Can I Find A Job?

[vrsushi]

Here is my situation.

42. 10 years teaching English in Japan. 6 of those in a university. When I have taught uni, business, adults I get great reviews. But the trouble is, though I can do it I get very bored teaching kids and fear that I just don't have it in me to do it long term.

Now, I have really bad back pain. I love teaching, but fear that I can't do as much as I used to. A teaching load of 20 hours a week would probably be the most I could handle.

Holidays to help my back would be good too.

I have a BA and a TEFL. Salary isn't as important as good working conditions. Lastly, for the last 6 years I have been the only English teacher and I really miss working with other foreigners. I really want to have a staff room again.

Is there any type of work I should be looking for? And with what I have to offer what am I likely to get?

[Ijustwannateach]

Trust me, you really don't want the kinds of staff rooms that are typical in Thailand. Really.

There are jobs which fit your specifications here, but really, unless your undergrad degree will give you some actual subject to teach (like English as language arts or something else like science or math) you will most likely be stuck in TEFL-style jobs or at best a really dodgy private school where none of the other teachers even have a degree. Even in Bangkok under the best conditions teaching TEFL your probable expected wage level will be 40-50K baht a month, with minimal insurance and benefits likely. You will most likely get a couple of months off a year, but if your back is as bad as you say it is, shouldn't you be worried about long term insurance? After all, you can probably expect that your record will not follow you out of Japan (if you have been on the public scheme there) but do you really want that as a pre-existing condition?

I'd recommend that you investigate your options for private insurance and do your best to fight off the symptoms until the pre-existing time limit is up (before you have a diagnosis, in other words)- and do it with very good insurance- in other words, in a first-world country- otherwise do your best to find good doctors in Japan (I know it's hard).

[Scott]

Work loads in many (not all) Thai schools can be demanding. A lot of schools have duties outside of the regular classes, such as special reading, morning duty, lunch duty and after school duty. I haven't noticed the Thai Administration to be particularly sympathetic to any physical condition. I have noticed they consider a lot of people with any condition to be lazy, however.

I also have noticed that a lot of co-workers--and I am talking about other foreigners who consider it quite unfair if a teacher is given a break.

Teaching, by and large, is physically demanding work in most places. You might want to consider your options carefully.

[allane]

Have you considered working in Language Schools ? While you may have some large classes, you can often get some smaller classes, and even some private lessons where you only have a handful of students. In these situations, you can do much of your teaching sitting down.

The other side of the coin is, you may not be earning as much money as you would in a "day school" situation, where you stand in front of large classes all the time.