Job Discussion Forums

[Voyeur]

I'm a Canadian in my 40s, and unmarried. I've been teaching in Asia for 15 years. I think I'd like to keep teaching ESL overseas for as many years as I can.
I've come into an inheritance of around $40,000 and have some savings of my own.
I'd like to start a discussion as to what is a better way to future-proof myself as an ex-pat teacher for the next ~20-25 years, either in China or elsewhere.
I generally prefer teaching ages 13 and older, including adults. But I can teach any age if needs be.
While it depends on one's circumstances, the MA TESOL route is probably faster and cheaper: often one has to take some additional undergraduate classes to align teachable subjects before doing the year required to get a Western Teaching license. But jobs at true International schools seem to be more lucrative than what you can get with an MA TESOL.

[Unheard Utterance]

An interesting post. One indeed has to think of ones future when the ripe old age of 40 hits home like a sledgehammer.

I think people need to do some accountancy and work out if it's really financially viable to do an MA TESOL or get a teacher's license. If you're out of work for a year or more and have to pay for living expenses, the course itself and even if the fees are deferred through a student loan, you're up for tens of thousands of dollars.

Now, how much extra are you going to earn with a MA TESOL? How long is it going to take with the (hopefully) extra money you earn from your better job to pay it all off and then get ahead?

Are you guaranteed to get a top paying job in an international school?

I'm attempting to find a place to put some roots down and save save save. It's big money changing countries and finding work; not to mention exhausting.

[Voyeur]

I've looked into this a bit, but a lot of my best research is 4-5 years old.

The primary lure of the MA TESOL was that this is what was required to teach in the Persian Gulf. They also required it NOT be online and from a Western university. One didn't necessarily want to spend their life in Saudi Arabia, but the ability to spend 10 months there say every 4 years and really pad the nest egg was enticing.
However, despite a recent rise, the long-term prognosis for oil prices looks very bad, given American Shale oil. Thus the long term outlook for the Gulf states looks even worse, and already the heady days of super salaries seems to be over, with much greater decline in the future.
An MA TESOl also gives you the theoretical ability to teach in tertiary-level ESL programs back in the West, though salaries will be low and expenses high. And even such low-status jobs will be hard to come by. Nevertheless, it is a theoretical path back home for some longtime ESLers who have no other way to ever return home and work better jobs than at Walmart.
Nottingham University's Ningbo campus in China has an excellent MA TESOL program you can do for a reasonable cost, with few prerequisites in under a year. It doesn't appear too demanding, and with the current changes to student Visas in China, one could theoretically do a fair bit of legal teaching on the side to subsidize costs. Most importantly, unlike with a lot of Western university campuses in China (or so I have heard), the diploma is 'pure': There is no joint-program mentioned on it, or even China campus. It's the same diploma you would get if you took the classes in the UK.
The MA TESOL doesn't really give you access to any better jobs RIGHT NOW, but as China ages and there are less students, and the whole ESL industry shifts and matures, it might protect your ability to make a living overseas in the future. Also, under the current Z Visa points system, you start losing points as you age, but you get back points for the Masters, so this could help you teach in China longer.

[Voyeur]

The teaching license is more complex, and I haven't looked into it in as much detail. With the MA TESOL, you're more likely to be gravitating towards university and college work.
The teaching license can get you access to true (and even still lucrative 'fake') International Schools all over the world. You're likely to be teaching younger kids, but middle and high school kids are possible and, similar to the college level, typically involve less stress about serious classroom management than with kiddies.
Ideally, the best International schools want (or at least used to want) two years teaching experience in a Western country. But that is not absolute. Also, whereas back in the West you likely have to match up the level you focused on for your license (primary, middle, high school), overseas a lot of International schools who do demand a teaching license will likely let you teach high school kids even if your license was for elementary.
Elementary qualifications are the easiest because you don't have to have certain configurations of undergraduate courses that match the focus of your 'teachables' in the education program. For many, getting high school-level teaching qualifications could require you to take a bunch of undergraduate university classes before you actually do the year needed for the education degree. Furthermore, unless (and maybe even if) you aim at the least desirable teaching jobs back in the West, competition for all teaching jobs means you are unlikely to ever get a regular teaching position 'at home' given most people who get a teaching qualification late in life will be old, without much 'proper experience' and won't have their education degree from a first-rate education program.
But if I can figure a decent path to it, I'm starting to lean towards the teaching qualification over MA TESOL. The ability to find jobs with a decent western-style salary in countries all over the world, often ones with low costs of living, is really good insurance in case the market in China really takes a turn for the worse. Or for if you become too old for China to accept you for a Z Visa.
But again, any and all of my info. could be wrong. I welcome any corrections or new info. I'm just re-investigating this.

[nomad soul]

[Voyeur]

Good point. And in some cases, the qualifications you get might alter what the effective retirement ages is.

