BootsnAll Travel Community

I'm testing my idea that teaching english is the most feasible way of doing this...and that even on a site filled with people who love to travel, not so many have actually done it because it's generally pretty difficult.

As I'm an American, I would be most curious to hear from non-Eu people who have worked abroad - it can be as brief or detalied as you'd like but can you just mention:

where?
what you did?
how you were paid/visa issues? (legally, in kind/in exchange for room and board, on a student exchange visa like bunac)
how you came upon this job?

For me:
Bosnia, Hungary, Slovenia

taught english, some proofreading

generally had a work permit/paid through a bank account

found the jobs independently - searching online or in travel books or via networking.

The one time I volunteered in exchange for room and board was in India and it was just very disorganized and not productive...

Internship in Irish Parliament, in Dublin, Ireland (duh), it was through school, didn't need permits and such. Non-paid position.

Marketing for a fitness products company in Sydney. Got through connections in the fitness industry, cash-in-hand (thus, no visa problems)

Waitress/bartender in Sydney, paid BUNAC to sponsor me for a 4 month work Visa. BUNAC was useless other than the face that it was the only way I could get my visa. Paid through local bank acct. Oh, found the job on a bulletin board in Sydney.

where: Brisbane, Oz
what: acting for a university corporate video (short gig, 2 hours but at $20/hr, can't beat that!) -- easiest job in my entire life
how was I paid: cash in hand, off the records
how I came upon this job: went to an international students BBQ and was hired on the spot

was also offered potential parts in movies about the Maori (they needed dark skinned extras), but was about the time that I was leaving the country, so never did it.

For me

6 months in London on BUNAC.

I worked a Westminster Abbey.

It is was an interesting place to work.

I was sad when it was all over.

4 month student internship in London (BUNAC) which turned into an additional three years after finishing school six months later.

i've been working in Switzerland for the past 4.5 years, except...

the past few months volunteering in Thailand.

All of this work has been in software development.

australia - just turned up
germany - just turned up
thailand - just turned up
bangladesh - headhumted in a pub in bangkok
indonesia - arranged in advance
malaysia - ditto
pakistan - ditto
indonesia - ditto

I have lived and worked in Poland for a year and a half, allowing me to travekl easily and incredibly cheap, while working comfortable hours and getting paid heavily,


I am an american who came across teaching english on the internet, go to either esl.com or daveseslcafe.com tefl.com etc.. etc... etc....

I took a tesol course in krakow for one month and got my tesol certificate which is useful and accepted literally around the world, although the job i work now does not require any kind of certificate,


I teach the callan method in Bielsko Biala, very structured, little or no preperation, mostly afternoon work and every other weeken, but time off is no problem if you give warning, i make 30 zl an hour, which amounts to about 10$ an hour, which in poland allows me to live like a king and party every night, while still haveing enough to travel by train or bus or plane to anywhere in eyrope just for 3 or 4 days,



hope this has been useful,,, good luck,


ONE LIFE- DO IT RIGHT

IN JUST TWO DAYS, TOMORROW WILL BE YESTERDAY


WILD WIND

Australia - working holiday visa. Visa process took about 3 weeks. I got jobs through temp agencies, word of mouth, hostels and named referral.

Australia - student visa. Visa process took closer to 6 months and cost close to $1,000 including the medical certificate. I got work from a job I had held there previously. Totally different position than the crappy one I had before - it actually required some skill.

UK - knew someone who knew someone... No visa involved.

Keep in mind, I'm Canadian.

Where: Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand
What: Volunteer dentist
How: I just e-mailed a lot of hospitals and orphanages and offered my services. They were really happy to hear from me. Loads of people didn't have a place to accomodate me, but I would go anyway to visit the kids (no dental work, just say hello)
Didn't get paid, as it was volunteer.

Though, if you are interested in working, you can go to http://www.christinanobel.com; it's an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh city, vietnam. They hire a lot of people to work there 6 months at a time. There was a Canadian girl who worked there as an arts teacher when I was there going my volunteer work. She didn't get paid too much, but it was enough to get her a pretty slick gaff in the city!

Jet programme is an easy bet. I had about 4 mates from Canada go off to Korea and japan to teach English with them. They loved it, and the money was good too.

Where: Germany
How long: 3 years
What: Accounting

It was a loooonng time ago.....late 70s. I was a military dependant (spouse not child) so there were a lot of opportunities for government and non govt jobs related to the military.

Ireland - 3 months - work visa through SWAP - worked in crappy pubs and some telemarking. Barely enough money to live, paid above board.

