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mateacher
Joined: 07 Sep 2013 Posts: 180
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 11:20 am Post subject: In the year 2014 TEFL as a career option in pointless. |
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I would never do it again as wages have fallen so much over the past decade and academic inflation is increasing at a exponential rate.
In 10 years to have a chance at a full-time University teaching position you will need a PhD. Now I work in the States, even a PhD does not help you get a job. The most you will be able to get is an adjunct position. I was lucky in that I knew someone and had a great PhD from university also in the States. If I was 20 and thinking of getting into EFL and becoming a tenured prof in Japan I would need to take out at least 100.000 dollars in debt and probably never be able to pay it back. Unless you are in your 40s and have an M.A it is totally pointless to even do an MA anymore since by the time you finish it, everyone else with have an MA and they will be asking for MAs to become ALTs while paying people 200.000 yen a month.
So come to Japan for 2 years, enjoy what you want to enjoy, get drunk, sleep with as many cute girls or guys as possible, study Karate, read as many Manga as possible, eat ramen, take an onsen, get a token Japanese friend, go ski, masturbate in as many manga rooms as possible, play UFO catcher, go to Akiba and climb mount Fuji and then go home cause the gravy train has left the station. |
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kzjohn
Joined: 30 Apr 2014 Posts: 277
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:08 pm Post subject: Re: In the year 2014 TEFL as a career option in pointless. |
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mateacher wrote: |
...
So come to Japan for 2 years, enjoy what you want to enjoy, get drunk, sleep with as many cute girls or guys as possible, study Karate, read as many Manga as possible, eat ramen, take an onsen, get a token Japanese friend, go ski, masturbate in as many manga rooms as possible, play UFO catcher, go to Akiba and climb mount Fuji and then go home ... |
And, add a misspelling in your thread title...! |
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mateacher
Joined: 07 Sep 2013 Posts: 180
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:39 pm Post subject: |
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sure why not, life is to be enjoyed not just about how many university degrees and publications and how fat your bank account is, or not in some cases. |
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rxk22
Joined: 19 May 2010 Posts: 1629
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:44 pm Post subject: |
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Trolls don't need no feeding here. |
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mateacher
Joined: 07 Sep 2013 Posts: 180
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:48 pm Post subject: |
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sure, since you don't like my opinion I am writing about you call it trolling. Well, I am reporting you and calling you a troll. |
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mateacher
Joined: 07 Sep 2013 Posts: 180
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:50 pm Post subject: |
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If you do not want to read it, don't read it and don't comment. Stop cyber bullying and trying to control others opinions. |
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rxk22
Joined: 19 May 2010 Posts: 1629
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 1:41 pm Post subject: |
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mateacher wrote: |
sure, since you don't like my opinion I am writing about you call it trolling. Well, I am reporting you and calling you a troll. |
LOl, says the guy, who basically posts like he is a gimmick. Thinned skinned for someone who throws out underhanded insults in basically every post. |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014 Posts: 718 Location: 何処でも
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 1:46 pm Post subject: |
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Come on guys! Play nice. It's lonely under that bridge  |
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mateacher
Joined: 07 Sep 2013 Posts: 180
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 1:47 pm Post subject: |
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I don't see what is trollish in my post. I have been on hiring committees and can tell you what people look for. I have done consulting for others and have published on trends in education. One of my fields of research is professional development. I can tell you first hand that although tongue in cheek, my post is based on fact. I am sure you don't like the post as you are probably an ALT in their 20s. Well sorry, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. If Obama predicts more unemployment in 2015 am I going to call him a troll?? |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014 Posts: 718 Location: 何処でも
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 1:48 pm Post subject: |
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Gotta hand it to him that he started a new thread for it this time, having failed to garner so much as a nibble in the other threads he's been fishing. |
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mateacher
Joined: 07 Sep 2013 Posts: 180
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 2:05 pm Post subject: |
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That is fine by me, since I am not looking for attention. I am just posting my opinions on a BBS like others. I prefer if you do not reply, if you have nothing of value to add. |
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rxk22
Joined: 19 May 2010 Posts: 1629
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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mateacher wrote: |
I don't see what is trollish in my post. I have been on hiring committees and can tell you what people look for. I have done consulting for others and have published on trends in education. One of my fields of research is professional development. I can tell you first hand that although tongue in cheek, my post is based on fact. I am sure you don't like the post as you are probably an ALT in their 20s. Well sorry, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. If Obama predicts more unemployment in 2015 am I going to call him a troll?? |
The fact that you have no idea why people think that you are a troll, just shows how out of touch you are. Seeya |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014 Posts: 718 Location: 何処でも
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 2:20 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry. Did you have a question? Couldn't find one in your OP. |
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rtm
Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 1003 Location: US
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 2:38 pm Post subject: Re: In the year 2014 TEFL as a career option in pointless. |
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mateacher wrote: |
wages have fallen so much over the past decade and academic inflation is increasing at a exponential rate. |
This is true.
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Now I work in the States, even a PhD does not help you get a job. The most you will be able to get is an adjunct position. |
I'm not really sure what you are talking about. Of course a PhD will help you get a job at a university in the US. For positions as a professor (adjunct or otherwise), the PhD does more than "help", it is required. Does it guarantee a job? Of course not. No academic degree does.
You're also comparing apples and oranges (university professorships in Japan and in the US). For those with an MA in TESOL/AL/etc., positions at IEPs in the US, while still competitive, are available. I've never heard of an IEP in the US requiring a PhD, and most that I know of would not necessarily prefer one either (as the PhD is a research degree, and IEP instructors are expected to focus on teaching).
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If I was 20 and thinking of getting into EFL and becoming a tenured prof in Japan I would need to take out at least 100.000 dollars in debt and probably never be able to pay it back. |
As I've said on here before, it is not necessary to go into any debt for graduate school (MA or PhD) in TESOL/AL in the US. There are plenty of opportunities for graduate assistantships that will pay for nearly everything.
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cause the gravy train has left the station. |
This is true of all kinds of academic jobs in both the US and Japan (and many other countries as well), and certainly not limited to ESL/EFL. |
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mateacher
Joined: 07 Sep 2013 Posts: 180
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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It was kind of a question for old-timers. If you were early twenties, would you contemplate a career in TESOL taking into account the new paradigm? |
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