Teaching English/Entry Level Job in Hong Kong

[tiaw]

I realise this question has been asked many times, but I have searched the forums extensively and haven't found a definitive answer, so please bear with me.

I am a 27 year old Law Graduate with a few years of Admin experience here in the UK. I have visited Hong Kong on 9 occasions, have friends and a girlfriend there, and am looking to make a permanent move this summer. I am an Irish citizen, so I am eligible for the Work Holiday Visa, and I am considering doing a weekend TEFL course before I leave.

Realistically, what are my chances of finding employment, either as an English teacher in a tutorial school, or in an entry level position?

My contacts there have given me the impression that being a native speaker and a degree holder is enough to walk into most tutorial schools, but I have also read on these forums that experience is very important, of which I have none. Where does the truth lie? During one of my past visits, I met with the owner of a tutorial school who said that he could help me out "with some hours" if I came in the future.

Can a native speaker with a degree make a decent living working in tutorial schools?

Also, is a weekend TEFL course useful, given that it does not provide official accreditation like CELTA does?

Thanks.

[bryant.english]

Also, is a weekend TEFL course useful, given that it does not provide official accreditation like CELTA does?
Thanks.

Do CELTA or TESOL.

The weekend TEFL courses are a waste of money. An employer who will employ you based on one of these will employ you without...

[M Khan]

I'm surprised you haven't found definitive answers to these questions, here on GeoExpat. As you say, the points have been discussed ad nauseum. Still, here we go again :

1. Realistically, your chances of finding a job are pretty good. There; you have a definitively good chance.

2. The truth is, more experience and better qualifications will get make a wider range of better-paying jobs open to you.

3. Yes, but see point 2, above.

4. A weekend TEFL is of limited use, but that is not to say that it is of absolutely no use at all. It may help with some tutorial centres and it might well give you some 'hands on' experience of what classroom teaching is like.

Give it all some perspective. You're probably going to hear people say that if it isn't Trinity CertTESOL or Cambridge CELTA then it isn't really worth the paper it's printed on. But is EFL teaching really your long-term goal? Are you really going to be looking for a stable, well-paid, full-time teaching post?

On the question of experience, I'd stick my neck out and say that qualifications are more important. If you have a fresh graduate who has just completed a CELTA and is looking for a first job, and you also have a candidate who has been teaching in a variety of language centres for two or three years without any qualifications whatsoever, then my initial reaction from the point of view of a prospective employer would be more favourable towards the untested yet qualified candidate. That's just me, though. And if you have two equally inexperienced candidates, then naturally you'd favour the one with qualifications (though other factors, such as ease of getting a visa, strength of regional accent, skin colour, charm and personality may all contribute to the final decision).

Be aware that there are plenty of opportunities out there for those who are willing to work for peanuts. On the bottom rung of the ladder there are tutorial centres that will dither about your visa. Feed you a load of cr*p for months on end about why your visa hasn't come yet. You end up chucking it all in when you don't get paid for several months. Then you come back to these boards and say something like "My employer hasn't paid me since November and still hasn't sorted out my work visa, despite the fact that I've been teaching in his centre for nearly a year...", and on the next thread down there'll be someone asking "Hey, can I just rock up in HK without any qualifications or experience and just walk into a job?". And we begin it all again.

Don't let this put you off, though. If you qualify for a working holiday visa, then this may help. If you have a good way with people and are resilient then you'll be ok. A sound legal basis for being here and working here is highly recommended, however if you work the tutorial centre circuit then you will probably meet a fair few people who have been teaching in Hong Kong for a while without the proper paperwork and who are quite blasé about the whole thing.

If you do start teaching in HK without one of the more widely recognised qualifications, and then later decide it's something you'd like to take further, then there are courses you could study here. But having said that, you might want to consider applying for a PCLL course and getting into law. I know a teacher on the NET scheme who is doing her PCLL part-time, right now.