Uganda - current - 6 month internship through Canadian International Development Agency - working at a university - standard stipend and free accommodation at the university is a lot of money for here. Boring job, but saving lots to travel East Africa

I worked for a US-based bank in London for 8 months, but I was basically seconded: working for the US entity out of London, rather than working for the UK-based entity. This meant that I had an employer-sponsored visa, but UK tax obligations weren't my concern - the company paid them & I paid the US. I was working as an international relocations specialst, so if anyone wants to come to the US, esp. NYC, feel free to drop me a line.

It is fairly easy to find work on yachts. The pay is good, even just for daywork. Fort Lauderdale, Florida is a good place to start. $10 to $15/hour to start and you can probably get experience on the job.

NZ - Odd jobs: gardening, WWOOFing, hostels. Just asked around.

China - English teacher. Dave's ESL cafe.

Vietnam - Divemaster. Took the diving courses with the shop and just never left.

Cyprus - Diving instructor. PADI job boards.

Egypt - Diving instructor. Emailed every dive shop in Egypt asking for work.
- Shopkeeper. Friend of a friend.
- Model. Friend of a friend.
- Recruiter. Friend of a friend.
- Well, you get the idea

None of these jobs have been strictly "legal"; I've never had a work permit. But, generally, a company that's willing to hire you without a permit is willing to take care of the consequences. (Almost no one in the diving industry works legally, outside of the US and Caribbean.) Generally, finding work isn't that hard; the biggest part of it is just being there.

I've been working in Spain as a English language teaching assistant.

I found the job through the US Embassy.

It's ok, I'm in Sevilla, and things in Andalucia move slower than in other parts of the country, and it took us three months to get paid.

But, I have a visa and am here legally, with health and dental insurance, so that's great.

It's not as difficult as you might think to teach English overseas.

My experience with it (all TEFL) since 1992:

Korea - 2.5 years - teaching EFL in a college - good pay good savings

Taiwan - 1.5 years - same as above

Saudi Arabia - 5 years - same as above - VERY good savings!

Thailand - 1.5 years - college and teacher-trainer work - usually poor salaries in Thailand!

Korea - again - 3 years EFL at a university - excellent savings

Thailand - again! Just starting as a teacher trainer again.

Worked legally in every country and every job - visa obtained by my employers. Airfare paid only in Saudi Arabia (hogwans, but not usually universities/colleges, will usually pay airfare in Korea).

Housing provided free by employers in Korea and Saudi.

Savings and not wages are usually your best measure due to difference in benefits and cost of living.

Difficult to save much in Thailand - but my home is there (Phuket) and I love the people, food, culture.

First TEFL jobs - found through adverts (pre-Internet days!) - later all on Internet. Last two jobs purely through contacts with friends.

Prior to my TEFL jobs - spent 89-91 in Botswana as a Peace Corps Volunteer. It was excellent preparation for a life overseas.

When: 1993, Feb-Oct.

Where: Venice, Italy

What: Private English tutor/babysitter for 4-year-old, 4 hours per day, 7 days per week. Pay: 1 bed in a shared hostel room, no board.

How obtained: The hostel owners were language buffs and knew I wanted to stay in Venice for a while, so found it on the spot. Illegal, hence the exploitation.

At the same time, I found some tutoring work through language schools in and around Venice. These I found through the Yellow Pages(pre-internet). This was my only source of actual cash. I also did some translation work which I found by putting up notices at the university.

years 1994-2000

Got a job teaching English in Japan by doing phone interviews w/ the owner who lived in Hawaii. That was a safe ticket there - one year afforded me $15G to repay student loans. first word I learned was 'breadcrusts' - 35 cents a bag!

'95-'96 - cultural visa through my karate master - taught English under the table. this was oh-so-sweet.

'97-'98 - found this job in the national enlish newspaper. 'self-esteem coach' (working w/ kids who had dropped out of school) was my title so I had a work visa.

'99 - outdoor sports guide & trainer, found this one in a local paper, too. had a work visa from an importing company where things didn't work out.

From my experience, once you get yourself overseas and can do some networking things fall into place for follow-up positions.

I've been living and working abroad for... about 14 years now.

I've done the Czech Republic, Germany England and France in Europe, teaching English (of course) working as a designer, in a bank, a police line-up suspect (well paid) and many many many utterly crap jobs.

I've been in Cambodia for the last 3 1/2 years working as an art director for an ad agency before going freelance recently.

I think a working / traveling lifestyle is absolutely possible to maintain, and I know many people who have also done it - most teaching english, but many who have found unique and satisfying careers as well - including myself.

I wrote an article a couple of years ago for Student Traveler Magazine about working in Europe ( Here it is)

Ciao

Have worked in Canada as a cabinetmaker on a regular Employer sponsored visa from Nov. 2002 - August 2004, came back to Germany to go back to school.
Would like to return to Canada, already got my WHV for 2006, as I will finish school in July '06 (yesssssss, can't wait anymore!).