This comes up so often that it is worth talking about.  This is actually the first time – and possibly the last – I have ever written specifically to a particular occupational group.  Strange?  But not.

Yes, people who work in information technology (IT) – in my experience as a teacher trainer – often make the BEST EFL/ESL teachers.

What?  Why?

I’ve taught a lot of IT people to be teachers and I have also communicated with a lot of them about changing their careers.  Something about IT seems to encourage people to get OUT.  Perhaps it is the cubicle work environment or even the tedium that can come with systems design and work.

If you work in IT and are thinking of a career change – TEFL may be a pretty good choice for you.  Why do IT people do so well?  It is largely because of the step-by-step process by which they are used to analyzing their work.   It is very method intensive.  This works, so you add a step.  If something doesn’t work you back up step-by-step until you can make it work – then you begin to add steps again.

Step-by-Step Method is great for TEFL

That kind of careful analysis and that method of approaching problems is exactly what your EFL students need.  That kind of method translates super well to designing lessons for your students.   And with so much practice, IT people just seem to “get it” much faster than other TEFL trainees.  They are very used to and familiar with PLANNING what they do.  And if it doesn’t work – going back and taking it apart piece by piece to find out why it didn’t work.

This kind of approach, which is second nature to IT people, is often difficult for TEFL trainees (EFL teachers in training) to get a good handle on.

FORTRAN

I remember taking a FORTRAN class back in 1970 or so – and it taught me some good skills that I still use today.

So . . . IT people – all I am saying is that if you wonder if you might do well in TEFL.  My answer will almost always be YES, you probably will do very well.

For the rest of us non-techies, we can do pretty well too, but sometimes we struggle with the process.  Not a big deal – it’s not rocket science – pretty much everyone gets it during their training, it’s just that it comes very naturally to the IT folks.

TED’s Tips™ #1: If you work in IT and you wonder if TEFL will be easy or difficult for you, I am telling you here that it will likely be a very good transition for you.  Go for it!

The BEST EFL Teaching Jobs in China: Government Colleges, Universities and Secondary Schools offer the most reliable and worry-free jobs in China. Click on the Link if you would like to Teach English in China

#1 – No matter what you do, where you work, who you work for – you are essentially – SELF EMPLOYED. That means you work for yourself and you need to look out for yourself and not leave it to someone else to be responsible for your life – for your future – or for anything else.

A great life lesson really – no matter where you are or what you do. Look at the people who worked at Enron, WorldCom, even General Motors who left their pensions and futures to the planning of others. Not a good thing to do.

#2. Plan for your future.   I saved and purchased rental properties in my home country. Fully paid off and providing rental income. That will be part of my pension when I get really old. We all know about the property bubble/bust so that did not turn out perfectly, but the properties are paid off, so they will still help me a bit.  You might try a different approach  or strategy, but choose one and follow through.

#3. Invest in a business of some sort that will provide an income stream as you grow older. There are a zillion ways to do this – none of them easy – most filled with hype and false promises – but the opportunity is out there is you are persistent and determined.

By the way – #1 above – “You work for yourself” – does not mean to be a selfish lout. To me it means that while you are working for others (until you get #3 going) that you need to be a VALUE ADDED employee. That you need to be the “go-to-guy” for your employer. The person they can count on to get things done. The person they can rely on to be there when times get tough. NOT the person who says they aren’t going to work an extra 15 minutes unless they get paid for it. There is no room for selfishness when you want others to help you meet your goals.

As a relevant aside – last year I saw a scruffy looking down-and-out foreigner digging through the garbage cans (rubbish bins in UK English) in a tourist-beach tropical-island destination. How sad that is!  This was – no doubt – one of the “live for today” crowd – now reduced to eating garbage left by tourists. It was both shocking and really sad. And a lesson.

The lesson is: Man up (or Woman up!) – be responsible for yourself – plan for the good and bad times. It really isn’t difficult. The fat times need to be recognized as such and used to ease the lean times.

TED’s Tips™ #1: I will alter Gandhi’s famous quote here:  Live as if you will die tomorrow, plan as if you will live forever

Teaching Internships in China

The BEST EFL Teaching Jobs in China: Government Colleges, Universities and Secondary Schools offer the most reliable and worry-free jobs in China. Click on the Link if you would like to Teach English in China

Teaching English abroad, to me, has two different career paths. And they are both important to consider before you seek that first job and even before you take your TEFL Training if getting a certification is on your agenda.

The two paths?

Teaching at a language school or teaching at a college or university. How are they different? Many many ways.

