Mark Sinnott
I loved many aspects of life at Maynooth. It was full of country folks like myself, and it was easy to connect with people from all over the country. It was a place where you could be yourself but have the craic too. I had spent my secondary school years mostly in a small school in Wexford which tended not to send many students to university, so I didn’t really have an obvious friend circle, and therefore attending a friendly place was crucial for me.
I served as President of the French Society in 1998-1999. I received a prize for having the highest exam score in the 1999 class of French (Minor). I also played internal league soccer: we were whipping boys, but it was good craic.
Maynooth was unique as it is a genuine college town, so very few students were local. Almost everyone I knew was going through the same experience - living away from home, challenging themselves personally, making connections, and ultimately thriving.
The skills I gained were many. As a French undergraduate, I spent a mandatory time working on my language in France, in my case a summer working in a restaurant on the beautiful Mont Saint Michel in Normandy. Overall, this was a massive experience and set me up for future travel adventures. It showed how possible it is to take on something completely new. At the time, the French Department offered an excellent programme of IT skills, which was how I learned MS Office, and I went on to complete the Hip in Information Technology. From geography, it was my first experience of primary research, data analysis and giving presentations, which of course is nowadays what I teach for a living.
My recommendation is to choose something you enjoy above anything else. Many school-leavers choose degree options for the wrong reasons, then get stuck into unsatisfying careers. I suggest that young people choose a life that suits them. For sure, there’s a lot to be said to obtaining a well-paid career in Dublin, but that brings challenges of accommodation costs, house-sharing with strangers, boring commutes and risk of crime. For me, there are better lifestyle options.
I graduated with the HDipIT in 2000 and began a career in the software industry. Initially it was passable, but the long commutes and mundane office life were not a great motivator for me. I did an MA and then found a teaching position in South Korea, where I then lived for two years. I completed a CELTA in Thailand and then took a short contract teaching in Japan, before heading to Australia. In Melbourne, I taught English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at a university for a few years. I then spent 20 months in Cambodia, mostly teaching EAP, then spent shorter spells teaching in beautiful Catalonia, sunny Saudi Arabia and the much less exotic UK. I moved to China in 2016, landed quite well and have been here ever since.
There have been many highlights. I’ve seen so much that it’s hard to summarise. In China, I have had a hugely productive few years: I completed some qualifications, had research articles published, traveled widely, ran a half marathon on the Great Wall, fought two boxing matches, climbed a mountain over 4500m, gave a TEDx Talk and above all else, met my beautiful and amazing wife, who is from Saigon and works here for a Vietnamese engineering company.
I teach English for Academic Purposes, which basically involves teaching students the skills required to succeed in academic study in an English-only environment. I teach how to write essays, make presentations, create reports, understand difficult academic texts and become self-aware language learners. Officially, my job title is lecturer, but I see myself as more as a tutor. Good EAP lecturers are not “sages on stages” by any means; language classrooms should be student-centric.
What's most interesting about my career is the chance to explore and live in different countries. Not many people get the chance to teach in eight foreign countries, and that has meant a fairly good connection with those places. Living overseas changes you hugely: I grew up on spuds and tea, but as a perennial expat I’ve become used to chopsticks, never wear shoes inside and have been lucky enough to explore cuisines from all over. Living abroad gave me a chance to visit amazing places: the Great Wall of China, the Angkor Temples, Dubai, North Korea, the atomic bomb site at Nagasaki, one of the largest caves in the world in Vietnam, and one of the world’s largest diveable shipwrecks in Vanuatu. I have been in two small earthquakes and once came face-to-face with a deadly pit viper whilst cycling on a country lane in Cambodia, but I am still here.
Another thing I’m glad for is the chance to live in the present. I never say things like “If only” “I wish” or “I could but I can’t”. That’s not a way to live. While at UCD, I used to pull pints in a bar in Kilmacud and noticed how so many customers would talk at length about their holidays in Spain, but seemed negative about the other 50 weeks of their everyday lives. This is a damaging mindset.
As for challenges, being far from home has a price in terms of missing personal time with family and friends. As I write, I haven't been home since 2019 and this is largely for pandemic reasons.
I found my current job through BALEAP.org, which is the association of EAP lecturers. Moving to China wasn’t a life dream by any means, but overall it’s been one of the best things I have done. For other English teaching jobs, there are several good websites and it depends on the location: eslcafe.com is a good one for Korea, but TEFL.com is better for Europe.
When entering the job market, I would say to strongly consider what a career overseas might do for you, as modern Ireland is quite a difficult country for young graduates to get a foothold in life. Homes are expensive in relation to salaries, working hours are long, personal debt levels are high, commutes are dreadful and holidays are short. All this seems to be having a terrible effect on our wellbeing and social fabric. For my own sector, I would say take a gamble and try out teaching abroad for a while. If you like it, obtain proper qualifications like a CELTA, DELTA or an MA. Then it’s quite possible to find language teaching jobs where you can save €25,000 in a year. Nowadays there are also options to obtain qualified teacher status while studying by distance and living overseas.