To kick off the new year and Blue Monday take a look at this article by Aileen Bowe: Five Steps to Leave ELT.
The article is one of three in the second issue of ‘The ELT Worker’ available here. This issue also includes an update on the Grafton College teachers, a story by Neil Scarth ‘Precarious Purple’, and another cartoon adventure of ‘TEFL Tony’.
So enjoy! And feel free to comment on the following question: Do you ever feel like leaving ELT?
Eds.
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Five steps to leave ELT
Even that rarest of creatures – a contented English language teacher – has thought about leaving the industry. The quietest teacher who spends hours preparing lessons has, during a frenzied 15-minute break, asked herself: Why am I doing this? How long can I keep it up? I deserve better. But how easy is it to leave when the time comes? This article gives you the Five Steps to Leave ELT.
1. Keep calm and carry on? Not a good idea.
The sunk cost fallacy is the idea that because a person has invested so much time, effort or money into something, no matter how unfulfilling it becomes, they won’t alter their course of action. It’s a self-destructive instinct. So ask yourself: What is it that prevents you from leaving? For me it was the thought of being ‘stuck’ in an office chair from 9 to 5 and not interacting with people in a classroom. That thought stuck in my mind and stopped me from considering other careers. Ask yourself: what’s my anchor?
2. Consider your skills you have.
The industry has beaten you down over the years and eroded your self-confidence. We compare ourselves to peers in more profitable careers and devalue our own abilities. Yet the most in-demand soft skills are creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability and time management. And if you’ve been given a rowdy Pre-Intermediate class at five minutes to the hour and told to “just revise what they did yesterday and do the next bit in the book” and you excelled at it, you’ll have these skills down-pat. If you’ve held down a teaching job while navigating life abroad, you’re resilient and unafraid to take risks. You’re highly skilled, so say a giant ‘Fuck You’ to any language school that’s ever diminished your professional self-worth.
3. Map your life.
Map your situation. Where do you want to be like in 15 years’ time? Are you on the right track? Brainstorm your skills, values and interests. Consider your financial situation—see an accountant if you’re bad with money! Ask yourself: Can you take time off to study? How far can you travel to a course or new job? What do you want to achieve in the next 10 to 30 years?
4. Choose a job.
After putting this information together, you should now be able to identify a career interest and a specific job. Next, check the job profile. Ask yourself: Could I do this? Would I be happy doing this? Can I achieve my goals doing this?
Next, do some fact-finding to get a sense of the industry. The job aggregate sites are good to start with (Indeed, Monster etc.). Look up recruitment agencies. Talk to a friend in the sector. Find out the average wage, typical responsibilities, skills and experience needed. Identify areas you have experience in, areas where you need to retrain and eliminate those that aren’t be feasible.
In terms of training, look at the wider context. Does this country/ industry emphasise experience over qualifications? We all know that having a master’s degree in TESOL or a DELTA doesn’t automatically lead to better pay or job conditions, so will a master’s degree or other qualification help your prospects, and by how much?
If you’ve decided on an industry, write out some generalised CVs and cover letters, using the skills listed in job adverts as a template. Tempting as it is, don’t block-send applications. Tailor each one. This shows you’re treating it as a unique application. It’s tortuous but worth it.
5. Start today.
A doctor tells a patient that an operation has an 80% likelihood of success, another doctor that an operation has a 20% likelihood of failure. Statistically, patients will react differently based on the doctor’s prognosis, despite there being no difference. We are irrational creatures—so don’t be hard on yourself for making bad decisions in the past!
The lure of the English language classroom is one that keeps pulling us in despite endemic employment abuses. Being in that classroom can lift you up so high, make you feel like you’re doing what you were meant to do, inspire wonderful people and open your mind. But when you leave the room and see your boss, it can all come crashing down again. If you get to the stage where the highs can no longer hide the scars of the lows, then perhaps you’ve reached the end of this career. Reframe your mindset to be thankful for the skills and life lessons gained in ELT but resolve to do yourself justice from now on.
Be truthful about what you want and start planning a better future today.
Aileen Bowe
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