Can you make a career out of teaching abroad? I'm native

>>1208018
From what I've read Cambodia is pretty lenient in terms of who they employ, but you are probably going to be stuck teaching kids without a degree.

>>1208018
English teachers even with a college degree typically have a hard salary cap unless its a Master's or PhD. You're never going to get a role of importance without a degree and being a non-native speaker of the country

I spent a year in China. I met expats there who had been living there for years and never planned on moving back home. While I guess it is possible, eventually everyone has to return back home. You cannot be 55 and still be expecting to be doing this. You are completely at the mercy of the foreign country and company you are in. When you eventually have to return what will you do? You can live very well, but it is not reality anon and many people do not realize it. Work a few years, save the money, and get out.

>>1208152

>You're never going to get a role of importance without a degree and being a non-native speaker of the country

I'm here to reiterate this- without even a basic, conversational knowledge of the language you're going to be incredibly handicapped in finding work. Though it's not impossible, it's very difficult.

Secondly, regarding teaching, most countries require a degree as a kind of proof that you're slightly educated and not a complete dosser. There are opportunities if you don't have a degree, but the less you have the more questionable your employment becomes. You can go to China and find work, largely because your employer will probably lie about you. And then you end up tied to the school, able to be deported quite easily too (if 'found out'). For some people it works out fine.

Most ESL teachers teach young children (5-12) and your function (depending on who you work for and how you work) is anything, from essentially babysitting with a few English words, to singing songs and clapping. Obviously, there are opportunities to teach adults, but you normally need to be more qualified- I teach adults in Asia and a lot of them are going for TOEIC or IETLS exams which allows them to study a degree in English- this is why you really need a degree.

Larger companies have progression, though they'll need you to have a degree. Smaller companies will employ you, but you can't progress (though you can gain experience and small pay rises).

I wouldn't say that moving to another country really increases your options that much. My lifestyle here is slightly more relaxed, but as far as I'm concerned it's really no better or worse than back home. Basically, you'll be the same person in the same situation. Given your lack of qualifications, I'd be incredibly careful as you'll likely end up in a sketchy situation- but that's just my opinion.

Some people really love it, find good schools and stick at it for a while. Most of these people though, have a long term plan.

>>1208018
>beard
>premature baldness
>esl/tefl teacher
It's like a perfect fit job for a nu-male, pic well picked, OP

>>1208180
>beard
>nu male
you just mad cause you have baby face and cant grow one?

I'm about to get a PhD in Electrical/Computer Engineering

What kind of jobs can I get with that in Europe or Asia? It would be cool to go live in Thailand or something

I have some great job offers already in USA but I'm considering doing something unconventional to get some more life experience, even if it means less pay

>>1208195
Do not do something stupid and find a job that isn't atleast related. Your time to do something totally unrelated was the time between college and grad school

>>1208172
Not OP, but what sort of degree would be acceptable/good enough for a non-native speaker to get a decent job? I've done a BA in English Language and Culture, I'm doing an MA in Editing & Publishing, and I'll do an Educational MA as well as getting my CELTA, all in English.
What can I expect as a non-native speaker?

OP here

Thanks for the advice. I might as well just save up a few quid and go travelling for a while instead. I have zero prospects anywhere on the planet it seems. Oh well.

>>1208209
I know man. I won't do something that will fuck up my career path. I'm thinking something research related in my field, maybe for a private company or govt lab, maybe even an academic position or postdoc with something like JAXA (jap space agency). I was just hoping that anon would have some ideas i haven't considered yet

sorry for hijacking the thread.

What are the social life prospects for an expat in his 30s, in SEA? which places are better in this respect?

Regardless of work - let's say I won't work and live off investments.

I'm sort of worried of being handicapped both in socializing with locals (not having a network) and the expat scene (not doing what others are doing - teaching or doing the whole DN thing)

File: WinnieSnooze.jpg (373KB, 2048x1529px) Image search: [Google]

373KB, 2048x1529px

>>1208169
>eventually everyone has to return back home.

