Employment & Prof. Development

I am 61 and want to retire and teach abroad. I hosted a Chinese high-school girl for six-months, and I am still in touch with her mother in Lanzhou, although our student is now at the university in Beijing. I'm confused about the rules for seniors.

Is there a particular organization to go through for older ESL teachers, or would it be best to ask the mother in Lanzhou if she knows of anyone? I really want to do this (I want to go to Mongolia, actually, but I hear that can be difficult at my age). What advice or suggestions can you give me?

Thank you so much -- glad I found this site!

Sharon

Dear Sharon,

There are numerous guidelines set forth by the SAFEA (State Administration for Foreign Expert Affairs) but they are strictly advisory. Provinces are free to pick and choose which guidelines they will adopt and enforce and even when a guideline has been officially adopted, exceptions are made to it all the time. Technically speaking, there is a “60-year old” maximum age rule out there but it is only sporadically enforced. The truth is there are many foreign teachers in their 60s and 70s who are legally teaching in China with a Z-visa and residency permit. If you are willing to work in 2nd and 3rd tier cities, as well as more rural areas, you won’t have any difficulty finding EFL employment at your age (especially if you have a college degree or a TEFL certificate).

My personal preference would be to try to find work on your own or with the help of your student’s mother. In the event you ran into the problem of ageism (which is rampant in China), then you could always try an agency. The only recruitment agency linked to by the SAFEA is ChinaJob.org, so I would start with them.

If you have any additional questions, you can feel free to ask. Best of luck to you.