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For college seniors in a poor economy, graduation is nearing and the job market is slumping. Many students finishing their four-year degrees are rapidly approaching the real world and without a secured career in sight. At The University of Arizona, 2009 graduates are saying “Adiós escuela, hola España!” by uncovering a solution to the economic disaster.
Since the number of available jobs for college graduates is anything but ample, two UA seniors are packing their bags and leaving on a jet plane to teach English as a second language in Spain.
Caroline Sethney, a 22-year-old Family Studies and Human Development senior said, “I would like to go to Spain and teach English for about six months starting next January.”
She said, “I’m planning on going to law school in 2010, but before I do that I need to find a way to provide for myself financially.”
Sethney studied abroad in the summer of 2008 and fell in love with the country, she said.
“I knew I wanted to go back and while I’m young I figured this is a good time and a good opportunity for me to go back because I don’t have too many responsibilities keeping me down right now.”
Breeynn Johnson, 21, a communications senior at UA has a similar plan and is planning to cross the pond in November.
“My mom brought it up to me as a suggestion because she knew someone who did it and loved it so I looked into it and decided that I’d really like to do it,” she said. “I’m just working and saving money until I leave.”
At UA, the Center for English as a Second Language offers a program to certify students with bachelor’s degrees to English abroad with a four-week certification course called Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
“I’m applying to the class in October because I’m taking an LSAT prep course over summer,” said Sethney. “I would ideally be there from January until June when their school gets out and then come back to U.S. to attend law school in August of 2010.”
The TESL program can set students up with references and information on different schools and countries that are seeking to employ individuals to teach English and a number of other subjects. You can request where you want to work and see a list of places that are available, said Sethney.
“It’s a like a contract with any job where your can negotiate your terms,” she said.
Johnson said, “Depending on which program you go through, a lot of them are really good about setting you up with a job after you’re done. There are opportunities around the whole world.”
While these two UA seniors have discovered their outlet in dealing with the economic crisis, they still worry about graduating during this tough economic time.
“My professors have actually told me it’s not a good time to graduate and that students should try to stay in school as long as possible since there aren’t a lot of jobs for students with undergraduate degrees,” she said.
Johnson said, “I’m excited to graduate but it’s going to be hard to get a job that you want right now,” she said. “Graduating with only an undergrad degree isn’t that big of a deal anymore which is why we’re being pushed to go to grad school.”
With the encouragement of professors to stay in school, it’s a good thing these 2009 grads have discovered a way to further their education and enable them to pursue the dream of working an international job.
“I feel like I would make more money teaching English in Spain than I would working in the U.S. at Starbucks where I currently make minimum wage,” said Sethney.
“It’ll give me a lot of life experience and independence and I’ll come back being a really good Spanish speaker.”
Johnson also works her way through college and is glad that she’ll be able to give up serving tables for something more useful to her degree.
“I want to travel and I want to become fluent in Spanish so it’ll be really good for me to come back to the U.S. as a communications major and be fluent in another language,” she said. “I don’t want to still be doing the work that I’ve done all through college and that other people can do without a bachelors degree.”
Sethney thinks that going to Spain for several months will help her transition to a more career-oriented job in the U.S. and will benefit her professionally.
“I know I’m a pretty smart person, but I don’t think that college in my area of study has prepared me for a specific career right now,” she said. “Even if I got a job right now I think I would need a lot of training because I’ve learned a lot of background information and theories, but I haven’t been taught how they can be applied in real life, career situations.”
Sethney has a strong desire to live in Europe at some point in
her life and thinks that the TESL program is a great way for her to
explore that aspiration.
“I just want to live in Europe and think I should spend some time there before I move indefinitely, and now I can really do that,” she said.
Johnson is just excited to travel to new countries and work hard to learn another language to enhance her degree.
“I’m mostly excited to become fluent in Spanish and maybe pick up a couple other languages along the way.”
For more information of Teaching English as a Second Language, students can go to the web site at http://www.tefl.net .
¡Buena
suerte!