New poster here, strongly considering teaching in South or Central America. I have a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and have been working in advertising/marketing for around seven years.

My hope is/was to teach for a number of years and hopefully become fluent enough in Spanish to open doors in becoming a translator, or who knows, maybe even marketing/advertising or some other office job in Latin America. Or hell, work in a hotel or some shit. (I speak decent conversational Spanish right now.) I basically hope to never come back, except to visit. But first, finish paying off these God-forsaken student loans.

I don't know how realistic of a plan this is, or why I'm even posting. Thinking about it just excites me.

To make this an official blog post, take a look at my doggo.

>>1208193
beardcucks use their beards to compensate, you arent fooling anyone Jimmy Numale

>>1209419
That's a very nice doggo anon

Culture go go? Google that

>>1209438
Thank you. I lost her in a breakup, but as long as she's still breathing, I'm calling her mine. A bit delusional, but so what.

File: Screen Shot 2017-01-31 at 2.11.46 PM.png (34KB, 851x270px) Image search: [Google]

34KB, 851x270px

>>1209456
Fantastic.

>>1209427
that's like saying ferraris are shit bc guys use them to compensate. again, you jealous

>>1208018
Top jobs require a Masters degree.
You might get work, but without any degree whatsoever, you might not get much more than the ability to pay for rent, and no savings to save, meaning flying home to see family for the holidays or paying for a flight to sightsee, do hotels and explore your region closeby might not be in the deal. If you are simply looking to leave home, I say go for it, but understand that there are a lot of scams, esp for the lower tier employee, and you should have 1) medical insurance abroad 2) monies to fly home on short notice, such as you not getting your wages from this employer and 3) enough savings to establish yourself with some rent ahead, maybe enough to supplement what you might make, in order to rent somewhere that is more feasible for foreigners to live in safely (ie good neighborhood without drug lords who want to kill whitey).

>>1208018
>it is an anon thinks he can do useless jobs like being a teacher episode

Teacher here. The kids are going to destroy you.

To, a lot of posters...
You will not make enough money to create savings. This is a tangent in life. It's like peace corps, really. You will survive, and maybe have a drunken good time in the evenings with expats, or get spendy exploring nearby places, but account for your time? If you aren't interested in Education, it's not resume work, really.

>>1209540
ROFL. I teach middle school...they're rough.

>>1209540
>>1209544
In what way?

>>1208018
Yes, if yo focus on career an education advancement. You will eventually need a masters to reach the top level. PHD if you want to teach at a university, non-TEFL. But the path to a career is education advancement , which open you to more jobs. TEFL > international school > university is the path. But you need the education to back your experience to advance.

>>1208241
To not get a job unless you're teaching English back in your home country.
Nobody wants to learn a language from a non-native speaker.

It sucks but the only job in that path is translation from the language you studied to your native language.

>>1209639
I learnt English almost entirely from my domestic English teacher. Obviously none of them was a native speaker.

>>1209536
Ferraris are shit. Anyone who knows about cars and is rich won't buy a Ferrari.

>>1209419
I knew a Lebanese women who taught in Bahrain who started her own translation service business. She spoke English, French, Arabic, and I think one other language. She even got to the point she had other people translating for her.

>>1208172
Don't loads of people find work in these Asian countries without knowing the language beforehand?

I personally know several people (with degrees) who worked for a few years teaching English overseas

>>1208018
From what I understand, you're limited in the number of countries you can choose. Taiwan, Japan, and Korea are pretty much out of the question without a degree. I have heard of a ton of people getting work in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and China though.

Without a degree you can't really work at big companies and you're usually working under the table since technically it's illegal to work as a teacher without a degree (except Cambodia, I'm pretty sure there's still no legal requirement there). This means there's some inherent risk in that you don't really have any recourse if they decide to not pay you one month or fire you for no reason, so make sure you trust the place you work at. I've heard Thailand and Cambodia are some of the best places to teach without a degree, Vietnam as well, but for China you have a better chance if you stick to mid size cities instead of massive ones like Beijing or Shanghai.

