Jobhunting In Home Country After Teaching In Thailand

[Bryan in Isaan]

I am considering entering the teaching "profession" in Thailand. I am 47 yrs old. I have a degree in Engineering in the USA plus years of industry experience. I lived in Thailand for four years, but wasn't working in engineering. I plan to get a CELTA or TEFL (maybe someone can help clarify to me what the difference is). Then, my preference would be to go to work at a Rachabhat or other secend tier University. From what I have been reading on this forum, I could do that with a degree and TEFL/CELTA. It probably wouldn't hurt if I brushed up on my grammar as well.

My question is this: Would teaching experience at universities in Thailand for two or three years + TEFL/CELTA cert open up any job possibilities back in the USA? The same principles probably apply in other western countries as well, so I am open to comments from Europeans, Australians, etc.... Has anyone ever tried this? I would appreciate anyone's thoughts or feedback.

Assume:

I have been out of Engineering so long it would be difficult to go back to work in my old job.

I don't want to get a master's degree or B. of Ed. degree.

I hope to retire in 15 years or so.

Please excuse my ignorance about teaching in Thailand or career path in general. Although I have worked many years, I don't have much experience in job hunting.

Thanks in advance,

Bryan

[PeaceBlondie]

Hi, Brian,

Welcome to the idea of teaching English in Thailand. Actually, with an engineering degree, you could probably get a job teaching mathematics in English. However, I wouldn't get my hopes up at teaching in tertiary education such as rajabat or university, for your first position. I think that comes after experience teaching in Thailand.

CELTA is an established brand name for a certificate that's quite similar, in practice, to the other four-week TEFL certificates, and is better known outside of Thailand, but they only prepare you to teach adults. As I say, I don't know if you'll start out with that.

Back in the USA, you ask? Happy Fourth of July. Universities expect you to have a BS and MS (or BA and MA) in the teaching field; secondary and primary schools expect you to be state-certified in education as an educator who educates professionally. If I went home to Texas, I might get emergency certificate for one year only, or substitute as an ESL teacher making $75 per day. Peanuts.

If you haven't already read through our "Qualification" thread which is entirely too lengthy by now , please "give it a go," as the Aussies say.

Good luck. Are you in Thailand already?

[Bryan in Isaan]

The "Qualifications" thread was excellent. I had read that before, but rather quickly. I think it did mention in places that a person might have to do a year in the K-12 gov't schools. I might still give a try at the Rajabhat schools upcountry anyway.

Thanks for the CELTA/TEFL clarification. I do hope to work with adults or serious kids - if there ever was such a thing.

I figured that my quals would not be very good going back to the USA, given that their requirements would be so high and teachers are so specialized. I wouldn't mind doing some substitute ESL teaching as supplemental income.

I am in the good old USA now. Thank you for the 4th of July greeting. I just spent four years living in Thailand. That is considered a career gap to prospective employers. That is frustrating. I was not drunk or asleep the whole time. I built a house, did volunteer work, studied Thai and kept active, but it was not directly related to engineering. I will probably return to Thailand soon, but hope to somehow close that gaping hole in my resume, since I can not afford to retire yet.

[kenkannif]

^ If you're in the USA now it might be worth checking with various schools to see if it would be possible to get work teaching on your return. I know people that have done so, so it is doable...but I think from State to State they can have different requirements???

[Bryan in Isaan]

Yeah, several times in the Qualifications thread it is mentioned that the high paying jobs recruit teachers from overseas. Aren't those the International (capital I) schools, for which one has to have real qualifications? Do you know any names of schools that might be doing that? I don't have proper credentials, but it wouldn't hurt to try anyway.

[kenkannif]

^ You won't IMO get a job at a proper Int school....I was referring to contacting American schools while you're in America about your return from Thailand to America and your options!

I've got a list of most of the proper Int schools...but would need to fax it to you??? I'm not typing it all in.

[Ijustwannateach]

This question comes up periodically on sites about teaching in Thailand, but is usually in the context of people who are quite a bit younger than 15 years away from retirement. If you really want to have any kind of retirement at all, you'll need to have some other form of income than the typical TEFL job- marry rich, save up and invest along the way, or start a small business of some kind.

