work at an elementary school there, continuing to apply to IS's in Korea.
From what I've seen, many states have a reciprocity agreement with DC and I would be able to get a provisional license if needed [for example, on the condition that I take (state name) history]. For me, the big question is, if I stay on as an EA in Korea for the next year or two (and assuming I become certified in Elementary Ed), with my experience as an EA, would I be a viable candidate for even the lowest-tier schools in Korea? If there's a chance then I would much rather go that route. If it sounds like a pipe dream then I may have to bite the bullet and move to the US on my own to work at an elementary school there, continuing to apply to IS's in Korea.
Reply
@jdurey
There is no shortage of primary/elementary DTs in the US, lots of young, 20 somethings who want to teach primary, and you'd pretty much need to know someone who can/will hire you to get a job. Its not like there is a principal anywhere, pulling there hair out because they cant find a primary/elementary DT.
Yes, many states will give you some kind of reciprocity, maybe not a full professional certificate, but something. Usually its a state specific course, some kind of induction or teaching in state for a year. Thats still a lot of applications, a lot of application fees, and a lot of CRBs, etc. Most states/districts have an electronic application system, and when principals go looking through it to find a DT, without a current license for that state your probably not even going to show up in the job search, because theyre going to look for someone who is ready to go to hit the ground running.
Well you are already a viable candidate for the lower tier ISs, more so as an ESOL IT or maybe primary IT than anything in social studies. The problem is going to be your limited to SK, if you were open to anywhere, than somewhere like the ME or China or another hardship post becomes a lot more realistic that your going to get an appointment, and in a couple years you can go back to SK as an IT. Which is really the only option for you, because there isnt any demand in primary or social studies, and unless you speak Spanish youre not in much demand as an ESOL DT either. If you can leave SK to go to the US, you can leave SK to go anywhere, and many of those IS hardship locations are a lot closer to your family in SK than the US is.
This is what happens. You decide Okay Im going to the US to get some experience. Okay now what you have a HUGE job search ahead of you, massive. You need to start looking at narrowing it down. On one side you have states like CA, where every district has its own application, and there are hundreds of application databases some shared some independent. On the other side you have states like HI, that have one database for the whole state. So you start making applications and then nothing happens. Why because those principals are looking for someone who is already certified and ready to go, has a local address, or is at least in the vicinity that they can interview, and thats the list they pull first, and youre not on it because your not certified in that state, and your some guy in another country they dont even get to talk to in person because you arent there, and why bother when there are going to be hundreds of DTs who are local and are certified. So nothing happens.
Youre best bet is going to be a state like CA that has a decent sized SK student population and needs an ESOL DT who can work with a population of SK kids (depends how good your Korean is). Thats going to be your niche, some kind of SK immersion, or dual language primary program. Which is horrible because you will end up with a CA preliminary credential.
There is no shortage of primary/elementary DTs in the US, lots of young, 20 somethings who want to teach primary, and you'd pretty much need to know someone who can/will hire you to get a job. Its not like there is a principal anywhere, pulling there hair out because they cant find a primary/elementary DT.
Yes, many states will give you some kind of reciprocity, maybe not a full professional certificate, but something. Usually its a state specific course, some kind of induction or teaching in state for a year. Thats still a lot of applications, a lot of application fees, and a lot of CRBs, etc. Most states/districts have an electronic application system, and when principals go looking through it to find a DT, without a current license for that state your probably not even going to show up in the job search, because theyre going to look for someone who is ready to go to hit the ground running.
Well you are already a viable candidate for the lower tier ISs, more so as an ESOL IT or maybe primary IT than anything in social studies. The problem is going to be your limited to SK, if you were open to anywhere, than somewhere like the ME or China or another hardship post becomes a lot more realistic that your going to get an appointment, and in a couple years you can go back to SK as an IT. Which is really the only option for you, because there isnt any demand in primary or social studies, and unless you speak Spanish youre not in much demand as an ESOL DT either. If you can leave SK to go to the US, you can leave SK to go anywhere, and many of those IS hardship locations are a lot closer to your family in SK than the US is.
This is what happens. You decide Okay Im going to the US to get some experience. Okay now what you have a HUGE job search ahead of you, massive. You need to start looking at narrowing it down. On one side you have states like CA, where every district has its own application, and there are hundreds of application databases some shared some independent. On the other side you have states like HI, that have one database for the whole state. So you start making applications and then nothing happens. Why because those principals are looking for someone who is already certified and ready to go, has a local address, or is at least in the vicinity that they can interview, and thats the list they pull first, and youre not on it because your not certified in that state, and your some guy in another country they dont even get to talk to in person because you arent there, and why bother when there are going to be hundreds of DTs who are local and are certified. So nothing happens.
Youre best bet is going to be a state like CA that has a decent sized SK student population and needs an ESOL DT who can work with a population of SK kids (depends how good your Korean is). Thats going to be your niche, some kind of SK immersion, or dual language primary program. Which is horrible because you will end up with a CA preliminary credential.