Teaching English at a Language School

Teaching English at a language school often involves a large dose of teaching children very elementary language skills. But it also can involve a fair amount of singing, dancing and what some people might call “being a dancing monkey” to keep the little ones occupied and happy.

Now some people can think of nothing more joyous than filling their days with enthusiastic and energetic young kids, dancing, singing and laughing. Others see it as a very loud classroom with hyperactive screaming kids that present constant discipline problems.

The reality is probably somewhere in the middle, but TEFL newbies are often placed in with the youngest kids, especially if you are a very young newbie. Class sizes can often be small, with six to twelve kids per class relatively common.

Is this setting for you?

Teaching English at Colleges and Universities

Teaching English at colleges and universities usually involves teaching intermediate to more advanced language skills to larger classes of young adults. Some of those students don’t want to be in the classroom, but the class is required by their major. Other students will be enthusiastic English majors with a real curiosity about the language and a desire to improve.

Some people find teaching these students, who already have some good language skills, to be a a lot easier. Others find it difficult to manage the larger numbers of students that are in a university class – sometimes only 15-25, but 35-45 are not unusual – and I once taught a reading class (with a co-teacher) of 100+ students.

How about that setting?

Other Important Differences

A common difference between the two jobs is that university teachers usually teach only about twelve to twenty 45-50 minute classroom hours per week. Language school teachers will find 25-35 hours to be more common. Those classes though might range from only 30 to 45 minutes each.

Paid vacation time is usually significantly different. A typical language school teacher – let’s say in Asia, for example – will get about one week per year of paid vacation time. University positions vary significantly but a month paid vacation is about the minimum and some schools, as you move up the food chain, offer anywhere from 12-20 weeks paid leave per year.

BIG differences, no?

Now, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like long paid vacation time, but there are probably a few out there. To me the university/college path was always the best bet.

One final difference is important though. Generally university positions will require more education and/or training than a language school job. With only a degree you can get a decent language school job in almost any non-English speaking country.

A degree and a TEFL certification can land you university positions in many countries. Just a TEFL certification with no degree will usually see you in a language school in few choices of countries. A relevant graduate degree and a TEFL Certification and the world is your oyster.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Before you head out decide which path might be best for you.

TED’s Tips™ #2: If you are not sure, give both options a try before committing long term.

Teaching Internships in China

The BEST EFL Teaching Jobs in China: Government Colleges, Universities and Secondary Schools offer the most reliable and worry-free jobs in China. Click on the Link if you would like to Teach English in China

They are often the inspiration for posts, as you can obviously see on this blog.

Recently someone I was helping place in a position in China was contemplating two different job offers. One at a language school and one at a good quality international school. She was only 24 and this was to be her first placement overseas, so she was excited about the offers and asked guidance on which one to take.

These can be difficult decisions if we ponder them too much and we can get a bad case of analysis paralysis if not careful. But here we go . . .

This soon to be newbie teacher asked:

I am definitely leaning toward the international school do you have any suggestions or anything I should take into account?

And my response was:
My PERSONAL opinion on where to go has a lot to do with my personal preferences for certain kinds of work. At an international school you are heading yourself more towards the possibility of teaching at a college or university and you will tend to work with higher quality people than at a language school (not that language school people are low class or anything!).

College/university track is a better place to be IN THE LONG RUN as you work less and get much more paid time off, though you tend to be paid less. BUT – with those jobs comes the opportunity for more private work, private teaching, writing, etc that can significantly improve your income. (Over the years I have easily doubled, sometimes tripled my base college/university wages)

Partly it is the prestige of such a job. Asian and Latin cultures value education and teachers FAR more than American/UK/Western cultures. And college professors in particular are granted much more status than a language school teacher, for example.

So – it just depends on what you think you might want to do in the long run. If you are unsure (as I was when I started out) – it is difficult to know what to do! If you just want to have fun and enjoy yourself a bit in a wonderfully different culture that will blow your socks off – then a language school is fine. But if long-term is in the back of your mind . . . then the international school is probably your best bet.

Right now your age and lack of experience make it difficult to land a good college job [in China], but probably next year it won’t.

Lots to consider and I might make too big a deal out of the small things! AND – it is way too easy to over-analyze it. One year is only one year and next year you can easily change track. Avoid analysis paralysis – it might be easier to just go and enjoy yourself for a year and see what parts of it you like and don’t like.

I have babbled enough here . . . I hope all that helps and doesn’t confuse things too much!

TED’s Tips™ #1: Think a bit about where you might like to be long term, but really your rookie year is your rookie year. Try not to overthink it.