Subject teaching pays a bit better, and there are ways to make it work without working at the all-holy International schools, though best of luck to you in trying (I concur with Ken- no experience back home, no International school job here). You'll still have to plan carefully and it would be better if you had income outside of your school.

I imagine that some foreign experience tends to add weight to your resume, but if it goes on too long, you may be looked at as too much of an oddball or too long gone from your former profession; though I'd guess that an engineer would have plenty of different kinds of opportunities back home- is your experience that specialised and your degree that undervalued?

However you do it, you should probably budget at least 3-4 years to find your "sea legs" here in Thailand in a job that's good enough with sane enough coworkers and students. That puts you only 12 years away from retirement. Plan accordingly.

"Steven"

[lawman3966]

Hi Bryan,Thanks for your question and the thread. We're close to the same age, and I have many of the same aspirations - Engineering background, and wanting to teach in Thailand.

While I'm no expert on Thailand, I feel compelled to respond to your query about teaching in the U.S. and/ or in International schools. I have a friend in Texas who was forced into a career change in the Telecom wreck in 2002. He was able to become qualified as a high school teacher in the Dallas public school system with no more than his Engineering degree and a (free) summer training program. That was in 2002. The requirements may have since become more stringent, possibly requiring a one-year certificate of some sort. But, I don't believe that you need a B.A. to teach in the Dallas public schools. If this interests you, you should check it out.

I also investigated the option of teaching in International schools some time back. From what I recall, they generally require two years' experience teaching in a U.S. school system before heading out overseas. Their degree requirements may vary. But, if you are planning a long career overseas, this could be worth exploring. If two or three years training and experience in the U.S. would qualify you for teaching in Int'l schools, it's worth considering, as the Int'l schools pay more and offer better careers than the English school teaching gigs. Separately, another friend of mine who teaches in the International school circuit reported to me that one reason for their career choice was that their children got free tuition in excellent private schools - another factor to consider if children are a possibility.

Anyway, hope this was of interest.

Regards,

Les

[DrFisher]

If you have a degree in engineering I would suggest you teach engineering. I teach at CMU in my field of education and have an easy well paying job with great benefits including health care, paid vacations, sabbaticals, housing allowance, work permit and visa (all taken care of by the university and paid by the university) as well as Thai social security (no matter how little it is, its nice to know they care).

[Ijustwannateach]

So, market value for a real educator with teaching experience is roughly 100K/month, even at the Bachelor's level (for true international high schools), plus all the best benefits. How well is CMU doing by you?

"Steven"

[lawman3966]

Dr. Fisher,

Thanks very much for your post. To clarify, are you saying that an Engineering degree without any other degree (B. ed, or M. ed.) is sufficient to teach Engineering at a Thai university. If so, it's great to hear. But a little surprising. I guess I assumed that there were enough Thais with Engrg. degrees to fill those teaching jobs.

Thanks again,

Les

Dr. Fisher wrote:

<<If you have a degree in engineering I would suggest you teach engineering. I teach at CMU in my field of education and have an easy well paying job with great benefits including health care, paid vacations, sabbaticals, housing allowance, work permit and visa (all taken care of by the university and paid by the university) as well as Thai social security (no matter how little it is, its nice to know they care).>>

[DrFisher]

CMU treats me like gold I am so much happier to be there than I ever was in my native country. As far as engineering goes I don’t know for sure what they have in the way of jobs but I know there are many foreign teachers there that only have a B.A. from their home country. Because CMU has an international program (all taught in English) they do hire native speakers of English to teach just to give a department international status. So, it is worth checking into. The pay is fair you receive a visa, work permit, health care benefits, paid vacation, sick days and more holidays than you can imagine not to mention at least 2 or 3 months off a year with pay and oddly enough social security from the Thai government when you retire (it’s obviously not much but it is nice that they bother to include you).

[lawman3966]

Dr. Fisher,

Thanks again for the information. It sounds like you have found Nirvana at CMU. Congratulations.

I won't be moving to LOS for some time. But, it's nice to know what the options are. (I have two B.S. engrg degrees (mechanical and electrical) and a Law degree in case it's relevant to any types of opportunities you're aware of).

Regards,

Les