[nomad soul]

[Voyeur]

I have by no means surveyed the entire ESL landscape; and of course the landscape is always changing.
I was referring to how China has a maximum, absolute age limit. But the points system also starts penalizing you before you reach that limit. So a Masters might help someone be able to teach at say 50 when otherwise they could not, even if 50 is below the absolute maximum age.

[teenoso]

I think you should consider that what you want and enjoy now , may not be what you want in the future, and if you go down the MA TESOL route then you are limiting yourself to esl teaching , pretty much, or working in the esl industry in some capacity, whereas the teaching licence may give you more flexibility (depending on your BA speciality).

Also, you can't future proof your future self , so I would be inclined to sit on your savings until you reach a point of wanting a change of direction, or need a break from teaching.

In the UK , there are often some financial incentives for mature students to do teacher training (sign- on bonuses in different subjects, for example) so you could check out whether Canada offers anything to attract new teachers. Having a teacher's certificate gives you an escape route back home in case things go badly wrong in China , or elsewhere, (I mean for foreigners in general , or with the visa situation, things which are out of your control).

[The bear]

From a financial standpoint it's a no brainer. Ge the teaching licence. There are way more opportunities at higher pay for teaching children in international schools than there are opportunities for MA TESOL holders. I'm not just talking about China but also the world. It's a lot easier to transfer, to home countries if needed, with a teaching licence than an MA.

Going back to pay...the lower salaries for international school teachers are near the top for MA TESOL teachers. There's also a lot more career progression, head of year, head of department, head etc. All of these come with a salary increase.

You said yourself you like teaching 13+, so look at middle school / high school positions. The teaching licence will give you more opportunities when it comes to 'future proofing' yourself.

[nomad soul]

I'm in agreement with the previous two posters. Get a k12 teaching license/cert.

BTW, what subject is your bachelor's degree in?

[Voyeur]

My degree is in administration (business) with a minor in philosophy.

The last time I looked into this seriously was in 2010. As a Canadian, there were no special or shortcut paths to a certification that I could use like Americans and British.

In Canada, teachers are treated fairly well and the education schools and programs are competitive. Back in 2010, I was told I'd have zero chance of getting into any real Canadian University education program, and my best chance was to go overseas, mainly UK or Australia, where they have one-year certification programs for Canadians that would get me a license.

However, when they looked at my transcripts, it looked like I would have to do some undergraduate work to get more teachables if I wanted to be able to teach anything but elementary school.

Furthermore, the best International Schools wanted two years experience teaching in a Western nation. Many International Schools would waive that, but until you got those two years, you would be permanently a second-class citizen in the International School game--experience teaching at International Schools overseas would never completely compensate for not having those two years at home.

And getting two years of teaching experience in Canada would be very difficult, especially with a license from an overseas program (looked down upon by employers).

I'll have to look at things again. There may be some teaching positions for less attractive candidates in some of the poorer areas of the UK. But all in all, to do things perfectly, it looked like a 3.5 year process. Half a year of online undergraduate work to get my courses lined up, a year in a teaching program, and two years teaching somewhere fairly awful in maybe Northern Canada or inner-city UK. The total expenditure looked to be over $60,000 (in 2010) for the undergraduate courses, the year of teaching education (tuition + living expenses), several relocations, and subsidizing the two years teaching in Canada, UK, or Australia at such a low wage you'd probably need to dip into savings to help you get by.

At the time, the process looked pretty ugly and expensive. And now I'm much older. However, at this point there may be more practical online options to facilitate both getting the undergraduate courses I'd need and then the Bachelors/Masters in Edu. or other teaching certificate program.

[nomad soul]

[Unheard Utterance]

[Voyeur]

That is definitely one option.

I'm here in China until at least July 2019, padding depleted savings and waiting for a small inheritance to finish being processed.

The comments so far have been very helpful in helping to orient my thinking as I reinvestigate landscape.

MA TOEFL really seems to have lost its luster with the Middle-East option basically no longer on the table. You can also teach in CEGEP programs in Quebec (French-speaking Canada) and in some college/university ESL programs in North America. But US Visas are hard to come by, these jobs are hard to get in general, and not very lucrative.

Teaching certification seems like a much better route if I can find a way to do it efficiently. There's an interesting CANTEACH program that can get you certified for Ontario (my home province, if I really have a home province anymore) with a 1-year program that could cost as little as CAD$30,000 all in. You do it in Wales, Scotland, or New Zealand. (I'd still need to investigate how much undergraduate coursework I might need to do beforehand.)

And there are other options, maybe online ones, I haven't explored yet. Being licensed in a Canadian province doesn't really seem to matter that much as the teaching job market is so tight that a teaching license is not really a path back to Canada. I might even look at moving to the UK or other Western nations with a teacher shortage as a possible long-term plan if I ever really age out of overseas teaching.

At any rate, just having a conversation here and appreciate any and all advice and experience.

Edit: Canada having a teacher surplus may be old news. Some provinces may actually have a shortage in the future.