In 2004 I had a TEFL certificate (teaching English to foreigners) and was looking for adventure
My only requirement was that the country I move to must be cold; anything over 20 degrees was too much, closer to 0 was good, and long-term sub-zero temps would be ideal. I'd earmarked Iceland, Norway and Finland, but it's incredibly hard to get a job there, especially if you're young and relatively inexperienced.

Which is how I wound up having a phone interview with a company in Russia. They'd fly me out, put me up in my own apartment, and supply me with a 25-hour working week on a 9-month contract. I'd be teaching employees in one company exclusively. I was really keen, especially since the place was in the frozen wastelands, 500km from the nearest airport, in a self-contained city dedicated to this one company. It was exactly what I wanted.

But apparently a teaching cert and a degree in English wasn't quite enough for the job. "Do you heff any expirientz viz da nukular industry?" asked the interviewer. Apparently the one employer in the whole town was a nuclear power station, and they were looking for teachers to work in Chernobyl Mk II. Unfortunately for a 22-year-old whose most exotic working locale was a summer in Margate, the answer was "no", which wasn't really the answer they wanted. I was politely refused the position.

I do wonder if they ever found a nuclear scientist with the right pedagogical training to teach English; it's a bit of a fucking niche career.
( Grrrmachine the indifference engine, Tue 16 Jun 2015, 7:49, 6 replies)

At least you didn't end up in Poland or owt.

(yo man river INVINCIBLE, Tue 16 Jun 2015, 8:46, closed)

It's pretty much Russia though, innit?

( drimble he'd been white, he'd been black, Tue 16 Jun 2015, 9:37, closed)

My Polish uncle was always terribly flattered when people pronounced his name in the Russian fashion.

(yo man river INVINCIBLE, Tue 16 Jun 2015, 10:27, closed)

tered ulent
( Grrrmachine the indifference engine, Tue 16 Jun 2015, 10:58, closed)

I was once browsing the TEFL job boards,
when I found a job for the British Council. They were looking for someone with a bachelors degree, masters preferred; CELTA, DELTA preferred; at least three years in the armed forces; and a qualified Land Rover mechanic. I wonder if they found that person.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Tue 16 Jun 2015, 14:07, closed)

You'd be surprised
If you meet a male EFL teacher over the age of 40, they're either ex-military or running from a collapsed post-divorce life in their native country.

British Council used to be a very old-school-tie organisation though; their standards have dropped a bit in the last few years.
( Grrrmachine the indifference engine, Tue 16 Jun 2015, 14:16, closed)