Hey guy's

I'm looking to book my 160hr TEFL / China internship this week for Jan 2012. I would love any feedback you can give me....

Is the intrenship the best way of starting out?... Do you know if after the 5 months, finding work should be easy?... lots to think about!!   Many thanks :)

Finding work teaching English in china is so easy, you most definitely don't need to pay someone hundreds of pounds to do it for you.

Just my opinion, but you could save yourself a cool sum and earn 2 or 3 times what they offer you every month in pay.

The only upside to the internship that I can see is that you meet likeminded people and you can get placed with at least one person. So if you don't quite have the courage to jump in at the deep end all by yourself, *then* you might be able to justify paying them hundreds.

Not to say you wouldn't have a great time either way, but my perception of I to I has just gone down hill recently, and I can't stress enough how you really don't need them to have a future in teaching in china.

Right.... So if I don't do the internship... and just get my TEFL done.. what's the next step...? wheres the best place to start looking for jobs.. I've done a lot of google searching over the last few days ... but do you have a list ... good web site that I can start looking on ... sorry if this is a bit ABC ... but I've only just started!... any help would be great 

Couldn't have said it better. Though, adding to what Steve has said, I would personally advise both looking for jobs yourself AND asking an agent to do so. Most good agents are free, and it can't hurt to let them do most of the leg work, whilst you check out the jobs in your more preferred areas.

it helps to not be too picky about location, and I'm sure you'll have a placement in no time.

of course if you're a little worried about doing all that, you can go with I to I and let them do it all for you, and have a teaching buddy whilst you're at it. Just don't forget the cost.

Like FilterAngel and Steve have said there are both pros and cons to choosing the internship over finding an independent job. And it really just depends on you and how confident you are for your first time teaching abroad.

Here is a good article that might be useful for you in deciding:

http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/honor/posts/3563-internship-vs-going-it-alone

@stevebudd

You mentioned using "a reputable agency to find you a job".  Any suggestions?