I don't want to apply now but in a year or two. I thought maybe it would make me seem less serious about the profession. I am happy to hear that it doesn't!
I guess b/c I have heard from ppl that teach esl abroad then try to start their career, it is hard to make that transition. But thank you all for smashing that concern for me!
To the contrary, I think that additional life experience almost always strengthens your applications to grad school. As far as ESL teaching making it harder to start your career... I don't think that applies to entering grad programs. Trying to transition to a job is a whole other ballgame. I have known a lot of people who taught English in various Asian countries. Often, they do it with something lined up for their return (a grad program they have been able to defer for one year) but when they don't have anything lined up and are trying to get a job upon their return, they can have difficulties (though that's certainly not universal.) It seems, though, that that's because of a few things which won't be an issue for you. First, if they are trying to get a job in a field which is unrelated to ESL teaching, that year of irrelevant experience could hurt them. It's excellent experience, but everything being equal, an employer would probably prefer someone who spent the last year or two working in the field in which they're now seeking work. That's common and has little to do with ESL, per se... in general working in one field and then trying to get a job in another is difficult. And, if you're talking about a new college graduate... they're a year or two away from the whole on-campus recruiting environment, and they can kind of lose the "career momentum" they may have had when they first graduated from college. And, of course, there is the culture shock issue - some people really have a hard time readjusting to life in the US.
Anyway, like I said, that's not universal. But, one way or the other, I don't think it has much relation to coming back and applying to a grad program. People are applying to OT programs (and other programs) from all walks of life, straight out of high school, straight out of college, or after a decade or more in another field. I suppose it's conceivable that if you applied NOW and then said, "but I need to defer for two years to do this" that might make you look slightly less serious about the field. But with what you're talking about... there will be no difference between you, and other people coming from other backgrounds and then applying to OT programs.
