Job Discussion Forums

[meyanga]

Good morning everyone,

It's been years since I've posted on here!!!!!

I'm looking for some advice about my next move and will be very grateful for any advice.

I am a British ESL teacher with Trinity Cert and Dip and 17 years teaching experience (I am 41 years old). I am just at the tail end of a PhD in Applied Linguistics which I've been doing by distance through a UK university. I am currently working as Head of English at an international school in Malaysia - bit of a career change, but my kids ended up at this school and when my last British Council contract ended, it seemed like a good move. I am a single mum with two kids aged 9 and 11 so any move I make needs to keep their needs as a top priority.

I worked in Saudi about 6 years ago when I was still married and, although I actually enjoyed my time there, I would rather not go back to the Middle East if it could be avoided. However, I need to start making some good money!!!! My kids will go to university in the UK and I need to start saving for that! I believe, other than Saudi, it can be quite difficult for a single mother to obtain a work visa in the ME anyway. Plus the fact that they don't like distance PhDs (although surely a bit of tweaking of the CV can make it look like on-campus as the certificate doesn't actually say distance??) Any advice/ideas? Where else can someone with my experience go to make decent money and receive a package that includes housing, education for children, health insurance and flights?

The other idea I have had since moving to an international school (it isn't a top school and employs a lot of local teachers) is to do the PGCEi by Distance and then try to get work at good international schools which will definitely pay well. Most PGCEi courses do not have QTS. I am struggling to find out if international schools require this. There is a lot of conflicting information. It doesn't seem as straightforward as just assuming that QTS is only relevant for the state sector in England. If anyone knows anything about this it would be great to get some advice.

Thanks and have a lovely Sunday

[nomad soul]

[suphanburi]

Almost completed a legitimate PhD in applied linguistics?
Where is your network? Have you not been attending conferences and/or doing presentations?

A pgcei won't get you anything that you aren't already overqualified for other than a lighter wallet.

There are more than a fair few options for someone with a PhD in applied linguistics to get into a uni position teaching TEFL rather then EFL and work yourself into something at a decent uni through networking and experience.

.

[meyanga]

Thank you for the replies. Suphanburi, I do have a network in academia, but my field is language and gender and jobs teaching on those programmes mostly run at Western universities. Living and working back in the West isn't going to get me much money! (Before you ask I chose that specialism when I was married and I had the luxury of viewing the PhD more as a hobby rather than anything else - times have dramatically changed and I need to look at things differently now).

I was thinking that PGCEi could get me work in good international schools (and also get my kids into those schools) rather than just lightening the wallet?????

Nomad soul, thanks for the confirmation about the online thing in the Gulf, I had wondered about that. I find it annoying as at doctorate level so much of what you do is research, which you pretty much do on your own albeit with guidance from a supervisor, so I don't really see what difference it makes. But, annoying or not, that's how it is so no point brooding over the point!

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to respond.

[nomad soul]

[meyanga]

Discursive constructions of subjectivity in Saudi women's talk: A feminist poststructuralist inquiry....

I started it 7 years ago when I lived in Saudi. I came back to the UK when my marriage ended and gathered new data on Saudi women studying in the UK. Since then I've taken two years LOA and really struggled to be even close to completion, but I am now back on track and determined to finish. I've spent a lot of time and money on it so I have to have something to show for it. It's with the University of Aston and I have an amazing and very well published supervisor so that has helped a lot. I will be ecstatic when it's over though!

It's just a bit of a muddle now though. Here I am with a predominantly ESL qualifications, language centre experience, but now working at an international school. My big concern is educating my kids as best I can. I don't get a great salary at the moment, although I get free schooling for my kids. That's kind of why I have been thinking about PGCE.....

My ex has managed to avoid maintenance by staying in the Magic Kingdom where his business is and being outwith UK legal juristiction so I really need to make sure that whatever I do next is maximising on what I've got......

[nomad soul]

I suspected you weren't getting any financial support for your children. But hang in there; you're almost done with your doctoral program.

[currentaffairs]

Most good international schools will look for a minimum of two years of experience in the UK which therefore requires a full PGCE. You may get lucky somewhere but no guarantee.

[nomad soul]

The patriarchal laws in the Middle East can be challenging for divorcées with young children. Are you finding this bias with employers in other cultures as well? For example, I was thinking about Brunei.

[meyanga]

Brunei is definitely somewhere I am considering. I've heard anecdotally that Brunei isn't as strict as some ME countries with regard to single mothers with kids, but I don't know for sure. I've written to CfBT and a few institutions in Brunei asking about this, as well as whether they need QTS, so I will wait and see what they come back with.

It feels like a minefield with so many variables just not working out in my favour! However, somehow I will find the right thing....

I actually just got a reply from an international school in Switzerland saying that they would accept my experience with PGCEi, but they only give 50% discount for school fees so it really isn't worth my while as it is EXTREMELY expensive

[spanglish]

Throwing in my 2 cents, I'd suggest you look globally (Central and Southeast Asia and perhaps Western Europe seem the most logical places) and target positions that utilize your existing skill-set. You're in a management position now at a second-tier school, so I'd look for either (a) a slightly lower-level management position at a slightly more prestigious school or (b) a higher-level management position (headmaster or something) at another second-tier international school. I would suggest you avoid applying for pure teaching positions.

You've got an interesting, eclectic resume and educational background that might be appreciated at a Western European international school that receives many students from dictators/oil barons around the world.

Good luck.

[meyanga]

Thank you spanglish - that's good advice!

[nomad soul]

[meyanga]

I hadn't even thought of doing that thanks. The problem with the type of international schools that I am currently qualified for is that I don't think they are up to par for my kids. We are making the best of things now, but I do supplement my daughter's education with extra tuition which I'd rather not have to do - she's a kid and she should be playing after school not studying. My son is younger so it's not as critical for him.

A friend has suggested that the one place where the distance PhD, PGCEi without QTS (supposing I do go for that) and my shameful divorcee, single mum status will NOT be an issue is in independent schools in England or public schools, as we call them, in Scotland. Again, this is just anecdotal and I have yet to find out the facts.

Thing is, I've done the expat thing for so long and haven't washed a dish in years or ironed a single item of clothing that the thought of life in the UK and all that it entails is quite scary but perhaps this is another avenue that I should consider.

I really do appreciate the advice and tips

[nomad soul]