Job options for a Canadian who is returning to Canada after 8 yrs.

[Yasmeenxox]

Hi everyone. Hopefully within next six months I will be returning to Canada, Ontario. I am in Korea at the moment and have been working here for the last 8 yrs. I have been returning to Canada, Ontario between contracts and have had a hard time finding a job in Ontario. I have four options for employment. First is I could find a job in graphic design. I have my bachelors of fine arts in Multi Media form Ontario College of Arts and Design from (2005). However I have no job experience in this field. Do you think I will find work in this field?

My second option is that I could work as an ESL teacher for adults or children. I have bachelors of Education in junior intermediate. I also did an online TEFOL (teach English as a Foreign Language) course for 120 hrs. I also have 8 years of teaching experience in South Korea. Actually I am currently working in Korea as an ESL teacher. Do you think I will find a job when I return to Ontario?

Third option is I could work as a homeroom teacher in a private school. I have bachelors of Education in junior intermediate. I have heard that its very difficult for teachers to find a job in public schools. So I could try private schools as a homeroom teacher. Unfortunately, I have no work experience as a homeroom teacher. I have worked in an Islamic School but I dono if that will count because it was nothing like what "Real" homeroom teaching is like. Do you think I have a better chance of finding a job in this field compared to the other two I mentioned above?

Fourth option is I could work as a sales clerk at a retail stores or groceries stores like Giant Tiger, Zehrs, Zellers, Stitches, Le Chateau, Walmart etc. However I have heard that is also very competitive to find a job in such fields. A few years a go I did fill up an application at Walmart but they never contacted me. I am guessing they look for someone with experience. I have worked at my dad's private store but they might not count that as experience because it's a family store. I have little experience with cash registers but it was 10 yrs ago most of it I have already forgotten. Do you think I have a chance at this job??

Which field do you think am I most likely to find a job? I will be in living in Kitchener, Ontario. Do you think there are a lot of jobs in that area? Do you think I should upgrade my education? I am also thinking of having a baby as soon as I return to Canada because I am 34 married but have no children. Do you think it will be difficult to find a job or keep a job if I am pregnant? What would you do if you were in my situation?

Any advice please!
Thank you in advance.

 

[nthompson]

Hi everyone. Hopefully within next six months I will be returning to Canada, Ontario. I am in Korea at the moment and have been working here for the last 8 yrs. I have been returning to Canada, Ontario between contracts and have had a hard time finding a job in Ontario. I have four options for employment. First is I could find a job in graphic design. I have my bachelors of fine arts in Multi Media form Ontario College of Arts and Design from (2005). However I have no job experience in this field. Do you think I will find work in this field?

My second option is that I could work as an ESL teacher for adults or children. I have bachelors of Education in junior intermediate. I also did an online TEFOL (teach English as a Foreign Language) course for 120 hrs. I also have 8 years of teaching experience in South Korea. Actually I am currently working in Korea as an ESL teacher. Do you think I will find a job when I return to Ontario?

Third option is I could work as a homeroom teacher in a private school. I have bachelors of Education in junior intermediate. I have heard that its very difficult for teachers to find a job in public schools. So I could try private schools as a homeroom teacher. Unfortunately, I have no work experience as a homeroom teacher. I have worked in an Islamic School but I dono if that will count because it was nothing like what "Real" homeroom teaching is like. Do you think I have a better chance of finding a job in this field compared to the other two I mentioned above?

Fourth option is I could work as a sales clerk at a retail stores or groceries stores like Giant Tiger, Zehrs, Zellers, Stitches, Le Chateau, Walmart etc. However I have heard that is also very competitive to find a job in such fields. A few years a go I did fill up an application at Walmart but they never contacted me. I am guessing they look for someone with experience. I have worked at my dad's private store but they might not count that as experience because it's a family store. I have little experience with cash registers but it was 10 yrs ago most of it I have already forgotten. Do you think I have a chance at this job??

Which field do you think am I most likely to find a job? I will be in living in Kitchener, Ontario. Do you think there are a lot of jobs in that area? Do you think I should upgrade my education? I am also thinking of having a baby as soon as I return to Canada because I am 34 married but have no children. Do you think it will be difficult to find a job or keep a job if I am pregnant? What would you do if you were in my situation?

Any advice please!
Thank you in advance.

My advise to you would is to stay in teaching.

