THE DAY-TO-DAY GRIND: Both Binik’s teaching jobs included evening work. She’d usually do an hour or two of preparation, and then teach for three hours. At her second job, she’d also write exam questions, and spend a good part of her day writing and editing a newsletter intended for students learning English.


NAME: Rebecca Binik


OCCUPATION: ESL Teacher AGE:


27 BASED: Taiwan


Rebecca Binik completed her undergraduate degree in philosophy, packed her bags and headed to Taipei, Taiwan. She took a one-year contract with Kojen English Language School, then moved on to an editing position where she also taught English and business English. Binik says the best part about being teaching English as a second language (ESL), is the cultural exchange between teachers and students.


HER SHINING MOMENT: “I taught a basic English conversation class for adults. In the last class of the semester I usually screened a movie. When the school DVD player wasn’t working, I crammed the entire class into my apartment, where we watched Witness with Harrison Ford and ate xiao che [snacks]. The movie was a bad choice because there isn’t a lot of dialogue and there is a topless scene with Kelly McGillis.”


THE TOUGH STUFF: “It takes a lot of energy, especially with people who are shy. For example, one of the Chinese virtues is modesty. Many of my students could speak English proficiently in their heads but you would never know it. It took me ages to realize they weren’t talking for fear of boasting.”


TRAVEL TIME AND LIFESTYLE: There are lots of options out there—you can get some teaching jobs where you have to work really hard; with others you can take it easy.


WHAT YOU NEED TO GET INTO IT: Requirements differ by country. In Taiwan, a bachelor’s degree and TESL certificate are a must. With a B.Ed., or


teaching experience you can get better jobs and a better salary. But, according to Binik, not everyone has such qualifications. “I met loads of people who never went to university, bought their degrees online and worked as pre-school teachers. They were party animals.”


THE PERSONALITY FACTOR: Binik says an ESL teacher should be social, energetic, adventurous and open to different experiences. In the classroom, though, she says, “I think ESL teachers need to be either really strict, really funny or both.”


THE MONEY FACTOR: Extra qualifications like a TESL certificate, teaching experience or a university degree in education will get you a higher salary, but Binik says that either way you won’t get rich. “For that, you need law school.”


OTHER OPTIONS IN THE FIELD: Pre-school classes are a favourite among some teachers because they are laid back and more consistent; teaching older kids and adults, on the other hand, requires more preparation. Another option is private tutoring, which can be lucrative, though you have to market your services and develop your own list of clients.


WORDS OF WISDOM: “My best advice is: do it, don’t give up when culture shock hits, learn the language and make as many friends as you can.”


NAME:


Marc-André Roy


OCCUPATION: International Business Consultant


AGE: BASED: 29 Jordan (most recently)


As a consultant for Ottawa-based CPCS Transcom, Marc-André Roy, 29, advises governments on attracting private investment for infrastructure. A veteran traveller, Roy’s experiences abroad strengthened his drive to do internationally- focused work.


THE DAY-TO-DAY GRIND: When Roy started his cur- rent job, he worked with foreign government officials to attract private sector investment for projects such as railways, ports and urban transit systems. His first assignment was in Tanzania, working on the privatisation of the Tanzanian railway. Since then he has worked on projects in China, Brazil, Jordan, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.


HIS SHINING MOMENT: “I am often involved in help- ing governments to negotiate contracts. When you finally get a big contract signed, and every- one is happy and looking forward to moving ahead, then that’s very satisfying. On a personal level, I really try to make friends locally and with them, experience things that I might not encoun- ter living out of a 4- or 5-star hotel.”


THE TOUGH STUFF: Being away from family can be tough. The constant jetlag, time in airports and


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on-the-go lifestyle can be tiring. “People roman- ticize international business and international travel. It’s a reality of this career that a lot of people don’t understand at the outset.”


TRAVEL TIME AND LIFESTYLE: When Roy is away, he works in clients’ offices during their working hours, then usually goes back to work in his hotel. When he has free time, he’ll go and explore the country. Until recently, he’s been away 50 to 70 percent of the year, with each trip lasting three weeks to one month.


WHAT YOU NEED TO GET INTO IT: Roy holds an International MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto. An MBA is helpful because his company competes for jobs inter- nationally, and bids include employee résumés, so an MBA or PhD is more attractive than a bach- elor’s degree. Foreign languages help as well. But the most important thing is to have an analytical skill set and as much international experience as possible.


THE PERSONALITY FACTOR: You have to be flexible and be able to pick up and go, think, react and be personable. You need to be able to feel your way around and make friends easily.


THE MONEY FACTOR: There is a huge range in salaries. If you’re working for an NGO in a developing coun- try, you can expect a low salary. On the other hand, a career in international banking might be quite lucrative. Of course, there may be perks like flying business class and staying in nice hotels. Other options in the field: It’s also possible to


find work in international business with a number of other analytical skill sets such as engineering, IT or marketing.


WORDS OF WISDOM: “It’s a lot of fun! It’s very excit- ing, but make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Get as much international experi- ence as you can early on. Don’t worry about job postings, just go meet people who are working in places that you’re interested in, in the sectors that you’re interested in. And enjoy it—it’s a blast.”


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