Use of Time Advice for a U. graduate working on TEFL cert.

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gravatar-icon Posted on · by Curtis D.

Hi,

I'm working on my TEFL cert. via UofT and I just wanted to get some advice. 

I work full time, so I get only a few percentages of the course done/week. I just passed the 50% mark, and working at this pace I would finish the cert. in March. My goal as soon as I finish the course is to find a job with a balance of comfort (pay, location) and quickness (timely). At this time, I'd say my preferences of location would be East Asia (China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan) and possibly the Middle East. I have a Mathematics/Business Administration degree. I've had experience teaching Math and Phys.Ed. to grade 3-8's for a summer. I've also worked in a math tutoring centre at a college for an internship (4 months). I'm from Toronto, Canada. 

Given my goals (finding a comfortable opportunity and quickly), how would you recommend I spend my time now? Should I split time between the TEFL course and making applications? To be more specific, I would really hope to have a job by September 2016.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

3 Comments

  1. gravatar-icon
    Myra K.
    January 11, 2016 at 2.30 am

    Hey there!

    I've only started applying myself. I just got my certificate. I would say yeah definitely spend a weekend researching the countries you want to teach in. Figure out when they hire new teachers and what documents they require. Some docs may take a long time to order, and expediting them can really be expensive. South Korea is competitive. I think now they require at least 20 hrs of student teaching practicum with your TEFL. The Middle East might be a distant dream right now. You need a minimum requirement of a BA with a teacher's license and 2 years full-time teaching experience. So set your sights for East Asia and in 2 years, you might be in the Middle East.

  1. gravatar-icon
    Janice L.
    January 11, 2016 at 12.58 pm

    Hi Curtis, like Myra, I'd recommend that you spend some time figuring out what country you want to teach in, but if you're applying on the Teach Away job board, I'd recommend that you finish the certification, add it to your certificates section of your teacher profile, before hitting that apply button. Therefore, it could be wiser to spend that extra time working towards your certification rather than looking at specific jobs -- at least until you hit the 80-90% mark.

    China and Taiwan will be a bit easier than Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong. Myra is right about the Middle East; typically a teaching license + 2 years of relevant teaching experience is required -- keep this in mind for your long term goal because switching subjects and trying to get a job in another country will be harder than teaching the same subject.

    Hope that helps. I'm happy to help if you have anymore questions.

  1. gravatar-icon
    Curtis D.
    January 13, 2016 at 9.57 pm

    Thank you both!