Teaching/Traveling Abroad After College

[v3rrv3]

Hey guys,
I recently graduated from college and honestly want to get out and experience the world. Peace Corps has been in the back of my mind for a long time and honestly is extremely appealing. The other option with the benefits of actually getting paid and a shorter required commitment is the idea of teaching english abroad. Do any of you have personal experience or recommendations? As I graduated I'm in between either A: keep pursuing a career/long term employment or B: working something part time/easy and shortly quitting to pursue foreign opportunities.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[Toonces]

I teach English in Japan.

Good resources for JET/ALT/Eikaiwa work:
gaijinpot.com
bigdaikon.con

Just remember, the experience is going to be different for everyone and is highly dependent on your location. I've spent eight months in small-town Northern Japan and had a good time, whereas small-town Chugoku hasn't been so great. Moving to Tokyo next month though, really looking forward to the city!

JET is the best to go abroad with as you get airfare paid as well as a higher salary and more social/cultural networking opportunities. However, the contract you sign is for one region and if they put you on an island 4 hours away from civilization, that's it - no flexibility at all. You also have to deal with the ridiculous Japanese bureaucracy that the schools and prefectural governments love so much. The application process is longer and more difficult than other ALT companies and the Eikaiwas - applications due this September are for start dates in August 2009.

 

[SP33Demon]

Originally posted by: toonces
I teach English in Japan.

Good resources for JET/ALT/Eikaiwa work:
gaijinpot.com
bigdaikon.con

Just remember, the experience is going to be different for everyone and is highly dependent on your location. I've spent eight months in small-town Northern Japan and had a good time, whereas small-town Chugoku hasn't been so great. Moving to Tokyo next month though, really looking forward to the city!

JET is the best to go abroad with as you get airfare paid as well as a higher salary and more social/cultural networking opportunities. However, the contract you sign is for one region and if they put you on an island 4 hours away from civilization, that's it - no flexibility at all. You also have to deal with the ridiculous Japanese bureaucracy that the schools and prefectural governments love so much. The application process is longer and more difficult than other ALT companies and the Eikaiwas - applications due this September are for start dates in August 2009.

Do you have to know Japanese to do that?

 

[Kaieye]

Originally posted by: toonces
I teach English in Japan.

Good resources for JET/ALT/Eikaiwa work:
gaijinpot.com
bigdaikon.con

Just remember, the experience is going to be different for everyone and is highly dependent on your location. I've spent eight months in small-town Northern Japan and had a good time, whereas small-town Chugoku hasn't been so great. Moving to Tokyo next month though, really looking forward to the city!

JET is the best to go abroad with as you get airfare paid as well as a higher salary and more social/cultural networking opportunities. However, the contract you sign is for one region and if they put you on an island 4 hours away from civilization, that's it - no flexibility at all. You also have to deal with the ridiculous Japanese bureaucracy that the schools and prefectural governments love so much. The application process is longer and more difficult than other ALT companies and the Eikaiwas - applications due this September are for start dates in August 2009.

About two years ago, I've met a American guy who taught English in a small town in Northern Japan. I met him at a youth hostel at Narita airport and he was waiting to fly to India for vacation. He told me that he taught English and improve his Japanese hoping to get into the diplomatic corp when he got back to the states in the future.

 

[Toonces]

Originally posted by: SP33Demon

Originally posted by: toonces
I teach English in Japan.

Good resources for JET/ALT/Eikaiwa work:
gaijinpot.com
bigdaikon.con

Just remember, the experience is going to be different for everyone and is highly dependent on your location. I've spent eight months in small-town Northern Japan and had a good time, whereas small-town Chugoku hasn't been so great. Moving to Tokyo next month though, really looking forward to the city!

JET is the best to go abroad with as you get airfare paid as well as a higher salary and more social/cultural networking opportunities. However, the contract you sign is for one region and if they put you on an island 4 hours away from civilization, that's it - no flexibility at all. You also have to deal with the ridiculous Japanese bureaucracy that the schools and prefectural governments love so much. The application process is longer and more difficult than other ALT companies and the Eikaiwas - applications due this September are for start dates in August 2009.

