Foreign Teachers Going Home
What People Are Doing Now
Written By Jackie Bolen
I have been teaching English in Korean universities for the past ten years and have recently decided to return to Canada. Part of me is very, very excited to reconnect with family members and old friends, and to be in a place where everyone speaks English, while the other part of me is somewhat terrified. Dealing with reverse culture shock, finding housing, and moving my belongings and two cats as well as myself across the Pacific is going to be difficult and time-consuming. The biggest question mark, though, is what I am going to do for work? In order to alleviate some of my fears and learn from the experiences of those who have gone before me, I decided to survey my old friends, see what trends I could uncover, and hopefully learn from their mistakes.
I designed a survey and hoped that at least 20 people would participate, but actually 55 of them responded, which resulted in more useable data. I asked questions about mistakes they had made when returning home, tips they could offer, and most importantly, what they are currently doing for work. Here are some of the survey results.
Teaching in Public Schools
Clearly, it is easiest to make the transition into a job related to education than to something completely different. Many people returned to university immediately after returning home in order to obtain a teaching certification which allowed them to teach in public schools. The key is to apply for these educational programs while still abroad so that you do not have too much time just waiting to enter a program and spending your hard-earned money. Other respondents, especially Americans, were able to do the application process mostly online while still in Korea. This benefited them greatly because they could hit the ground running and not have a lot of down time looking for work. In many cases, people found jobs in their home countries while still abroad.
Teaching ESL/EFL
Something that surprised me was the high number of people teaching ESL/EFL in their home countries. However, people mentioned that many of the jobs teaching English are not excellent in terms of pay and benefits, and that they often require serious qualifications (experience teaching adults + CELTA). At first, you may have to take these less-than-stellar jobs or piece together part-time teaching jobs until you can get more experience and network your way into something full-time. A reasonably lucrative gig that some respondents mentioned is to get qualified to administer and grade exams like the TOEFL or IELTS tests. While this is usually not steady work, you can make a significant amount of money in a short period of time and the experience can give you a leg up on the competition when applying to some of the better-paying, full-time jobs.
Other Jobs: Humility and a Willingness to Start at the Bottom
Respondents who obtained jobs in business, customer service, or government mentioned the need for humility and a willingness to take entry-level positions. The good news is that it is possible to advance through the ranks if you work hard and take your job seriously. Hiring managers may not look favorably upon your time abroad, and they might wonder what exactly you were doing and why. Survey respondents used words like “confusion” and “bewilderment,” and mentioned the need to prepare a well thought-out response for how time spent teaching abroad developed skills that will be assets for the company.