The BEST EFL Teaching Jobs in China: Government Colleges, Universities and Secondary Schools offer the most reliable and worry-free jobs in China. Click on the Link if you would like to Teach English in China

free printable worksheets

Hi, I am 20 years old and trying to figure out what to do with my life.   Recently I heard about teaching abroad and this is now my goal. I’m about a semester away from my associates degree [a two year degree in the USA] and was wondering whats the next best step I should take.

This is a great question and as mentioned in the last post, one of my few regrets I have about living the TEFL life abroad is that I didn’t even KNOW about it as an option until I was 37.  If I had known as this young man does at age 20 – I would have been raring to go!    Good for him that he has found something that fires his imagination for living an extraordinary life.  He has already proven he is smarter than I am!

A Few Realities Intrude . . .

My advice to this  young man was to finish university with a bachelor’s degree.  Though if he would like to just go out for a year and teach to see if it is what he hopes it is – then he should just grab an online TEFL certificate and go for one year to a country like Cambodia where the TEFL certification will do him just fine.  And then get back to school and get the next level of degree.

Degrees and TEFL

A BA/BS degree is quickly becoming a requirement and while there are still a few places where you can work without one, the choices are shrinking by the day and you would only ever be getting jobs from the bottom of the barrel.  You might even think you could talk an employer into hiring you without one – based on your charm, skills and experience, but usually the degree is a legal requirement for your working papers.  Thus your potential employer usually has no choice but to hold out for the degree holder.

Get that degree.  There is another reason too.  And that is if you intend to be an educator, it is good to have demonstrated your own belief in education.   I sometimes find it amazing the number of people who say that you don’t need a degree to be a good teacher.  They are right, you don’t.  But how do you intend to sell your students on education if you as an educator don’t have one and demonstrate your disinterest in it?

Get that degree.  In fact, if you have a BA/BS and find you like teaching abroad – I usually recommend that you RUN – don’t walk – to get a master’s degree.  The differences between a BA and an MA are about as huge as between no degree and a BA.

A graduate degree will make you eligible for college and university positions, a more likely candidate for teacher training jobs and Academic Director type roles and wages along with the amount of paid time off can improve dramatically.

During most of my teaching career I had anything from ten to twenty (yes – that’s 20!) weeks paid vacation per year.   All that paid time off is a special treat if you love to travel or if you need to earn a little extra.

Many teachers take a short paid job while on vacation to boost their savings.  Others use the time to visit family and see even more of the world.  And many of us did both.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Okay – I’ll say it a THIRD time: Get that degree!

The BEST EFL Teaching Jobs in China: Government Colleges, Universities and Secondary Schools offer the most reliable and worry-free jobs in China. Click on the Link if you would like to Teach English in China

Everything from visa paperwork, to cultural differences to students not quite getting what you are trying to teach them; everything in TEFL requires some patience on your part.

If you are not a patient person, try to pick up some coping skills so you can manage gracefully while you are abroad.

A confession here: I am NOT a patient person. But I have learned a better way to look at and understand processes that I can not always influence.

I can’t control the mid-level bureaucrat who processes my visa. She can make my life pleasant or very difficult. It really is up to her, so it is always better if I approach her with a smile and patience in my heart and a willingness to smile and dance whatever dance she chooses to call.

Getting upset or wired up about it just won’t solve anything and is more likely to create even more problems.

Especially in your early years as a TEFL teacher you will find the bumbling along of bureaucracies to be somewhat frustrating. But you really only need to look at your own home country and remember a bit just how recalcitrant those people at the driver’s license place were or how difficult it might have been to get your first student loan.

Life overseas is not really as different as it might seem, it is often only that you don’t have a full grasp of the culture and language that is how you can get caught in little whirlwinds of paperwork and frustration.

I mention this now as I was recently helping someone process their visa paperwork to teach English in China when all of a sudden a specific form was needed from an authority from the teacher-candidate’s academic past. The form was found and sent to the requesting official who promptly overruled it as it did not have a “chop” or stamp from the school on it.

Now, as we all know, stamps don’t don’t mean quite as much in our culture and usually a signature is just fine. But not in this case. And all this was going on during an extended holiday time, with the usual difficulty finding and getting anyone to do anything.

It all got sorted out in the end, but the teacher-candidate just about gave up with frustration.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Realize that the frustrations you are facing before you even get to your job are probably less than those you will deal with when actually on the job.

TED’s Tips™ #2: don’t forget that there were things that frustrated you in your own country as well. Life is life. It is full obstacles but also full of wonder and rewards when we overcome those obstacles.

What’s up in China? Learn what kind of jobs are on offer if would like to Teach English in China

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