My wife is also Canadian and shes a teacher as well, she left the country to teach in the UK for 6 years. Your experience teaching in Korea will for sure benefit you here but getting onto the school board like TSDB is a hard and long process as you will mostly be in a waiting list and even waiting for a possible interview anywhere from 6 months to a year just for a interview. I would advice you to apply to the school board but at the same time contact a lot of private schools like send the principles personal email of your experience and what you bring as well as apply to a few job postings for teaching in the private sector.

If you have Special Education experience and a spec head qualification that would be your way into finding a teaching job in special education really easy. My wife has her spec head level 3 and she found a teaching job within 3 weeks of being home and started officially last week.

Don't give up on what you love which is teaching and keep looking out for private schools. I had a list somewhere of all the private schools in Ontario if you want it I can have a look and try to find it for you.

Good luck

 

[Yasmeenxox]

Thank you nthompson for your response. I would actually like it if I could upgrade and take a course in Special Education. I have some experience with students with ADHD another mental disabilities. But I always assumed a homeroom teacher is more likely to get hired in the field of education. Do you know if it is a certificate that I will need in Special Ed. or a simple credit course? If you dont mind how much do you think the certificate will cost and what is the duration for the course? What does a special ed teacher make in Ontario? Is there an online course I can take or do I have to take the special ed class on campus?

Thank you once again.

 

[nthompson]

Thank you nthompson for your response. I would actually like it if I could upgrade and take a course in Special Education. I have some experience with students with ADHD another mental disabilities. But I always assumed a homeroom teacher is more likely to get hired in the field of education. Do you know if it is a certificate that I will need in Special Ed. or a simple credit course? If you dont mind how much do you think the certificate will cost and what is the duration for the course? What does a special ed teacher make in Ontario? Is there an online course I can take or do I have to take the special ed class on campus?

Thank you once again.

No problem Yasmeen,

Its a really short course think my wife done it in less then 2 months. You can do the level 1 and level 2 but to get level 3 you need to already be in a school teaching Special Needs children but even if you get to level 2 that is by far more then good enough. You can do it either online or in class my wife preferred in class and it cost around $800 if I'm correct. If you do choose to do it online you also have a real tutor who will guide and with with you through the course.

Special Education teachers make good money as they are highly needed and more and more children are getting diagnosed with multiple disabilities. Atleast you have work with children with ADHD so thats a good start right there. I enjoyed working with them when I did its very rewarding and I did it for 11 years back in the UK and Canada are so far behind on technology for children here so if you can make a good plan to sell yourself you won't have a problem.

I will ask my wife later about the course and update you.

 

[Yasmeenxox]

I would also like to ask you a few more questions. Do special ed teachers need to mark homework? Is there lesson planning involved? The school I volunteered at the teacher use to basically explain the assignment to the students with disabilities. The homeroon teacher basically took care of the marking. It seems pretty simple. Could you tell me what is the most difficult part of this job? Each syudent that you would be helping may have a different condition and disablity how do special ed teachers know how and what to teach?
thanks.

 

[Yasmeenxox]

Hi nthompson. I am so glad to meet you on this forum. I really do not know any special ed teachers that I am still in touch with. Especially now that I am not living in Canada.
Do you know if special ed teachers need to be physically fit for the job? I am 5 ft 1 inches and quiet thin. I am also qualified to teach in junior/intermediate division. Some of these kids are huge even at a very young age. Some students with special needs may need to be physically controlled (only if nothing else is working to calm the special ed student down) do you think that will be a problem for a teacher that is small in size? I would also like to know will there be other special needs teachers in the classroom with me if I need help with something? Is most of the teaching for special needs students 1:1 student to teacher ratio? how many students do Special Ed teachers have on a daily basis that come into their classroom?

I apologize in advance if I am asking too many questions that are difficult to answer depending on the teacher's circumstances.

 

[nthompson]

I would also like to ask you a few more questions. Do special ed teachers need to mark homework? Is there lesson planning involved? The school I volunteered at the teacher use to basically explain the assignment to the students with disabilities. The homeroon teacher basically took care of the marking. It seems pretty simple. Could you tell me what is the most difficult part of this job? Each syudent that you would be helping may have a different condition and disablity how do special ed teachers know how and what to teach?
thanks.

Sorry for the delayed reply been really busy the past few days. Nope not like mainstream schools where you have to mark their work on a regular basis, rarely you might be recommend to do so. Yes for sure there is lesson planning involved. Depends on the disability of the pupils as they could be global delayed so you will find yourself repeating your lessons over and over or they might just be physically disabled and their brain is perfectly fine. The most difficult task is getting used to your first class as it will take several weeks to adjust to the pupils so that you plan correctly but that is normal. I created assessments for our pupils so in that case every people had assessment forms about them which made it easier for teachers to understand their disability and makes teaching abit easier as they can understand what P levels the pupils are.

