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When to apply for jobs-after MA or before?
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Super Modal



Joined: 07 Oct 2012
Posts: 46
Location: Jeddah

PostPosted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 11:24 pm    Post subject: When to apply for jobs-after MA or before? Reply with quote

Hi all,
This is my first post. It's so exciting! I'm going to do an MA in Applied Linguistics next Sept. My question is about when the best time for me to apply for jobs at universities in KSA will be. If I apply in Dec. /Jan., while I am still in school and start work after I finish my MA, will I get paid at the rate of someone with a BA and TESL Cert. or will they count my MA and pay me accordingly? Should I just wait until the MA is conferred and then apply with the hope of getting a last minute job or a late starting job?
Thanks in advance.
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PeterParvo



Joined: 18 Dec 2011
Posts: 103

PostPosted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 11:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Unless you're really pressed for time or money, I'd say get the MA done and even get a little experience with it onboard. You do not want to start a job with an MA and only be paid for having a BA. If you do start the job hunt before finishing it, make sure your employer will give you MA status once you get there.
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wantok



Joined: 05 Jul 2012
Posts: 168

PostPosted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 11:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your perusal through these threads will inform you that evidently Canadians' visa applications are not welcome at Saudi embassies. Employers are aware.

Similarly, UAE.

It's called geopolitics.

Sorry to burst your enthusiasm.

If you're intend on expediently bounding your educated self to the Middle East, there are other opportunities.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 11:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Best to wait until your degree is conferred before applying; the better employers require authentication of your completed education anyway. However, be aware many also factor in post-MA teaching experience when determining salary. Otherwise, they may view you as having zero experience. And that's paying you "accordingly," if they even consider you as qualified.

Speaking of teaching, you didn't mention your TEFL experience. Are you presently teaching, and if so, do you plan to continue teaching while working on your degree? However, if you'll have little to no experience by the time you finish your MA, forget the Mid East and look at other regions like Asia to get a few years of experience under your belt.
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Super Modal



Joined: 07 Oct 2012
Posts: 46
Location: Jeddah

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have many years of teaching experience. Some of it is ESL, but only a bit at the tertiary level. I've taught all over the world. All ages.
I understand that at this time some Canadians are having trouble getting visas, but hopefully this will have worked itself out by the time I apply. Thanks for the help.
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wantok



Joined: 05 Jul 2012
Posts: 168

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 1:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A second caveat.

Herewith be apprised that distance education courses (like online and other formats) may not be honoured.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 4:22 am    Post subject: system Reply with quote

You should be aware that experience is counted from the date you finished your highest degree. So if you taught for 10 years after a BA, then did an MA, you would be reckoned to have ZERO years experience.

A close study of "Alice in Wonderland" is recommended.


Last edited by scot47 on Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:45 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Super Modal



Joined: 07 Oct 2012
Posts: 46
Location: Jeddah

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So, is it possible to find out which option would earn me more? If I apply with a BA and TESL and years of experience that is mostly not tertiary, do I earn more or less than with an MA (in class) and zero experience? I'm guessing that the pay scales aren't published anywhere.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Super Modal wrote:
I have many years of teaching experience. Some of it is ESL, but only a bit at the tertiary level. I've taught all over the world. All ages.

This is rather vague. Plus, employers are only interested in TESOL-related experience. How many years of full-time English language teaching experience do you have and in which teaching situations (e.g., international school, public school, language institute, college/uni, tutoring, etc)?

and wrote:
So, is it possible to find out which option would earn me more? If I apply with a BA and TESL and years of experience that is mostly not tertiary, do I earn more or less than with an MA (in class) and zero experience? I'm guessing that the pay scales aren't published anywhere.

The salary will depend on your education level, possession of a valid TEFL cert, and what your specific TEFL experience is/was. Salaries, generally, aren't negotiable. Some job ads, especially those posted by recruiters/contracting companies, will indicate a salary range. However, you won't know exactly what your qualifications are worth unless presented with a job offer.

Your TEFL experience, undergrad degree, and TESL cert (must have entailed at least 120 hours of face-to-face instruction) will most likely land you a teaching job with one of the numerous, desperate and shady contracting companies---read up on them within this forum. But those same qualifications may not be solid enough to get a second glance from the better employers. Also, be aware that employers seem to be getting picky about an applicant's degree major (undergrad or graduate)---that it be relevant to teaching English. Moreover, the hiring preference is for applicants with related MAs.
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Super Modal



Joined: 07 Oct 2012
Posts: 46
Location: Jeddah

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have 4 years of full-time ESL teaching experience with 3.5 of those years with adults. I've taught in International Schools, but I only taught ESL a little bit there. The full-time ESL experience was in a hospital in Czechoslovakia, a private school and a university in Korea and a public school that was a government sponsored program for refugees and immigrants in Canada. I've usually tutored as well, but I doubt that they will count that as experience.
I have Bachelor of Arts with an English major 4 year and a Bachelor of Education K-12. I'm not certified anymore because it ran out while I was abroad. I also have a TESL cert with 140 hrs in class and a supervised practicum.
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I have 4 years of full-time ESL teaching experience with 3.5 of those years with adults. I've taught in International Schools, but I only taught ESL a little bit there. The full-time ESL experience was in a hospital in Czechoslovakia, a private school and a university in Korea and a public school that was a government sponsored program for refugees and immigrants in Canada.


Czechoslovakia hasn't existed since 1992, so presumably your experience is a bit dated as well.....So, 4 years full time in four different locations and situations?
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Super Modal



Joined: 07 Oct 2012
Posts: 46
Location: Jeddah

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been teaching for over 20 years. Czechoslovakia was my first job when I finished my BA.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Super Modal wrote:
I have 4 years of full-time ESL teaching experience with 3.5 of those years with adults. I've taught in International Schools, but I only taught ESL a little bit there. The full-time ESL experience was in a hospital in Czechoslovakia, a private school and a university in Korea and a public school that was a government sponsored program for refugees and immigrants in Canada.

I've been teaching for over 20 years. Czechoslovakia was my first job when I finished my BA.

Thanks for the clarification. Are you presently teaching English? Or has it been a while since you last taught? I ask because if your four years of TEFL experience has been sporadic throughout the past two decades, employers may not view some of that experience as up-to-date---that your overall TEFL skills may not be solid. Either way, you'd be a more viable candidate for the better TEFL positions in KSA once you've completed your MA in Applied Ling and get a couple of years of relevant, post-grad teaching experience to go along with it.
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Super Modal



Joined: 07 Oct 2012
Posts: 46
Location: Jeddah

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Right now I'm teaching at a school in Toronto for visa students (mostly young adults). About 1/2 of them are Saudi Arabian. The rest are from Asia and Latin America. This job is precarious though. People get laid off all the time when the enrollment declines. Also it doesn't pay well. The jobs that are government funded do pay a decent wage, but they are in short supply due to government cutbacks. This is why I want to go abroad again. Hopefully, I'll get a job in Saudi Arabia after my MA. Then I can get the 3 years of tertiary experience needed to teach in other ME countries. So, I was thinking of staying in SA for 3 years and then try UAE. What do you think about all this?
Thanks for your advice. I appreciate it.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A CV with KSA ecperience is not always welcomed by employers in the UofAE !
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