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I left/fired from my job.
I moved into a new house .
Got back into the gym after 11 dangerous days without it.
I told my dad about this Teach English to Foreigners course i want to do - its very expensive (1k++) and i asked for money.
He said "after the course wont you need MORE money to travel and start a teaching job too? it sounds like you need to plan this out better".
My MOM is saying "just get some money, ill give you some too, and do the course ASAP. it doesnt matter what happens after that, at least you have done this thing."
but the other option is to do the course part time. over like 6 months (instead of 1 month intensive 9-5). my mom and friend say i shouldnt do this - i think they believe that if i do it part time then i will have more time to fuck it up, like i have fucked up everything else in the past (ex-alcoholic, with strong emphasis on the Ex).
so i need to decide what is best to do.
option 1)
1. get a cash in hand/job for 6 weeks.
2. start the course full time in november.
3. finish it and then in december likely leave my house and go to live with my mom and look at jobs.
advantages -
can work for a few weeks (tho i need to get a job first) for some income...
6 weeks isnt forever
will have a bit of money for after the course
disadvantages -
not sure how itll affect my government benefits (eg housing allowance)
will be shit hard labour and potentially rape my mental health again (just got out of a bad job/life)
option 2)
1. get a cash in hand/job ongoing
2. do the course part time for 5-6 months
3. finish it and then (etc)
advantages -
will have lots of money
course is less intensive, time for gym, etc
disadvantages -
working 6 months doing retarded job
dont know how stable my house arrangement is (could get fucked over)
i guess i need to remember that 6 months is bloody long time
option 3)
start course immediate
advantages -
bleh. i feel uncomfortable. idk why, maybe im being a pussy. i guess i just feel unsure about the money situation. asking my dad for money is NOT something im comfortable with, and he wants me to know what im doing after the course, not just jump into it, potentially fail it (in his eyes), and not know whats going to happen after it.
immediate start, immediate end
then, again, probs back to my moms, or something... to look for a teaching abroad job
disadvantages -
i guess i need to have another look at my money, which is low. i feel unsure coz im unsure about that. and im unsure of what happens after i finish the course. my mom is like, dont worry about that, just get it done. so if i go with her opinion then delaying the course for 6 weeks (they dont start regularly) is unecessary.
Is it the "Best of both worlds" to delay the course by 6 weeks, try to get a shitty job for that time, and then go into it?
- yes, but ONLY if i work out how much i can earn in that time, and budget properly, which i should be doing anyway (ive just moved here and lots of random bills flying everywhere eg internet transfer of fucking £50, gym renewal, we have no fridge)
Is it better to do the part time course?
No because 6 months is a very long fucking time to be doing another dumb job for 6/hour, im not sure about my housing. its not true that ill get "distracted" and fuck up the course, because im on the ball more than i ever have been - people just dont know it or trust it. if the part time was 3 months then maybe itd be a different story.. ive done this "its ONLY X months (of suffering)" thing this year already and ended up having a breakdown because of it.
What do you need to do to feel better about all this?
- check my money and budget like a nerd. im waiting for confirmation of my government allowances, which will make up like 40% of my personal money, so i guess its legit that i be concerned until i get that confirmation.
- get a shitty job asap. (do it for 6 weeks, then start the course, full time).
- find out what happens after the course, predict how much money ill have, and also what job possibilities there are.
Why not start the course NOW now?
if my parents etc are going to pay for everything (as my mom is trying to push). does it really come down to me not liking that idea? why do i feel rushed? and unsettled? i guess in part its the nature of the course, ive never done (and completed) ANYTHING before in my life (been and failed uni twice miserably). its expensive , but its short (not 3 year course) . do i really want to do it? to become and english teacher to foreigners abroad? what will my life be like? will i continue to be lonely and soul less and weak and anxious about everything?
internet time over for now
 
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I'd do option 1 the reasons being that you sound really motivated to do this at the moment and you should capitalize on that energy rather then burning yourself out over a long period of time. Also I'd choose 6 weeks in hell over 6 months in purgatory if you know what I'm getting at.
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Do you have a college diploma? Like, at least a Bachelor's degree? Since without one, TEFL courses are pretty much useless... you won't be able to work as a language teacher legally without a degree, and if you're going to look for illegal work, you can probably find better value for your money than a TEFL course.