[bryant.english]

Speaking as a centre manager I agree with M Khan.

I wouldn't employ someone who doesn't have a degree/TESOL/CELTA or a combination even though I know there are good teachers out there without them......only takes one parent to start shouting about unqualified teachers and you're screwed.

[Flat Hunter]

I agree with M Khan and Bryant. In addition, since I also conduct workshops in schools my teachers all have degree/TESOL/CELTA and classroom experience

[MsPoppins]

I have a degree and recognized qualification and have been working at a learning centre just to tie me over until school starts in September (hoped to get a "real" job by then). I picked the best learning centre I could find I.e best hours, best pay, convenient location.. Didn't take me long to realize they're breaking the law on several accounts; no mpf , and I am the only person working there legally (have dependent visa) as they haven't been bothered to sort out my colleagues' visas! Needless to say, have found a real job in a school which I am excited about and will be leaving the learning centre ASAP.

Sorry for the rant but my point is: if you want to teach and respect yourself, get tesol or celta and make sure you connect well with the boss and chat to some of the other teachers that work there before you make up your mind. There are great places out there but they're hard to find! It seems that there are at least 2 geoexpat members that run well established centers; carang and bryantenglish and I would listen to their advice and try and get more information if I were just starting m teaching career in hk.

[Oxygen]

I'm surprised you haven't found definitive answers to these questions, here on GeoExpat. As you say, the points have been discussed ad nauseum. Still, here we go again :

1. Realistically, your chances of finding a job are pretty good. There; you have a definitively good chance.

2. The truth is, more experience and better qualifications will get make a wider range of better-paying jobs open to you.

3. Yes, but see point 2, above.

4. A weekend TEFL is of limited use, but that is not to say that it is of absolutely no use at all. It may help with some tutorial centres and it might well give you some 'hands on' experience of what classroom teaching is like.

Give it all some perspective. You're probably going to hear people say that if it isn't Trinity CertTESOL or Cambridge CELTA then it isn't really worth the paper it's printed on. But is EFL teaching really your long-term goal? Are you really going to be looking for a stable, well-paid, full-time teaching post?

On the question of experience, I'd stick my neck out and say that qualifications are more important. If you have a fresh graduate who has just completed a CELTA and is looking for a first job, and you also have a candidate who has been teaching in a variety of language centres for two or three years without any qualifications whatsoever, then my initial reaction from the point of view of a prospective employer would be more favourable towards the untested yet qualified candidate. That's just me, though. And if you have two equally inexperienced candidates, then naturally you'd favour the one with qualifications (though other factors, such as ease of getting a visa, strength of regional accent, skin colour, charm and personality may all contribute to the final decision).

Be aware that there are plenty of opportunities out there for those who are willing to work for peanuts. On the bottom rung of the ladder there are tutorial centres that will dither about your visa. Feed you a load of cr*p for months on end about why your visa hasn't come yet. You end up chucking it all in when you don't get paid for several months. Then you come back to these boards and say something like "My employer hasn't paid me since November and still hasn't sorted out my work visa, despite the fact that I've been teaching in his centre for nearly a year...", and on the next thread down there'll be someone asking "Hey, can I just rock up in HK without any qualifications or experience and just walk into a job?". And we begin it all again.

Don't let this put you off, though. If you qualify for a working holiday visa, then this may help. If you have a good way with people and are resilient then you'll be ok. A sound legal basis for being here and working here is highly recommended, however if you work the tutorial centre circuit then you will probably meet a fair few people who have been teaching in Hong Kong for a while without the proper paperwork and who are quite blasé about the whole thing.

If you do start teaching in HK without one of the more widely recognised qualifications, and then later decide it's something you'd like to take further, then there are courses you could study here. But having said that, you might want to consider applying for a PCLL course and getting into law. I know a teacher on the NET scheme who is doing her PCLL part-time, right now.

Thanks. Helped me as well. Nice thought out answer. Maybe worth a sticky.