TEFL Job Review: May 2013

Friday, May 31, 2013

Jobs of the Week June 2, 2013

How sad the TEFL industry is this week: one friggin’ job worthy of the ‘good’ rating. I hope quality jobs start popping up in time to hire teachers for September.

GOOD

1) 3 Native English teachers needed in Dongying, Shandong Province, China

Golden Bridge Training Center

Low pay, but accommodation provided in a city somewhat close to Beijing. Ample vacation time, and free Chinese lessons. Minimal contact hours. Yes, low pay, but could be a good situation. Apply.

BAD

2) Teach to Travel University Positions, Bursa, Turkey

Low pay and to think you’ll have to pay for expensive accommodation in or around Bursa, you’ll be just about to make ends meet though without going out or spending any money on fun.

3) Apply Immediately for Teaching Positions in Taipei, Taiwan

Honor Roll kerryliou@gmail.com

Low pay. No mention of contact hours. Short vacation. You will have to pay accommodation from your salary. And you’ll be teaching kids.

4) EAP tutors/IELTS teachers

Winchester School of Art/Dalian Polytechnic University

If they want such highly qualified teachers, then they should be offering a lot more money. University of Liverpool at Xian Jiao Tong starts at 16, 000 RMB.

NOT WORTH IT

5) Teach Kindergarten in Nakhonsawan, Thailand

Yuwapat Nakhonsawan Thailand mdamulligan@gmail.com

Super low pay, even by Thai standards. Max 20 kindy students in a class? And no mention of contact hours. No thank you.

6) Qualified Female Native English Speaking Teacher Needed in Khartoum, Sudan

Kibeida International Schools mkeebo@hotmail.com

If you’re only going to offer NET with 3 years’ experience and degree and TEFL certified $1,200 to come to Sudan, then you’re better off just hiring locals. This package is a slap in the face, even for the kindhearted individuals.

7) ARAMCO Contractor in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Ballenger-Atherton Group ballenger.atherton.group@gmail.com

This contractor is taking a huge chunk of the salary. As well, they are not providing you with 14 day vacations every 4 months. And they do not provide roundtrip tickets for each vacation. Do not send your resume to them.

8) Teach Online! - from $10 to $20 per hour

English-and-Skype

These bastards again? Read my other posts here and here.

Not worth your time. As a teacher, you deserve better treatment.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Jobs of the Week May 26, 2013

Maybe I'm in a generous mood? I found some good enough jobs for me to recommend. And even the BAD jobs aren't too bad. Happy hunting, and good luck!

GOOD

Very good

1) EFL Teacher – KELT - Surabaya, Indonesia

Good salary in Indonesian terms, 20 contact hours, in beautiful Surabaya, Indonesia (not Jakarta). 8 weeks’ vacation per year? You’ll have to ask if that’s paid or unpaid. However, I think I’ll be sending this job on to my friends. No mention of flight allowance or flight reimbursement. As well, is there a severance for finishing the contract?

Apply for this one quick, or else you’ll lose out.

2) EFL Teacher – Bell - TJAS – Bangkok, Thailand

Awesome base salary for Thailand. Except, no provided accommodation, or mention of allowance. That could be at least 15,000 Baht taken out of your salary each month. No mention of contact hours as well.

But, but, but, but!

8 weeks paid holiday + public holidays.

Help (whatever that means, it still sounds good) towards a flight.

A two year renewable contract! Good news

Maybe not a suitable job for absolute noobs, but if you’ve got the quals, apply!

3) Englsih [sic....they spelled ‘English’ wrong!] Way Training Center - Shanghai

The high severance is what attracted me to this post to begin with. How did they come up with that number, which is exorbitant by China’s standards?

A decent pay, but only national holidays are mentioned. And the contact hours? Yes, only 25 per week, but it does not mention if you are allowed consecutive days off? It seems you will be teaching 6 days a week.

Off on Monday. Free apartment! Flight money? No mention.

Worth a shot...

(NOT TOO) BAD

At least his undies are on...

4) English Teacher – English First training school - Nanjing, China

The posting looks presentable, and offers important information for me to make a decision whether to send my CV. Except...no salary range.

10 days paid vacation per year is low (they do work you to death in China), but one could manage if the salary was decent. But you’ll have to find out during the interview.

Still, worth a shot. Apply.

5) Find Work Abroad – Shenzhen, China

30 contact hours and 10 office hours per week...pretty steep. But, the pay is fantastic. And they give you accommodation.

If you can hack it, I’d say go for it.

NOT WORTH IT

6) Bai Da Wei Foreign Language School – Northeast China

Terrible pay for such a high number of contact hours. I’d apply to the Way Training Center in Shanghai over this place.

Not worth the hassle. Keep looking...

7) Pearson Longman Schools - Shanghai, China

Low contact hours, considerable pay, but no mention of accommodation or flights.

