How can I write and eat?

There are many questions that plague the starting author. Among the most important is, "How am I going to earn money while I write this novel?" Some turn to the service sector (as I once did, never again) while others look for grants or other sources of revenue. If these choices don't thrill you and you aren't independently wealthy, there may be options you hadn't considered. I found a good way for me, maybe you'll like it too. Try teaching overseas. I went to Korea for a year in 1999, and I'm back for another now. It can be a great experience. It can help your writing. It can also be a nightmare.

First of all, let's look at the qualities a successful applicant must have. I can only speak from my experiences in Korea, but some of the details will be universal no matter where you go. First, you will have to leave your family, friends, and home for a year (or more). If you don't have any of these, no problem. If you do you have to think about things. Can you deal with home sickness? Is it worth it to give up a year of what you know for something that may or may not work out? Am I even capable of living in foreign country for a year? There is no way to be sure until you try it, but here are a few tests. If you have ever traveled, and found your self desperately longing for home after a few days, things will probably not work out. If you are married and have children, things might work, but you will have to do some hard searching to find a place that will accept that. If you have ever been out of your home country and found yourself saying, "This isn't like back home," and you thought that was a bad thing, this probably isn't the path you should take.

Now, I have known a few people who go overseas with visions of teaching classes of eager business men and college students in their heads. Sad to say that, at least in Korea, this is not the norm. Most schools teach children. If you don't want to teach children, be very careful who you sign a contract with. There are some schools that deal exclusively with adults, but not many in my experience. If you like working with children, however, you will have no problems.

Now, there are a few real qualifications you need to have if you are going work overseas. First, you must have a University degree to work legally. It doesn't have to be an Education or English degree, although that will give you a slight advantage. At my first position we had two Education graduates, one person with a Science degree, one with Cinematography, one with a Multimedia degree, one business major, and one with general arts. They were all worked out fine.

One final thing before your job hunt starts. Make sure you have all necessary documents. If you don't have a passport get one. If yours is near expiration, renew it. You don't want to get a job and then have to wait a month for all the paperwork to get done. Make sure you have your diploma available too. You will either need to get notarized copies or have your original on hand for a work visa to be processed. Have all your University transcripts handy as well, as you may have to send out copies of those too.

If you have all the qualifications, you have to find a place to work. There are a lot of companies out there who would be happy to find you a job teaching English. I recommend you avoid them. I'm sure there are some reputable ones, but I have read many complaints about such organizations. Often they charge both the institute and the teacher for matching up. Many of them will happily lie to a teacher and then disappear once the teacher is in the country. If a teacher has a problem with the school, tough. Both times I took a contract in Korea, I found the job on my own, or with the help of friends in Korea. It is not all that difficult.

The first place to look would be job boards. I found my first position at the local university posting center. That seems to be a common way to advertise. I have also seen numerous posting boards on the net, the biggest (and best as I have been told) is Dave's ESL Cafe. You could also ask around and see if anybody knows someone who has done this before and can give you some tips on where to apply. Finally, you could just cruise the net and look for ESL or EFL schools in the country of your choice and send out resumes and letters. Many of them will accept these documents over email, so try to save on postage.

Once you have sent resumes and so forth, you will eventually be contacted about a job. Now the problems may start. Many people heading out for the first time take the first offer and go. Don't do this. Always research the place that is offering you a job. These places are mostly unregulated, so there are a number of shady operations. OTOH, from what I have read the Universities and other government programs are not a lot better. Be very wary. Ask for contact information for past foreign teachers. Contact them and find out what kind of place the school is to work for. Ask for an email copy of your contract and read it carefully. If you have any questions, ask. If your contact is evasive, tries to pressure you, or just refuses to answer questions, don't go. You will be able to find a good position if you look hard and are patient.

Here are some things you should look for in a contract. First of all, payment. Payment should be monthly, or more frequent. The contract should specify a date of each month when you will be paid. For some reason both places I worked at paid on the 10th of the month. Maybe that is typical for Korea. Don't expect payment too early. The schools must get payment from the students before they can afford to pay the teachers.

