Do you have
a family that you are responsible for?
How would they feel about moving
overseas and living in a foreign land?
Do you have
a spouse? How would s/he feel about
giving up their job? Will s/he be able
to find work overseas? Is s/he
interested in teaching English also?
Do you have
children? How will you educate them
while overseas? How might they feel
about giving up their friends?
Do you have
debts that must be paid while you are
overseas? If so, how much do you
need to earn/save to pay them off. (Many
people head to countries like Korea to
quickly pay off debts and student loans)
Are there any special medical issues for
you or your family that must be
considered? (Most capital cities in the
world have excellent international
hospitals with specialty clinics that
meet Western standards for good care)
Do you have
the financial reserves to return to your
home country and re-establish yourself
if things don't work out? (Or at
least the desire to "stick it out" if
things aren't exactly what you had hoped
for?)
Have you
ever taught before? Do you have any
reason to believe that you might enjoy
teaching English? Do you enjoy
working with people?
Have you
ever traveled or lived overseas before?
Did you enjoy it?
Would you
find the daily problems of living and
working overseas frustrating or a
refreshing challenge? (Your
attitude is critical)
This list is
only a beginning - as individual as each
person is -
so are the questions that need to be
answered in making this decision.
What qualities are needed to succeed?
-
They
have reasonable expectations about
their new occupation
and what it can and cannot provide
for them
-
They
understand that their new country is
not like their home country
- solutions to problems that work at
home often don't work overseas
-
They
realize that problems they had at
home will probably also exist
overseas
-
They
know they will have good days and
bad days - just like back home
-
They
know they may experience good
bosses, bad bosses, good jobs and
bad jobs - just like back home
-
They are
flexible people who can roll with
surprises and "punches"
-
They are
willing to work under different
cultural expectations,
willing to follow different cultural
work rules
-
They are
resilient and can bounce back from a
bad situation
-
They are
not generally moody or depressed
-
They
view their success as a personal
challenge
-
They
spent time
researching their move
- before they moved.
