Job Discussion Forums

[simon44]

I've been teaching ESL in south-east Asia for many years, and am currently and happily teaching in Myanmar.

I want to teach well into my 60's, assuming the Grim Reaper doesn't come to visit.

However, teaching ESL is hardly an 'Ace up the sleeve', and I have to compete for future jobs with all the pretty, young, female grads... (As a male teacher, I don't look very pretty in a frock).

Before I moved to Asia, I worked for many years in the electronics industry, and have a Physics-subject MSc from London University and a First Class Honours BSc in Electronics & Comms. Engineering from another London polytechnic.

Google suggests to me that there is a global shortage of Physics teachers, and pay rates seem quite high, even if I do not actually have a teacher's licence in Physics.

Ask a child to describe a typical Physics teacher and they will probably say something like 'male, old, boring, tweed jacket with elbow patches, bad BO'.

Some of those descriptions (2 actually) fit me to a T!

I am too old to go back to the UK to retrain, (I would no longer qualify as a home student). But there are online 'revision' courses to help those with engineering degrees to get into teaching Physics.

What's the advice of the forum? If I want to stay in gainful, teaching employment in Asia into my 60's, should I continue as an ESL teacher? Or should I pay to retrain as a Physics teacher and then be able to fill a role as Physics teacher or Physics-with-ESL teacher?

[kazpat]

I work as an admin in secondary education. My background is in social studies teaching and I transitioned into ESL / EFL before moving into a leadership role at a school. Physics teachers are the most in demand teachers that we recruit for. Based on my experience you will never go hungry as a qualified physics teacher. Having an ESL background will make you even more attractive because of your ability to quickly pick up sheltered instruction and other strategies for working with ELLs. Out of the ten or so guys that have worked for me I would say that at least half were engineers or some other profession before retraining for secondary ed. With the focus on application in the classroom as opposed to simply theory their various work backgrounds and experience are highly useful. I wish I had the aptitude to get licensed in physics.

[Londonlover]

Student behaviour issues, whether it is aggression and verbal abuse or the steady drip drip effect of teenage low level disruption (chatting, inattention and messing about) which can make the enterprise demoralising, unrewarding and pointless, is something you may wish to consider, if you are looking at global positions for Physics teachers in high schools. This is certainly relevant to secondary school teaching in the U.K.
I don't know if secondary/high school teaching is that much better in other countries around the world in terms of teenagers' behaviour.
Certainly, speaking as a former secondary school teacher, teaching EFL to adults who are keen and want to be there and behave themselves so you don't have to be a 'professional teller offer' and crowd control manager has certainly been an experience of absolute joy in comparison!!!! - even when I was earning less than half my secondary school salary. Happiness has no price.

[simon44]

[Londonlover]

Seems far better to stay in South East Asia and teach Physics there then, if you know the students aren't bad. Other places/regions may have more 'issues' to consider.

[suphanburi]

In addition to your ESL/EFL experience a short course in pedagogy / education would not be out of place and would get you into schools that would otherwise not look at you. They are not that onerous, are not that expensive and are available in SE Asia as distance learning, blended learning or face to face.

Even picking up an M.Ed based on coursework and a master project rather than thesis based is doable on a weekends in class basis (but won't be cheap (6500 quid) or a PGCEi (again about 6500) by distance from a UK uni.

One of those coupled with your EFL experience and ability to teach physics will keep you going for as long as you want to work.

As to age...l I am also pushing 60 and picked up my latest masters degree with graduation last semester. I also work in SE Asia where the average EFL teacher earns about 650 quid/month (9000/year) and last year my taxable earnings were about 28k quid.

It can and will pay off in the short and long run despite your age. The biggest obstacle is just "getting it done".

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[joe30]

If you're doing a PGCEi, do it from Nottingham. It's only £3,500 rather than the £7,000 charged by Sunderland, and it's also a much easier course. With Nottingham you only have to write essays, you don't have to do observed teaching practice - and I speak from currently being on a UK PGCE now - the observed teaching practice is by far the hardest element of the course.

Nottingham over Sunderland easily.

[simon44]

[Londonlover]

I would have thought that the quality of a good PGCE is reflected in it having an observed teaching practice component.
The reason some PGCEs might be considerably cheaper is because those that lack assessed teaching practice might well be seen to have less status and credibility in the eyes of any future employers.
People are thrown off PGCE courses in the U.K. because they cannot teach.
It seems strange to me to do a teaching qualification where there is no assessment of teaching.
I know that many MA TESOL courses, however, do not have a teaching component

[Londonlover]