>>1209419
What part of central or south America would you like to visit?
I'm from mexico and english teachers tend to do pretty good, specially in private schools. Many institutions sure are looking for native speakers. Not sure about advertising and marketing jobs in here but I'd say you have a pretty good shot.
Don't know about the rest of central/south america, tho'.

Also, learn Spanish well. I've met people from abroad that try hard to learn Spanish and really have a hard time speaking properly. They see it as a hard as fuck language to speak, and it is; if you have decent skills, given the time you'll surely speak it perfectly fine for a non-native.

Nice doggo, btw

>>1209723
it must be sad to be you. does anything make you happy? what car do you drive?

>>1209773

Sorry, to clarify;

>It's easy to find a job as an ESL teacher provided you have degree + are native English-speaker (inc. passport).
>It's hard to find any other job in said country, unless you are at least conversational in that language.

I think what often happens is;

>Move to x and teach English
>Pick up x language over a year or two
>Develop network
>Possibly find non-ESL job

I met a really beautiful woman that got a job in marketing after her degree because she was great + spoke Chinese incredibly well. Ultimately, whatever degree you have, there are normally a bunch of natives that can do that job as well, with no language barrier, and likely for less money / with less complaining.

This is just a big generalisation though.

>>1209880

Not that guy, but if you consider a car anything to do with happiness then I do wonder about you.

>>1209864
I’ve been to your country twice. Once for spring break in Mazatlan, and again when I was a senior in college. I studied Spanish there, living with a host family for a couple of months in Cuernavaca, and really enjoyed it. Took trips to Buena Vista, Teotihuacán and Acapulco during my studies there. Even had a cute little girlfriend named Cintia.

Anyway, I was thinking Colombia (been there and loved it), Panama or Costa Rica, with Costa Rica being the strong front-runner.

So many American white dudes either want to stay in Burgerland, or they’re all about Japan or South East Asia. I’ve always enjoyed Latin American cultures, myself.

Thanks for the reply. Your English is great.

>>1210050
Also visited Mexico City. Had to add that in there.

>>1210050
I think Colombia is a great choice, I mean, I've met colombians and they sure describe their country as an awesome place. I dated a venezuelan girl now living here in Mexico a few years back that used to go to Colombia on the regular and said everytime she went there she had a great time. Anyway, as you describe your skills, you'll surely gonna make it anywhere there.

And sure the southamerican culture has a kinda weird atractiveness to it; 'would love to make a trip to south america and go south as Chile or Argentina goes. I myself feel disconnected to the more central/south culture of America as I am from the northeast part of Mexico and the States are just a few miles up, so everything here is weirdly american-ish, maybe that's why my english is not that bad.

Nonetheless, assuming you ever read this, I wish you great luck and fortune in your life decisions.

I know quite a few native english speakers who live and work in Poland. They all started as a language school employee for visa reasons but quickly moved to private lessons (face to face and skype). As a private teacher you can make a bit more than a national average (3-4k pln net slalary - 750-1000 US$). It isn't much for US standards :) but it's enough to live fine in Poland and save some for travel Europe and so. Interesting things they've told me that could be useful: Work for yourself asap (more money, less stress), They save more money by working in Poland than working in Spain or Italy (similar salary, more expensive life - one said the same about Berlin, but we suspect he was a lazy bum :) ). When you build a good skype client base you can work from anywhere. Always aim in the biggest cities (Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdansk). Some of my friends first Polish experience was a small village in the south of the country.. and it was culture shock for someone from one of a major US cities. Poland is a good travel hub for rest of Europe (both western and eastern) and interesting country itself. Biggest downsides (and I as a Pole confirm, unfortunately): bad smog and healtcare worse than in western europe. Hope I helped. Cheers.

>>1210655
Y tu, tambien. Gracias, amigo.