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On September 12 2012 19:55 Salazarz wrote:
Do you have a college diploma? Like, at least a Bachelor's degree? Since without one, TEFL courses are pretty much useless... you won't be able to work as a language teacher legally without a degree, and if you're going to look for illegal work, you can probably find better value for your money than a TEFL course.
i dont have a degree, only A levels (brit). this course is the CELTA, i want to do it not only for the quali but to give me some basis of skill and understanding for the job. i know i wont be able to easily get into many countries such as korea, japan. i dont know the 100% details of this ie if its completely impossible, as i would like to end up in japan for a while at some point in my life. bbl
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On September 12 2012 19:59 FFGenerations wrote:Show nested quote +On September 12 2012 19:55 Salazarz wrote:
Do you have a college diploma? Like, at least a Bachelor's degree? Since without one, TEFL courses are pretty much useless... you won't be able to work as a language teacher legally without a degree, and if you're going to look for illegal work, you can probably find better value for your money than a TEFL course. i dont have a degree, only A levels (brit). this course is the CELTA, i want to do it not only for the quali but to give me some basis of skill and understanding for the job. i know i wont be able to easily get into many countries such as korea, japan. i dont know the 100% details of this ie if its completely impossible, as i would like to end up in japan for a while at some point in my life. bbl
Honestly, CELTA / TEFL courses aren't very useful at all as a 'general interest' kind of thing because most of them are either too vague to be useful at all, or too specific for your purposes. Best way to go along it is to figure out what is your target audience (what age bracket, skill level, study goals you will be teaching), then pick a suitable course - which is obviously not possible in your position.
As for the degree thing... It's not just Korea and Japan that require it. It's required pretty much everywhere; there used to be some programs in Latin America that didn't ask for a degree, but I don't even think those run any more. Other than that, you'll have to be either a graduate or a student (in Europe) to do something like that legally.
My advice would be to save some money for a trip to Japan (if that's the country you want to end up in) and see first-hand what it is like, then after that if you really enjoy it, buckle up and do a 3 years degree. It might seem like a big investment and a lot of time, but it really will be worth it.
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Also, hard labo(u)r isn't bad mentally, it's pretty relaxing actually (again mentally). It's only stressful physically since the guys doing it know that they don't make shit harder on you. I've had the most fun working hard labo(u)r jobs than any other job i've had. Sounds weird, but if you work with a good group, it'll be actually relaxing and enjoyable,even if hard work.
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You need a degree to work in Korea/Japan/China/Taiwan ( they are the lucrative countries ). You might not need one for Thailand/Vietnam but those countries won't be very lucrative.
It's not an issue for the employer, it is an issue for the organizations that issue work permits in those countries. Korea and Japan are going to be the most strict. Now China really is the wild east. You may find a school that lets you come over without a degree. There could be schools willing to photoshop a degree for you. It depends, really. But it is not ideal. You really don't want to work illegally. However, demand is quite high in Shanghai and Beijing right now so you may just find a school that can help you out and give you legal employment. Just make sure they will get you a residence permit. Or not, if you have balls. But schools that don't provide a residence permit won't be fun places to work at.
In any case, you don't really need a TEFL degree in Korea or China or Taiwan. I think in Japan and Thailand you do. Only the premier language institutes in the other countries will require you to have a TEFL degree. Like universities or business english schools.
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On September 12 2012 21:18 PrinceXizor wrote:
Also, hard labo(u)r isn't bad mentally, it's pretty relaxing actually (again mentally). It's only stressful physically since the guys doing it know that they don't make shit harder on you. I've had the most fun working hard labo(u)r jobs than any other job i've had. Sounds weird, but if you work with a good group, it'll be actually relaxing and enjoyable,even if hard work.
yea, im not very physically fit, but i can imagine it beats most other minimum wage jobs (waiting, kitchen porter, care home, cleaning).
i could go for these but IDK how to get a cash in hand one. anyone who has had a cash in hand type job before tell me what it was and how they got it? im going to go through the telephone directory for small businesses tomorrow and ask random people
as for doing a 3 year degree? i can get £5500 grant but that would cover the rent. presumably i would have to find £9000 per year on top of that for the uni tuition alone. besides, 3 years? im nearly 28 now, i mean i would do it, but i have been thinking i could study at home to be a computer programmer and see how i get on .. idk what im doing but i was trying to point somehow in the direction of "teach small adult english classes abroad and study something at home and go to the gym and i dont know what else". tldr; ive been to uni before and failed and now have no student loan credits left
as for it being impossible to find a tefl job abroad... idk , you guys make it sound impossible but i think itll just not be a cakewalk. the world is a bigggg place (i wont go anywhere shady and dumb). even if i cant or dont make a career out of it, i need to do something with my life, with the next year of my life.
so its like..
1. work for 6 weeks
2. do the celta*
3. get a job offer from china/bulgaria/russia/somewhere random
4. fly over, get some basic instruction, do the job, find a gym, figure out private lessons, get a tan, and maybe start/continue studying programming in my spare time, and/or language study
5. ???
