Volunteer, Internships and Work Opportunities

INTERNATIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE

L-R Student Amanda Patterson teaches ESL at this school in Thailand

The OIE has information and resource materials on working, volunteering, and interning abroad. Make an appointment with the OIE staff to discuss how an international internship can become part of your L-RC academic program.

Working in another country as an intern, a volunteer or a paid employee requires that you understand the culture. While you are living and learning in another society, you will also be finding out how to do a job and adapt to a different working environment. Some of you may also be refining your foreign language skills while you are making professional and personal contacts for the future.

Finding the right work experience may take a while. Start early. Check out the resources and materials in:

• Office of Career Planning and Placement
• Office for International Education
• Rudisill Learning Center

Amanda Patterson in Thailand

Ask people who have worked abroad, studied abroad [or know people who have]!

Make a list of your work preferences and your work goals and prioritize your preferred locations. Determine how long do you want the experience to be (short-term, semester, year). Lastly, identify your preferred working conditions (supervised, structured, relaxed).

A very important point to remember is that you should avoid jumping haphazardly into a work situation. Examine the job requirements, ask questions and get references. Here are some starting points:

o Ask the employer for names of former interns so that you may contact them.

o Check with students on campus who have interned abroad.

o Request a job description from your future employer or internship sponsor.

o What is the compensation (salary, room and board, college credit, stipend)

o Check out the structure of the internship experience.

Student temporary work permits can be arranged before you leave the US. Among the agencies who arrange for this are the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE). Check out their web site www.ciee.org for information on eligibility requirements, application procedures, overseas work programs.

If you are looking for volunteer opportunities where you can work as part of an international team check out another Council site (www.councilexchanges.org). There are over 700 projects listed in 30 countries.

Resources

AFRICA World Teach based in Harvard recruits college graduates to tech science, English, etc. in Namibia and South Africa.

ANTARCTICA Raytheon Polar Services hires 800 US citizens for US Antarctic Program including both general assistants and skilled staff for 4, 6 or 12 months www.rpsc.raytheon.com

Au Pairs Europe places in 21 countries including Australia. http://www.princeent.com/aupair

BUNAC (British Universities North America Club) operates the "Work in Britain " program that lets US university students and recent graduates to take virtually any job in Britain for up to 6 months. BUNAC is also available in Australia for up to 4 months and up to 12 months in New Zealand. http://www.bunac.org

CENTRAL AMERICA - God’s Child Project has volunteers interact with some of the most destitute children of Guatemala building homes, teaching and working. http://www.godschild.org

EUROPE - Ministry of Culture in France publishes a list of excavations / archeological digs that need volunteers. http://www.culture.fr/fouilles

NEW ZEALAND - Earthwise Living Foundation places international visitors in a variety of settings for internships of 3 months. http://www.elfnz.com

Peterson’s Guide (www.petersons.com) publishes Overseas Summer Jobs and Summer Jobs in Britain which give you lots of ideas on how to find work, apply and obtain the work visa.

SWITZERLAND - OOF-Switzerland (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) has information on working for your keep on an organic farm. Also Germany, Italy, Ireland, Austria http://www.welcome.to/wwoof

Transitions Abroad Magazine (http://www.transabroad.com) also publishes Work Abroad: The Complete Guide to Finding a Job Overseas. In addition, their magazine annually issues a special edition devoted to volunteer opportunities, internships and work abroad. Here are just a few of the over 200 suggestions:

WORLDWIDE CDS International arranges 3-6 month paid internships in Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Austria for student or recent graduates in business, engineering and related fields www.cdsintl.org 

YMCA Go Global has a range of outbound programs lasting up to 3 or 6 months worldwide. Teen leadership, English teaching or camp counseling ips@ymcanyc.org

Opportunities to teach English abroad are typically in those countries where English is needed. Although you may not need formal EFL (English as Foreign Language) training, it helps to have a certificate or the fundamentals of methodology and second language assessment and acquisition.

Check out Teaching English Abroad by Susan Griffith (Vacation Work, Oxford, England)

Some helpful web sites are

http://www.elca.org/dgm - Divison of Global Missions of the ELCA has internatinal service opportunities in the UK, Phillipines,

http://www.eslcafe.com - Dave’s ESL Café: job postings, opinions from other teachers, and other ESL links.

http://www.tesol.edu

http://www.tieonline.com/

http://www.cie.uci.edu/~cie/iop/teaching,html

http://www.jobsmart.org