Job Discussion Forums

[santi84]

[wayne1523]

Cool. What's there in Montreal? And Vancouver?

[santi84]

I'm from Vancouver. It's as bad as Toronto (lots of immigrants = lots of jobs, but lots of competition and housing is outrageous).

Montreal is pretty decent, and if you go outside Montreal (Quebec City or further) then the prospects are even better. The newer generation of Quebecois (not the exceptional yet loud rambling extreme anti-anglophone students) are eager to learn English for business and beyond. Francophone choice to attend anglophone educational institutes is slowly being taken away from them by the PQ government so people are increasingly turning to private schools and teaching. Despite a lack of access to anglophone education, there is talk of making all K-12 a bilingual function in francophone schools.

Quebec, as always, has no idea what it wants. But it is working out in our favour as ESL teachers.

[wayne1523]

Thank you for the info. It's going to be a little bit of a transition going back, coming from a place like Asia.

[santi84]

I've never taught abroad myself but quite a few here have reported a reverse culture shock for sure.

[wayne1523]

I'm not gonna lie. I'm 25. For me to have taught in Korea and Taiwan, and all of a sudden having to go to back to Canada for the MA TESOL, where it's cold , rainy, and everything is expensive, vs. studying the MA in Chiang Mai where everything is exotic and affordable with great food, AND a place that I can teach on the side for pocket money, it's very obvious which one is more appealing. But now I made a quick search and everybody says that having an MA abroad is not as good as getting it from an Anglophone country...so

[santi84]

Hey, I'm only 28 - but I've got 2 babies in tow, so the whole globetrotter thing is not possible for me. I've got plans for when they are booted out the door at 18 If you are only 25, just enjoy things as they are, you've got lots of time. If you do plan to come back (yes it's pissing rain and 4C in Montreal today) then an MA from an anglophone country is a must I'm afraid. But the Trinity one may be a decent option for you, since it's a bit of both worlds. It's expensive though, I think $20k??

[wayne1523]

Is it 20K?! Yeah, these things are expensive especially when you consider the cost of living in Vancouver, the food, taxes, etc. The things is, I'm not a very good student either and moving that far away with those costs are very high risk compared to doing a 5 grand MA in Thailand, if in case I figure it's too intensive and challenging, or it's not for me that I decide to withdraw. My thinking is, if I do drop out then hey, I'm still in the middle of Thailand where I can find work, or take my BA, CELTA, and my 2 years of experience to Vietnam.

I think in the end, if I could choose a place to do it, I'd still do it in Thailand. Just don't see anything rewarding teaching back in Canada even if I do pick up the MA from Canada. It's just too far away timewise.

Thank you anyway, Senti.

[Neutrino Girl]

[spiral78]

Ditto. I did mine in a blended format (part research-based and partly on campus) from a British university. It's recognized in Canada; I worked at a university in Alberta for several years. However, Toronto is an extremely difficult market regardless of quals; there are few positions better than private language school ones which pay peanuts).

[Neutrino Girl]

I think you'll find that most good employers abroad will not take an MA TESOL from a Thai university (or non-Anglophone / non-Western university) seriously.

You may not be thinking about this now, but down the line you may want to find more lucrative work in the field and may have to consider moving to a different region of the world. In my opinion, it is worth the financial investment to get a degree that will be recognized worldwide. I don't think you'd regret it.

Getting a Masters from a uni in Thailand may just prove to be a waste of time and resources in the long run. Take it for what it's worth, but I think it would be a better move to do it via distance at whatever pace / tuition you can afford each semester while working. You could also explore MA options at universities in countries like Australia, England, New Zealand, etc. You may find cheaper / quicker MA programs than what you are considering in Canada.

[Mr_Monkey]

Distance MAs from Australian universities are pretty cheap.

If you want to work in the tertiary education sector in Japan, an MA is a must really. You can pick up part-time positions at universities without one, but it's a lottery - it really depends on whether you have the contacts.

The limited term contracts at Japanese universities are a pain, though. Expect one year contracts renewable three times to be the norm. Other places, such as Kanda International University in Chiba, do 2 year contracts renewable once. some places will do one year contracts renewable up to five times. (Probably meaningless) publications and experience are valuable, though not always necessary. Where you get your MA from counts, so Thailand is probably out.

[wailing_imam]

MA TESOL is useful if you intend to work in tertiary institutions teaching EAP. If you are not interested in that, don't bother.

I am doing my MA TESOL at the mo and am teaching EAP at a uni. I don't really enjoy teaching this kind of English, but do it for...money!

[wayne1523]

[nomad soul]