Sessions /
Future Proof #1075

Even before the pandemic hit, I was contemplating the evolving nature of work in our profession. What does it mean to hold a “full time job”? Is freelancing something you work up to, or work to get away from? Should experience bring a higher salary for the same work, or for more responsibilities? Is an hour of teaching worth more or less than an hour of working in an office?

And then the move to online learning and teaching so many of us experienced over the last year—and continue to experience this year—led to even more questions. Should a teacher be paid according to their own local living expenses, or according to students’ local living expenses? How do we balance our need to support ourselves with our desire to support economically challenged students? How much of what we do—not just teaching but writing articles, giving webinars, professional development, and so on—should be free and how much should be paid? What are the options for someone who loves their job but feels underpaid? How can we future-proof our careers for uncertain times?

I’m not going to pretend to have the definitive answers; I don’t think there are definitive answers. But I’d like to share with you the questions I’ve used to focus and adjust my own work life and mentor others. The conversation about how we work and how much we work and what all that is worth is one we should be having, not just with ourselves and our employers but throughout our profession.

We'll let Dorothy introduce herself!

"I'm an author, editor, teacher, and teacher trainer in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT). I taught English, French, and Japanese for over 20 years in Asia, Africa, and the US. My MA in TESL is from the School for International Training in Vermont.

I currently write and edit English language teaching materials and textbooks, and conduct teacher training workshops. My areas of specialty and interest include teaching writing, teaching reading, business English, academic English, testing, and humor. I'm a frequent plenary speaker at international conferences, and in 2012 founded my own small publishing company, Wayzgoose Press, that publishes fiction, non-fiction, and of course ELT materials for teachers and students."