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Larry Legend · Joined: 12 May 2014 Posts: 172 Location: China

I work in China now and I want to go back to America to get certified...then come back to China for a couple years with it and save money before I go back to America and teach...Does it make more sense to get a teaching license from America before you get your Masters or vice versa? It seems like getting the teaching license first would make more sense as I could use that to save more money when I come back to China with it and then I'll be able to do the Masters online or something while I'm working in China...Does this make sense? Is there a more logical way to do this? Any input would be great to hear...Thanks.

jimpellow · Joined: 12 Oct 2007 Posts: 913

I think your plan to get your teaching license first is the way to go as you will then be eligible for Maple Leaf etc. A Masters like I had in China helped to get first dibs at high school prep programs which pay well and places like Wall Street, but the pay was the same if you were offered the position as someone who had a fake BA. The Masters will get you respect from the Chinese where they are still a rarity. The schools will love it as they will translate your resume, add lies to it however they see fit, and showcase it to potential students. Point being though that the teaching license will guarantee the most RMB.

I wouldn't get your Masters online personally, or at least your first one. There are still biases against them even in the teaching World. I have an in-class MSc in Economics and an online MA in History. I got the online one later just because a certain era of history is my true passion and it kept me focused. I also had it on my resume when I FIRST decided to say adios to the business field and do ESL. It cost me the job I really wanted in Moscow as they wanted a Masters, but not an online one. This despite also having the in-class one too! Later when I was in Saudi the director of the institute met me the first day to be sure that they had not been sent someone with an online Masters. Crazy but such is the reality of some.

PS. You did not say what you wanted to pursue for your Masters. You could perhaps choose a city to work in that had a Western University branch. Some are quite prestigious like the Johns Hopkins programs in Nanjing or the Ford MBA in Shanghai. Just food for thought.

El Macho · Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 200

Since a teaching credential requires student teaching, it's much easier to get an MA by distance education than it is to get a teacher cert.

Alternatively, since NCLB requires teachers to have MAs, there are quite a few postbac programs that allow you to earn a teaching credential and an MA simultaneously.

If you're not interested in one of those programs, get the credential first and then come back to China to stack some cash while studying for an MA by distance learning.

Because teachers (in the US) generally need to have MAs, it seems like it's now pretty common for them to earn them online. I don't think that there's the discrimination against online MAs in K-12 education that you'd find in tertiary ed.

Bud Powell · Joined: 11 Jul 2013 Posts: 1736

What level do you expect to teach in the U.S.? Do you expect to teach the same level in China?

Be aware of a few things: 1. teaching certification varies from state to state, though most certs are transferable.

2. Your experience in China won't count for anything in the U.S. unless you teach in a Chinese university, then apply for a job in a U.S. university. It'll buy you consideration for a part-time lecturer position at first.

In some states, the MA is becoming less cost-effective for teaching because many states are cutting back education budgets. The first thing to go is the MA starting pay advantage.

I'm not real sure that this is a good time to consider a career in education in the U.S.. By the time we dig out from under the failures and ineptitude of American business leadership of the past 40 years, the American education system will have collapsed beyond repair.

Larry Legend · Joined: 12 May 2014 Posts: 172 Location: China

Thanks a lot for everybody's input.

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

If OP's only investigation is this forum I am concerned.
The point isn't what we think, but what a potential employer thinks.
If the employer target is the international schools then ask them.
Best

Larry Legend · Joined: 12 May 2014 Posts: 172 Location: China

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Making as much money as you can before returning to US implies working for the higher paying schools which are the internationals.
They pay at least 3x what your average FT gets.
I was going to offer a couple of contacts but maybe not..

Larry Legend · Joined: 12 May 2014 Posts: 172 Location: China

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Cheers Larry
Best
NS

mw182006 · Joined: 10 Dec 2012 Posts: 310

Is your bachelors in education? I am going to do another year at a uni and then start thinking along these same lines. I don't have a BA Ed. though.

Bud Powell · Joined: 11 Jul 2013 Posts: 1736

Go for the masters first. Apply for a a graduate assistant position. That'll lead toward a good job if your contract is renewed every year.

GreatApe · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 10:52 am Post subject:

I tend to agree with Bud's posts above, especially his point about state certification.

Personally, I got my M.A. first, taught as a graduate assistant for 2 years and then as a contracted adjunct professor for 3 more years. I got my Teaching Cert. after I had finished my M.A. coursework, although I looked into the option of getting the M.A. and the Teaching Certification simultaneously. The reason I didn't pursue that route is because I went to graduate school and completed my M.A. coursework in a different state than the one in which I eventually planned to teach.

The state in which you want to get certified or do your M.A. might play a big role in your decision as to which to get first. How much is the certification program? Do they offer financial assistance to would-be teachers? Will an M.A. program allow/help you get teacher certified at the same time as you are working otward your Master's degree?

I was teaching full-time at an American high school while I worked on and received my teaching certificate in the state of California. I was making good money teaching, but the teaching certification took two years and cost me about $12,000 USD overall. Not an inexpensive proposition on a $38,000 to $45,000 salary!

Check out your state options and decide what's best for you.

Good Luck!

--GA