Do you have to know Japanese to do that?

Heh, I didn't even know how to count to 10 when I came over here... but my first two-three months were hard adjusting and trying to study enough to do simple things that you really take for granted back home. It was, personally, a enlightening and frustrating experience as I struggled to learn rudimentary Japanese and express the simplest of ideas.

My Japanese isn't even that great, just enough to communicate with my teachers and do basic daily life things. If you study beforehand you'll be immensely more prepared than I was and sure will have a better adjustment period.

Originally posted by: Kaieye
About two years ago, I've met a American guy who taught English in a small town in Northern Japan. I met him at a youth hostel at Narita airport and he was waiting to fly to India for vacation. He told me that he taught English and improve his Japanese hoping to get into the diplomatic corp when he got back to the states in the future.

My plans are similar, trying for the Canadian Foreign Service I'm done teaching although my Japanese is no where near good enough to be used in a diplomatic role.

Living, teaching, traveling, and experiencing Japan and SE Asia is what I'm doing this for - the job is easy, the people friendly, and the things I've done this past year are experiences I would never have an opportunity to do without becoming part of the community and living for an extended period of time in another country.

 

[xSauronx]

a friend of a friend did the foreign english teacher thing in japan...actually, i think she started a few months ago and is still there, i should ask about her. it definitely sounds like a great idea and experience.

 

[dugweb]

I just returned from teaching English in China last month. Was a terrific experience, and a good method to travel abroad and not break the bank.
Like the poster before me, i didn't know a single word in Chinese. The pay in China is, I'm sure, not as good as Japan's in America's terms... but I lived like a king with the salary I got.

I have tons of pics on picasaweb if interested.

 

[v3rrv3]

dugweb I'd be interested to take a peak if you want to post up a link or PM me one. I don't expect to get rich and like many others am mainly in it for the experience but was the pay halfway decent? And who did you go through? Although I've read many good experiences through JET I'm not set on any country and would prefer somewhere that is a little fast moving along with the application/leaving than the 9-12 months that I noticed JET seems to take.

 

[v3rrv3]

TTT

 

[Toonces]

I work for a private "dispatch" company in Japan as an ALT. Basically, I do the same job as a JET but with a private company. The normal hiring periods for new ALTs are for starts in September and March/April. If you act quickly you might be able to find a company who'll get you started in September or October working as an ALT - look on Gaijinpot for jobs to apply to.

The Eikaiwas are private language schools and they are hiring all the time. You can get a job working one-on-one or in small groups teaching English at any time. The hours are worse than being an ALT though, weekends and nights are prime tutoring times for students.

The opportunities available in Korea generally pay more than Japan (so I've heard) but they'll mostly be private schools where your hours are longer than the ALT position in Japan. China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand are all other countries that I know people who have taught English in.

 

[v3rrv3]

Did you find the company you're working for on Gaijinpot or something similar? I'm pretty broke so if I could jump right in that'd be great but I was browsing on there earlier but need to do some more hardcore searching.

 

[dugweb]

I went through a company called China Horizons. They work very closely with a few schools over there and have about 20-30 teachers throughout the country.

I taught first and second year university kids their "oral english" course. I got paid about $550 US/month + a one time travel reimbursement of about half of my round trip ticket there ($700 US).

The Chinese are amazing people, and you're treated like a celebrity there as many parts of the country are still extremely homogeneous.

 

[ed21x]

eh? I've worked as both a missionary and english teacher in China, Taiwan, Kyrgyzstan, and South Africa. Of all the places, I would most highly recommend China, as english proficiency seems to be quite high amongst their college students (they start learning since the 3rd grade), and Beijing is cosmopolitan enough for a foreigner to get around with only english. Also, everything is adequately cheap for you to live pretty well, while the place is as industrialized as any asian nation, and thus you'll be treated to a more technologically advanced society than most western nations (thus not having to give up any creature comfort). Culture there also breeds obedience and humility, so the students are well-behaved.

Avoid Taiwan at all costs... from my experience, the kids there all seem to be spoiled, bratty, undisciplined, and obnoxious- i'd say on a level comparable to what you get in the States.