Not too bad, but there are better out there.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

i-to-i TEFL Survey 2013

A nice survey recently just put out by i-to-i TEFL which provides 393 TEFL teachers' views about where, and why they are teaching among others.

Some of the questions are obvious enough, with obvious enough replies. Although, I would've like to see where, exactly, are those 'All Other Responses' are teaching. Considering it is about a quarter of the pie-chart, that would warrant a more thorough explanation.

Russia? UK? USA? Australia?

Nice survey, but not very insightful.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Review of Online TEFL Course Provider www.myteflworld.com

'Make the world your classroom...by flushing your money down the toilet.'

Not worth the paper this certificate is printed on. Well, actually you have to pay £15 just to have the company print it and send it to you through the mail.

The course is only 100 hours, which is not even close to the 120 hours most employers stipulate for an acceptable TEFL course. As well, no observed teaching practice. Not accredited by anyone worth their weight in the TEFL industry (ie Cambridge).

www.myteflworld.comBut, but, but, but! If you need a piece of paper like this for a pay increase (for instance China, Korea) then go ahead and waste your hard-earned money. Do a CELTA or CELTYL to make sure you receive beneficial teacher training to earn a qualification that is accepted by nearly every TEFL job worldwide.

Do not waste your money with this company!

Jobs of the Week May 19, 2013

GOOD

1) Teaching Children English in China

Excellent package on offer in Beijing. But you’ll be teaching kids, and you’ll be paying for accommodation out of your own pocket. Ask about number of contact hours/ week.

2) Native English-Speaking Kindergarten Teacher Needed in Hong Kong

Excellent package, though you will pay for accommodation. Again, ask about the number of contact hours/ week.

BAD

3) Native English Teacher needed starting late February 2013 in Dongying City, Shandong, China

Well, not too bad...but it will be difficult trying to get a conversation out of 6-16 year old kids. Quite a rural location. Only go if you want the ‘authentic’ Chinese cultural experience. The low pay is offset by the generous vacation time, flight airfare (provided in lieu of severance – ahem, ahem) and provided accommodation. Post is requesting teachers for early February...but the posting is May 18, 2013....

4) English Teaching Positions in Thailand

35,000 Baht per month, and you got to foot the bill for accommodation? 15-25 hours teaching per week? Classes are 3 hours each? I hope to God for the teacher's sanity there's a break half-way through. Eh, not too bad. But not the best out there. BFITS provides the curriculum for you, so prep. time is limited. 11 month contract means you don’t get paid for one of those summer months. If you is a noob, you can get this job so long as your BA is related to teaching (ie English, TESOL, Education, Linguistics, etc.)

NOT WORTH IT

5) ESL Teaching Position in Foreigner Owned & Run Training Centre

Low pay, part of which will go towards accommodation. 30 periods / week teaching Young Learners? No. Not even close, bud. Choose another job.

ONLY FOR THE DESPERATE/ KIND-HEARTED

6) Native English Teacher needed ASAP!

Low pay, 30 contact hours, but accommodation provided and you’re in Brazil! Waka – waka...I guess that’s South Africa (Shakira) and the Muppets (Fawzy). If you are desperate, or like to help out those less fortunate learn English, apply, apply, apply!

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Jobs of the Week 12 May 2013

GOOD

English First (EF) Academic Partnerships - English Teacher at University in Shanghai

Good salary working for a university in a great location. Low hours and the opportunity to earn extra income during holidays make this a job to apply for.

RAY English Recruitment- TEACH IN CHINA!!

Comprehensive post with all questions answered but one: how many teaching hours per week?

Accommodation is provided, but will you be sharing with another teacher?

Salary is quite low. If you do have a TEFL/ CELTA cert, negotiate for at least 12, 000 RMB.

Becamex – Vietnam

A very high salary and severance on offer here in a beautiful spot in SE Asia. Accommodation provided and decent vacation time (30 days inclusive of public holidays), opportunities for IELTS examiner training. But no mention of contact hours, or if you have to work on Saturday.

BAD

Aston Business Consulting - High School English and/or US history teacher needed for semi-tropical Quanzhou, China

I’m surprised the salary is so low for content teachers. If you have Literature/ History experience in the US, that usually means you are certified to teach in High School, which garners more money, at least for other schools in China.

11 month contract means they will not pay for your holidays. That is a shiesty way to treat teachers who have worked their ass of for upwards of 30 students in each class, for 25 hours per week.

At least they provide you with accommodation and foot the visa costs.

Istra School - EFL Teacher – Russia

Not a bad package. $1,500 / month, shared accommodation. Contact hours? Holidays? Not mentioned...and you’re an hour away from Moscow.

