Seeking Professional Insights & Connections

[Vagrant Violet]

Hey, all. As many of you all know, I have been a member of this forum for nearly 16 years. Apart from being known as Vagrant Violet, some of you may also associate me as being the BAExpat resident ESL teacher. I am initiating a post for the first time in quite a while, both humbled and apprehensive (I know all too well how things can quickly go awry and escalate here).

Voy al grano - I am actively seeking a career change, and with that, hopefully a job in the near future to support my family (as I am the sole breadwinner). I love teaching, but in light of a number of… changes, for lack of better words… I need to branch out and diversify my means of earning a living.

I’m not afraid of hard work, starting at the bottom, or having to upskill, but I have been hitting the same snags. Firstly, it is nearly impossible for me to get a remote job (teaching or otherwise) in the United States where I am authorized to work legally because I am not physically there. The catch is that I can only realistically do remote work at this point; my husband and I have been tag-teaming for more than a decade raising two special-needs kids who both require therapies, maestras integradoras and special schools, handling family emergencies and insurance trámites, and so on. For this reason, I can’t work fully on-site. I’m going in circles and it’s getting pretty disheartening.

There is a diverse mix of members on this forum of different nationalities, experiences, and knowledge. Hence, I want to pick your brains in terms of any recommendations and/or connections. As I wrote at the start, I’m feeling apprehensive and humbled, but I would not be posting here if I didn't really need to pull out all the stops. If it piques anyone’s interest, I can gladly share my LinkedIn profile, CV, and other professional details about myself and my skill set.

Thank you all in advance. - V.V.

 

[LuckyLuke]

Howdy Violet,

I assume by "changes" you mean a drop in salary, toxic work environment, or burnout. Assuming it's the first two of those 3 guesses, have you considered teaching private classes or private study groups? There's likely many spanish speakers who learned english and teach it privately, but I would think a native speaker with professional teaching background would give you a competitive edge.

Have you also thought about offering career counseling privately to those interested in being teachers or breaking into the education system?

Have you thought about pursuing translation? Reaching out to interpretation companies as a phone interpreter (pay by minute)?

Have you thought about offering speech therapy for disabled children?

Remote work is competitive and you will probably want to leverage your existing strengths.

Hope that helps!

 

[Rich One]

Violet,
It's always more likely to find a job in your area of expertise. Teaching and Bilingual skills seems your forte.

Teaching English online is very productive for some that that charge between US$20 to US$40 an hour as in the following link. For corporate students. Bilingual English/Spanish teachers are in demand

https://preply.com/en/teach?campaignid=21790652287&network=g&adgroupid=169411593318&keyword=preply&matchtype=e&creative=716124973407&targetid=kwd-48779027204&placement=&loc_physical_ms=9198587&device=c&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkoe9BhDYARIsAH85cDOlCD_kazOg5KtRcXHwnYPKorjzEJ07tnGspn8Ou2sOzsGB8A8S95waAlelEALw_wcB

Teaching online to young students overseas (Saudi Arabia). Some Forum members are on this field.

The local American Chamber of Commerce , has sometimes online listings of positions sought or open with Chamber Associates.

Explore the hospitality field i.e. Hotels, some hire temporary receptionists and staff for the holidays . Or night shift.
Just a few thoughts will send more later
Suerte

 

[nikad]

Years ago I did https://join.tutorabc.com/english/#/ teach English to Taiwanese students. The job is not the best, but it is remote, flexible, pays in usd, money is ok, just an idea.

 

[billyarboles]

Spinning off the hospitality field suggestion, I was once hired by a hotel manager I knew to teach group classes/lead conversations to sharpen the English skills of her staff, most who had some ability to speak and understand English. The focus was obviously on vocabulary and topics specific to the hospitality field, but it could easily be applied to a variety of other fields where staff interact with English speakers.

 

[Vagrant Violet]

Thank you to those who have responded.

I assume by "changes" you mean a drop in salary, toxic work environment, or burnout.

In response to LuckyLuke's question, it is a little bit of everything - One of my main bread-and-butter jobs, teaching remotely for a nonprofit organization that teaches English language and life skills to refugees and immigrants living in the United States, just received notification today that its federal and state funding is being cut off (y'all know what's going on in the US of A at the moment ). Right now, there is a lot up in the air as far as that organization goes, but it seems that within a few weeks, they may not be able to continue their services and I will be without that work.

The instability of the whole ESL field has been draining, now more than ever. There's undoubtedly more competition. It's not only from educated non-native speakers (not to mention people who have no degree but have the "I speak English as a native speaker, so I can teach it" mentality). Being constantly on the hunt for new work and students takes a lot of time and a lot out of me. I have never been fired in my life, but (including the previously mentioned NGO), I've been laid off about 4 or 5 times in my 20+ years in this field. I don't see it getting any better in the long or short term future.

I need a Plan B career-wise. I need something less volatile that has a relatively more stable future (so that I won't have to be in a hand-to-mouth situation and hopefully retire with something one day).

Once again, I really appreciate your input and suggestions. Please keep them coming
-Violet

 

[Rich One]

Violet,
Here's a link for Computrabajo a site that has offerings for bilingual jobs in different fields.

https://candidato.ar.computrabajo.com/Acceso/