If you’re finding that the baby-boomer generation isn’t retiring as completely as those economists predicted, and now, there’s mega competition for supply-teaching lists…you might want to do what I did.
Finding myself “light on my feet”, my partner and I decided to travel and teach abroad. Everyone kept telling us to “do it while we were young”. That seemed a bit depressing. You don’t have to be young.
However, in terms of travelling to some countries…it can be less of a Visa headache if you are under 31.
Unlike Canada, Australia needs teachers right now. Also, Australia will give you a “Working Holiday Visa” that lasts one full year. On this visa, you can work for any employer (for up to six months). You can teach, bartend, milk cows, (my inner ambition: become a barista and learn the art of making the perfect Melbourne style coffee)…it’s your thang.
After teaching overseas for any stint of time, when you return home you will automatically be more marketable to schools.
If like me, you were a little unsure about exactly how you move 30 hours away from home (!), Leading Out will not only help you work out those kinks, but they can help you find a teaching job. They do lots of other nice things for you too which you can talk to them about by going to www.leadingout.net.
Here are my Tips:
The busiest teaching months in Australia are from April-November which means that you can work a little bit in Canada during Canada’s busiest months, and then come teach in Melbourne, Australia (voted most liveable city ‘04, ‘05) for a year. If you are just graduating, then a fantastic time to come is June or July, stay for a year, and be back in Canada in time for the next school year.
“Oz” is such a great country, with so much to see, I recommend that you come over here for the full year, with some travelling money saved from Canada, and then work it back while you are here!
Leading Out can assist you with teaching positions in Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and the UK.
If after five years of schooling, you want to be at the front of the classroom, but find you are stuck in a queue, why not enjoy the fact that an older generation is still so healthy and active–and make your own experience?
Loading ...