TLTP Teach Global - English Teachers – Saudi Arabia

No mention of salary, contact hours. Because the required qualifications are only a CELTA/ TEFL certificate, they will rape you on the salary. Expect $1,800 – 2,500 at best. You’ve been warned.

NOT WORTH IT

European Centre - Corporate English Language Instructors – Saudi Arabia

No mention of anything helpful for a candidate to make a decision to submit a resume.

Nothing about contact hours, accommodation, flights, visas...in short if they don’t take the time to post the necessary information about the job, I don’t want to waste my time with them.

Keep looking.

ISUS - Online Language Teachers

This company always has a job post on TEFL.com. I applied a few years ago, just to see what the process was. Not a single word from them. Why wouldn’t they entertain a Ph. D. in Education fluent in three languages?

Thursday, May 9, 2013

National Careers Service

A comprehensive website devoted to the job-hunt. The site provides advice in regards to anyone seeking any kind of career or employment.

What I found useful was the C. V. section. There is a C. V. builder, advice for what to write (and leave out) in each section, as well as explanation of what some key words mean when you come across them in job adverts.

A great, useful tool, especially for fresh graduates looking for that first job, but have loads of questions about the hunt.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

5 Reasons to Research Employers/ Recruiters Before You Apply for a Job

1) Fees/ Scams

Do I have to pay a fee?

Am I being scammed?

He said I'd have a job if I sent $5,000 via Western Union

You do not want to send anyone money to secure you a job. And sometimes this information is not explicit in the job posting. You have to browse the website (if the employer/ recruiter has one) and determine if there is a price tag involved. As these employers/ recruiters do provide a service for a fee, this is not a scam. However, I suggest candidates do their own search for reputable employers that offer a comprehensive employment package without you paying them any money.

Furthermore, people will try to scam you. You should research any names of contact persons, employment organizations and email addresses. 1) Google is a highly proficient search engine, barring you enter in the proper key words in your search; 2) Use websites to check if they are scams. For instance, ScamAdviser and Scambusters allow you to check if the website is legit. Scamchecker provides a list of points to consider if the website is a scam or not. Consumer Fraud Reporting and Scamdex provide general information about internet scams. More specifically related to TEFL jobs, my blog helps you understand the strengths and weaknesses of particular jobs, sift the good from the crap, and has information available to candidates about potential risky employers/ recruiters.

2) Reputation

Is the employer/ recruiter reputable?

Not a Bad Ass Reputation

Teachers have good and bad experiences whilst working for any employer. If you discover complaints on a forum, like Dave's ESL Café, you have to determine if they are valid. What is the person complaining about? Low pay, a massive number of contact hours or personality conflicts, I think, are not valid complaints. First, you do not have to sign the contract if you do not agree to any terms therein. Second, people will clash no matter what the job is…it's life.

However, complaints like inefficiency of HR, not being paid salary, bonus or severance in a timely manner, not being reimbursed for costs, like airfare, medicals or visas, and overtime hours not compensated for, are only some examples of valid complaints.

After research, and you still question the reputation of the employer/ recruiter, do not send your resume. Look elsewhere…

3) Job Information

What are my duties?

A very important duty...deciding on which shoes the boss should wear.
But it's not related to teaching!

A teacher should, of course, be responsible for teaching. Overtime hours must be stipulated in the contract and the corresponding overtime pay. If your duties involve extracurricular activities, including, but not limited to, organizing games, attending school functions outside of normal workday hours, creating textbooks for which will be used by other members of staff, you need to get this explained in writing. You do not want to arrive at a new job, finish teaching for the day and then your boss demands you wash her car or hit the street.

If she's your employer, well then, you should maybe think about washing her car.

4) Employer Information

Who - exactly - am I going to work for?

That's why you research...to avoid working for a Chechen terrorist.

My biggest pet-peeve, one that screams the employer/ recruiter is not reputable or smart enough to invest in purchasing a website, is the use of free email accounts. Send your resume at your own risk.

Is there a website for you to research the mission, vision and goals of the employer? Are there pictures that show where you'll be working? Can you contact other teachers to ask them questions about the job?

Recruiters work on commission. The bad lot will promise you everything under the sun just to get you to sign the contract so they get paid. When you arrive to start work, you might find conditions are bottom-of-the-barrel bad. Trust only what a recruiter says if you can verify it by another source: teachers who work for the employer, message boards and unbiased reviews from a Google search.

5) Personal Preferences

What do I like/ dislike about the job prospect?

Yes...you've got to decide!

You have to manage your expectations before sending your resume. Expect a worst case scenario, and ask yourself if you still could work there.

Can you last a seventeen week semester if you're teaching thirty contact hours? What happens to your salary if your contact hours drop because student enrollment has dropped? After six months, will I want to flee the country? Can I live on the salary offered if a sizable chunk of that money is going towards renting a flat? What is my savings potential? Are promotions available?