6. ??? (not profit)
* the course in question costs £1000 and is 3-4 weeks of 9-5 plus homework. if anything its to give me the confidence and some understanding for what i do next. its not a 2 day/online tesol, but a hands on intensive workshop.
as for comitting 3 years to a degree? (i tried that 3 years ago, for the 2nd time, and failed miserably as i was alcoholic (im not now)). if i can earn £250/week then its possible. thats a 40 hour week, 3 years of it. ive just done like 5 years of minimum wage BULLSHIT, current bank account: £~900 (with insane debt that hasnt tracked me yet).
so
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You could get an Open University degree for about about 1500-2000 euro, that'd actually give you useful skills for the future and let you do the teaching abroad gigs you want to do properly and without having to worry about getting screwed by your employers. 3-4 years is a long time, but judging by what you're saying about your life to date, you have a lot of catching up to do; and big mistakes do take a lot of time to repair properly.
I'm not saying it's impossible to get a teaching job in Russia or Bulgaria or whatever even with no qualifications at all - it's just that you'll have no job security whatsoever, most likely end up working shitty hours, quite likely have no medical insurance or anything of the sort, and probably end up having at least part of your salary stolen. You might get lucky and end up in a decent place too - but that's what it'll be, a massive gamble - and you'll gain absolutely nothing out of it in the long term, unless you're really interested in the country you'll be inhabiting and want to go there for the experience. It's not like these teaching jobs are easy or well paid - even in the better places like Taiwan or Japan the wages aren't any better than the entry level minimum wage jobs in Europe, the only thing that makes it better is the fact that the better jobs will pay for your accommodation (plus countries like China or Korea have cheaper living costs outside of metro areas).
Study at home while doing the teaching job? Sure, you could do that - but you might as well do that while you are in the UK. At least there you don't have to worry about your salary not reaching you or immigration suddenly telling you, 'hey, get out'. And what makes you think you'll even have time or patience to study another subject while being a teacher? I've done a year of TESL in China, and let me tell you, it's no cakewalk at all; the hours can be downright murderous, and if you don't have much of an interest in actually teaching, you will burn out faster than you can say 'boo'.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be negative here - but you seem to think these language teaching gigs are better than they really are. And consider this:
If you actually enjoy teaching, you HAVE to have a degree to make a career out of it. It's completely possible to make a very good career teaching in other countries, especially the more developed ones like Japan or Korea; teaching at universities, private classes, international institutes will pay very good salaries to experienced teachers and work conditions are actually great, with short hours and lots of holidays. But, you will need a degree - a Masters, in fact, and legal experience teaching.
If you do not enjoy teaching and just want to do it as a means of making money while studying at home... just get a job in the UK instead. Seriously, teaching is just as mind-numbingly boring or worse than a call centre job if you don't actually love being a teacher, has longer hours and tons of politics, plus you have the shitty conditions of being in a third-world country potentially illegally on top of that. It's just not worth it unless you know exactly what you are doing, and why.
edit: the reason I'm even replying so much on this subject despite you seemingly having your mind made up is because I have a friend who was in a strangely similar situation to your own (college drop out with a bunch of student loans); basically he got burned badly and was on the verge of suicide for a good two years after coming home. He's also black-listed by Chinese immigration for life. I've also seen plenty of kids who thought they'd "experience the culture" or whatever while teaching in China myself, and it's really depressing how fast people go from being all excited about being in a new country to being horribly depressed and wanting to go home already. It's really not for everyone - even the better jobs with all the benefits you get working legally at a proper school. That said, I enjoyed my year in China and might try doing another year in Korea or Japan, with the view on settling there for longer term (I'd go back to China but I never managed to learn even the most basic Mandarin, so that sucks) - but I've actually taught for a living since I graduated, it's something I really enjoy and something I'm comfortable with. It's a shitty field, but it just makes some crazy people (like myself) happy.
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OU prices, as far as I can figure out, are now £5000 per year over 3 years (wtf)
Study at home while doing the teaching job? Sure, you could do that - but you might as well do that while you are in the UK. At least there you don't have to worry about your salary not reaching you or immigration suddenly telling you, 'hey, get out'. And what makes you think you'll even have time or patience to study another subject while being a teacher? I've done a year of TESL in China, and let me tell you, it's no cakewalk at all; the hours can be downright murderous, and if you don't have much of an interest in actually teaching, you will burn out faster than you can say 'boo'.
I don't know what to do in the UK. I've been a care assistant for 5 years, have no skills, idk what i'm doing, I don't know what i CAN do.
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EPT
