Veronica: Where are you now?

We caught up with one of our Trinity CertTESOL graduates to find out what she is doing now that she has passed the course. On successful completion of this course many graduates choose to travel and work abroad for a while. One of the great things about the certificate is that it is recognized everywhere by employers. Find out here what Veronica is doing now with hers:

1. Which location and date did you take your Trinity CertTESOL?

I studied at the Barcelona branch of Oxford TEFL in August 2015.

     2. Why did you choose that location?

I always wanted to live in Spain, so I thought that would be the best way to do so.

     3. Where are you now?

I am currently in Beijing, China teaching English.

     4. Why did you choose to go there?

I’ve always wanted to travel the world, and Asia has always been on my bucket list.

     5. Was it easy to find work?

I was actually offered my current position while I was still in Barcelona, less thank a week after graduating from Oxford.

     6. Where are you working and for how many hours?

I am working at Dot Kids International. I am supposed to work 28 hours a week, as that is considered full time, but I actually end up working a bit less for the same pay rate.

     7. What type of classes do you teach?

I teach ESL to students ranging from 2-6 years old.

      8. What are your students like?

My students are adorable and eager to learn, obviously there will always been some bad kids, but they are getting better.

      9. What is the pay like?

I get paid 10,000RMB per month, and while there are other schools that do pay more, I enjoy my current job because I don’t really have to do any lesson planning.

     10. What do you miss most about home?

Of course I miss my family, but I also miss crawfish, being that I am from New Orleans.

     11. What do you usually do at the weekend now?

Unfortunately weekends are long days. During the week I teach 4 hours or less a day, but weekends I pretty much work the entire day. The school that I work for is more of an after school ESL academy, therefore we teach mostly nights and weekends. Our days usually finish around 8pm though, so this weekend for example we went bowling, ate some street food, and got some drinks at few bars in the wonderful Sanlitun. We can also drink on the street here, so many nights consist of grabbing a few beers at the 7 Eleven and exploring the city.

     12. Where do you plan to go next?

Well, we have the entire month of August off, so I will be vacationing in Thailand, Bali, and possibly Cambodia. As far as teaching goes, we are hoping to head back to Barcelona after our contract here is finished.

If you would like to study or work abroad, you might consider taking the Trinity CertTESOL course in one of our centres. Get in touch to find out more or apply for the course here.