These are just five of the reasons anyone should conduct research about potential employers/ recruiters. You should brainstorm other aspects to think about which may be of personal value to yourself. If you have other points you'd like to suggest, I'm all ears. After all, this blog is about helping the underrepresented TEFL teachers share information about employers, good and bad.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Why I Hate Employers with Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail Email Addresses

The embodiment of companies that use free email addresses.

Because it screams they did not invest any time, effort and/ or money in producing a company/ school website. Or they are scam artists.

It is near painless to have an online presence nowadays. It speaks of laziness on the part of the employer.

You could be cultivating a quality impression instead of doing this

If you promote yourself as a reputable employer, then produce a quality, informative website for candidates to browse at his/ her leisure.

People that run scams use free email addresses like the ones offered by the above mentioned companies.

Advice for job candidates: Be wary of corresponding with anyone using those free email addresses. They are either trying to scam you, or are low-quality employers.

Use your goddamned critical thinking abilities, people!

Deplorable Jobs of the Week May 5, 2013

GOOD

1) Oxford Language Center - English Teachers Guatemala City, Guatemala: July-December 2013

The post is straightforward and provides all the necessary information for a candidate to make a sound decision of whether or not to send off her resume. The contact hours (22-25) are explicit and the number of working days (5 and a half...which is quite high for only making $500/ month.) Only a BA is required. However, a candidate needs to question the post not mentioning accommodation. If you have to pay your own rent, that’s going to take a huge chunk of your salary. You’ll be breaking even at the end of the month if you don’t adjust to the typical Guatemalan way of life. The job is requiring only a 6 month commitment. It’s a chance to experience a fantastic country, and get your foot in the door. You could query other language institutes in the area and line-up a solid Business English teaching job once you finish your contract. A good job for noobs from North America.

BAD

2) ILA Vietnam - Summer School Teaching Positions Available at ILA Vietnam

Despite offering a well-written job post by a reputable company, it lacks some basic information any candidate would have to question. First, the salary is an hourly rate. Do they guarantee a minimum number of contact hours so that you’re not left eating your shoe by the end of the month? How many students in each class? Is accommodation provided or accommodation allowance added to your salary? Will you be required to travel to other institute locations to teach? Will ILA pay you for travel time? I do like the subsidized CETYL and DELTA courses on offer. Quite valuable, and I think worth it to help offset the costs.

NOT WORTH IT

3) Kawader Al Tanmiah - Teachers Needed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

No mention of salary range, vacation days, contact hours, number of students in class, or which university you will be working for. The housing allowance is vague: is that your total housing allowance for the year? As well, when they request your certificates to be verified, they need to be more specific so as to give the candidate a heads-up. In order to secure a Saudi visa, you need your TEFL certificate and any degrees you possess to be attested. It’s a long process that requires time. As well, the yahoo email address makes me wary of sending all of my personal documents to this company.

Job details

4) Yu Chia – Taiwan Buxiban (Cram School)

What I like: 20 contact hours per week, provided accommodation despite paying a low monthly rent.

What I don’t like: Not even the typical 60,000 salary. 53,000. Where did they get such an arbitrary number? No mention of flight reimbursement. The 30,000 severance is not enough to cover a one-way plane trip back to North America. Sneaky-sneaky. At the bottom of the post, it reads: ‘Be physically fit as to work nine to twelve hour days and remain active with children.’ A 60 hour work week? That’s a lot of overtime. And yes the post mentions you will be paid for overtime. But I have to wonder, what do they consider overtime work? For instance, if you are preparing lessons or decorating the classroom or participating in extra-curricular activities, those are not teaching hours. I assume this school would only pay for overtime contact hours. It is a Buxiban. They are a business. They will squeeze every ounce of energy out of their teachers in order to get their money’s worth. Also, contact email is a Hotmail address. No website for the school. Be warned!

5) Afghan Turk International School

Self-explanatory...

6) TeachingChile

Never pay a recruiter to secure you a job. There are thousands of reputable jobs out there that do not require you to pay any kind of fee. Yes you may have to foot the bill for airfare and visa costs, but the reputable employers will reimburse you. TeachingChile can go screw...just like English-and-Skype.

7) Ballenger-Atherton Group - ARAMCO Contractor seeks English and Linguistics

Congratulations! We have a new addition to my Shit List!

Come on? Really? The pay is not ARAMCO by any means. A standard, legit ARAMCO teaching position includes a 2 week vacation every four months. You get round-trip tickets for EACH VACATION. Cost of living and accommodation allowance, which is 65% of your base pay, is given to you even if you are staying in provided, free accommodation. These sons-of-bitches are criminals, just like the other bad apple recruiters working for ARAMCO. They are skimming off your salary and paying you this bullshit. Do not send your resume to these bottom-feeding scum. Really? Gmail address? Sloppy, sloppy criminals.

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