Second, rate of pay. The going rate in Korea is around 1,800,000 to 2,000,000 won base, which is nearly $2000 US. Don't accept a contract less than 1,800,000 unless you are getting some amazing perks. For comparison, a decent computer system costs between 1,000,000-1,500,000 won. A meal at a Korean restaurant may be as low as 3,000 won for decent food. Movie tickets run about 6,000 won. Prices in Korea for most things are very reasonable. You will make more money in Japan, but the cost of living there is much higher.

Third, working hours. Expect between 30-35 hours a week. Overtime rates I've seen are around 20,000 won per hour, which is about $20 US. Don't go for unpaid overtime. Also make sure what that 30-35 hours is. It may be teaching time, leaving preparation and other things up to you. Make sure you specify before signing what those hours are, and don't waver in your expectations.

Fourth, the work week. Some places work you Monday to Saturday. Others Monday to Friday. Oddly enough, the later do not seem to pay more than the former, and often require more hours before overtime kicks in. Look for a place with a five day week. You need time off to rest, especially working with kids. Plus, you will be in a foreign country. You are there to teach and work, but you will want to travel, and weekends are good for that. I would advise you to hold out for a five day work week.

Fifth, accommodations. Many places will offer you an apartment rent free. You will probably have to pay utilities. Ask what this means exactly. Ask if the manager can take some pictures of the place and email them to you. If they get really defensive about that, be cautious. Every place I've worked at in Korea had good living arrangements, but I have seen some appalling conditions. Also remember that what is good living varies from culture to culture, and even person to person. The place I work at now gave me an apartment that is inside the school. I love it, but many teachers would not. Of course, I haven't received a utility bill since I got here. No wonder I'm happy with the arrangements.

Some baseline qualities for accommodations. The apartment should be furnished. You should have at least a kitchen table and chairs, a bed or something equivalent for every resident (some Asian cultures sleep on mats on the floor, although they normally provide beds to keep the foreigners happy), and maybe a couch or something like that. You should also have some storage space (probably a wardrobe) and a TV and VCR. If you are to have roommates every resident should have his or her own room. In case you were wondering, I have seen reports of, or witnessed myself, all of these baselines violated. Hold out for decent accommodations, but don't expect luxury. I do know that in Japan many schools offer assistance in finding affordable housing. Housing prices are very expensive in Japanese cities, so if you are determined to go there you may have to count on paying rent.

Sixth, benefits. Look at what you get for vacation. Just about every school will close for national holidays. (Note, some won't. Avoid those ones.) Many will give you two weeks of discretionary vacation time. Make up your own mind how important that is to you. There are a lot of national holidays, including some four or five day weekends. Still time off of your choice may be nice too. Find out about sick days and medical insurance. Many Korean institutes offer Medical Insurance in the contract. When you arrive, however, you get half of your medical expenses reimbursed. This isn't a huge deal, but it is nice to know before hand. If your contract says Medical Insurance, inform your contact that you expect Insurance, not reimbursement. Explain to them the difference, even if it gets annoying. If you feel you are getting a run around, decide for yourself what other parts of your contract may be misleading.

One major source of potential problems is air fare. It is expensive to fly overseas for most people. It will be tough to get bargain rates since this will probably be a short notice flight. If the school asks you to pay for your own ticket and get reimbursed on arrival, I'd advise you to find a different school. I've heard of too many people losing a lot of money on that type of deal. You may have to pay for a ticket from your home town to the nearest big city, however. Many schools pay for the flight from the nearest major international airport to the city you will work at. You may also be asked to check prices on your end so your employer can get a better deal. If you do and book the ticket your self using your employer's credit card, make sure you insure it. Things can and do change so it is best to be sure you won't have to book a completely new ticket if they do. I've done my own booking before and it worked out fairly well, despite a one week shift in departure. Always ask the employer what sort of credit card (s)he has. Sometimes it is hard for people to understand that a North American or European travel agent will not accept a Korean local credit card. Once you've got the tickets booked, you are halfway to a new adventure in your life.

This article will be continued in:
"Write and eat 2: What now?"