Hi nthompson. I am so glad to meet you on this forum. I really do not know any special ed teachers that I am still in touch with. Especially now that I am not living in Canada.
Do you know if special ed teachers need to be physically fit for the job? I am 5 ft 1 inches and quiet thin. I am also qualified to teach in junior/intermediate division. Some of these kids are huge even at a very young age. Some students with special needs may need to be physically controlled (only if nothing else is working to calm the special ed student down) do you think that will be a problem for a teacher that is small in size? I would also like to know will there be other special needs teachers in the classroom with me if I need help with something? Is most of the teaching for special needs students 1:1 student to teacher ratio? how many students do Special Ed teachers have on a daily basis that come into their classroom?

I apologize in advance if I am asking too many questions that are difficult to answer depending on the teacher's circumstances.

My wife is 5'2 and she is fit but do not worry your not a P.E teacher, its not your job to toilet,lift or even feed the pupils as your not trained for that. Thats when your classroom assistance come into action all you do is provide the work and make sure its taught accordingly to each individual pupil to the level that they understand. You won't be physically challenged but you will for sure be mentally changed and it depends on the level of disability of the class your teaching. As if their disability is mild you could be teaching alone but if they have ADHD for example you would normally have someone in the class. In my old school we had 4 support staff and around 8 pupils but its different in Canada so I'd say roughly around 2 support staff in a classroom of 8 pupils.


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[Yasmeenxox]

thanks again. I had some time to do some research on the internet and it turns out that there are VERY few jobs available in Ontario for Special Ed teachers. Teachers with Special Ed qualification are very common in Ontario. Most teacher have upgraded their educations with special ed and french as they are aware these qualifications will guarantee a job in the teaching field. Your wife is very lucky to have found a job in this field within the first 3 months. I searched for jobs as a special ed teacher on appytoeducation (Ontario's best website for teaching in public schools) and there was only one position available in all of Ontario! They also higher teachers that are on the roster as a long term occasional teacher. On this roster it is your luck if you land a job as a special ed teacher...I am not exactly sure how a teacher can pick a position on the roster...I have heard it is quiet tricky to get the position you like. Yes some special ed teachers position did say they only accept teachers with Special Ed 1 and 2 qualifications.
are you on a school district roster? How does it work? Is your first special ed job difficult if you don't have any experience? Will you be fired from your job is you are constantly asking for help from your co teachers?

 

[nthompson]

thanks again. I had some time to do some research on the internet and it turns out that there are VERY few jobs available in Ontario for Special Ed teachers. Teachers with Special Ed qualification are very common in Ontario. Most teacher have upgraded their educations with special ed and french as they are aware these qualifications will guarantee a job in the teaching field. Your wife is very lucky to have found a job in this field within the first 3 months. I searched for jobs as a special ed teacher on appytoeducation (Ontario's best website for teaching in public schools) and there was only one position available in all of Ontario! They also higher teachers that are on the roster as a long term occasional teacher. On this roster it is your luck if you land a job as a special ed teacher...I am not exactly sure how a teacher can pick a position on the roster...I have heard it is quiet tricky to get the position you like. Yes some special ed teachers position did say they only accept teachers with Special Ed 1 and 2 qualifications.
are you on a school district roster? How does it work? Is your first special ed job difficult if you don't have any experience? Will you be fired from your job is you are constantly asking for help from your co teachers?

Well it really sounds like you did your research. Well I believe anything is possible my wife thought she would not find a job and everyone said to me that I stand a higher chance well she ended up finding a job before me which put the pressure on myself. She got hired pretty much 2 weeks of landing as she knew someone that worked in a special education school and told the principle about my wife which then led to them meeting her and fell in love with what she had to offer and even though there was not a position for her they opened up one for her. No neither of us are on the roster. Any job is tricky at first as your trying to understand the environment and the workload its how you deal with that pressure which will make you get through the day. Private schools can pretty much sack you when ever they please as their not based on a Union. But that should not even cross your mind as you have to believe in yourself that you will blow their minds away. Thats what helped me and my wife get where we are now we never gave up and we know what we have to offer and what were capable of. Any company will be lucky to have us and would benefit greatly if they employed us. You need that attitude!

 

[Yasmeenxox]

You are right nthompson. Attitude is everything.