February 9, 2006 6:22 AM

Will working overseas hurt your chances back home?
Posted by Jason Butlerat 6:22 AM

Here is an extremely interesting question over at Ask Metafilter about whether working overseas will affect your ability to build a career in America.

I moved to Japan where I currently live to teach English. My issue is that teaching isn't really a career I want for a long time, it was more just an excuse to live abroad and travel. There's still so much more I want to do after this program ends...backpack around South America? ...work in a cafe in Greece? ...who knows, even working on a farm in Australia? But, will a a couple more years of this kind of employment hurt me when I get back to America? If it will, is there anything I can do to enhance it so that I can continue working abroad while furthering my professional skills?

The answers are well worth reading. I spent a while teaching overseas, and I found that employers here (at least at the New York Times Company) were impressed by the experience.

Can you tell which one is me?