Job Discussion Forums

you forgot Poland · Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 13 Location: AB, Canada

Hi, I just posted this in the Turkey forum, but it's a general question so I'm making it a general discussion...

I am wondering if anyone knows whether or not an MA, MBA, or M.Ed. are all regarded equally by universities/public schools when it comes to hiring, salary etc. What I mean is when a potential employer asks for an MA, do they mean an MA only, or does that cover MSc., MBA, or M. Ed. as well?

I ask because I have an undergraduate degree in GIS, and I'm thinking of applying for an M.Ed. in Information Technology from my hometown university in Canada (UCCB). This would be after getting a few years of teaching experience under my belt. I guess I would like to keep options open in my current field if I was to be gone teaching for a few years or more. I see myself most likely in Korea, Turkey, Taiwan, Egypt, or U.A.E.

Does anyone have any opinions on the relative values of the aforementioned Master's tracks? And what about BSc.'s, am I the only person on this site who doesn't have an Arts degree? I doubt that...

cheers!

Sheep-Goats · Joined: 16 Apr 2004 Posts: 527

Varies by school / region. In general:

Tier One - directly related
MEd TESOL
MA TESOL
MA Applied Linguistics

Tier Two - related
MEd (non-TESOL)

Tier Three - related in name only
MA English
MA Linguistics

Tier Four - everything else
MSc
MBA
Legal or Medical master degrees

The higher up that scale you go the easier it'll be to get a job and the more money you'll make. If a school asks for an MA generally a MSc or MEd are suitable -- somtimes an MBA is. If you're teaching buisness or science students English, then an MBA or a MSc would be an advantage for the job, obviously.

For many regions the above is really splitting hairs. In competitive regions having a MEd TESOL or an MA TESOL could actually make a difference.

As to your other question, the school I went to doesn't issue bachelor's degrees in anything but the arts -- I had a friend who got his BA in Physics, and another who got his BA in Biochemistry. Mine's in English.

you forgot Poland · Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 13 Location: AB, Canada

wow Sheep-Goats, excellent reply, and ranked in order no less...exactly what I was looking for but couldn't find. Thank you very much!

My brother is Juris Doctor in Law (non-thesis track) from the University of Toronto and he will start teaching with me soon, so it's good to know that that may qualify him for jobs requesting MAs.

Since you seem to know so much I'm going to throw another one out there. I will likely be taching in competitive countries where, as you mentioned, degree concentrations count more. My question is, would a M.Ed. be of limited value without a B.Ed.?

I'm going to meet with a program co-ordinator of the UCCB M.Ed. program over Christmas, but he will not likely be able to give me any of the information I am looking for regarding teaching ESL. This I leave up to the well-informed posters such as yourself.

Cheers

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

If you have an MEd, it shouldn't matter what your BA is in.

Specializations in TESOL and linguistics are two of the main fields in EFL teaching, I have found.

Postmodern · Joined: 23 Nov 2004 Posts: 5

If you're teaching overseas, especially in the Far East, it really doesn't matter what kind of qualifications you have. In fact, the greener you are the better. The employers are clueless about education and want their employees likewise. In fact, how could it be otherwise? Has anyone ever met a real expert in English language or English language teaching anywhere overseas? After all, isn't this a place where scams such as the CELTA or the DELTA are the most respected qualifications? And doesn't this already say everything?

you forgot Poland · Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 13 Location: AB, Canada

Thanks Gordon,

Postmodern, it sounds like you're saying that Far East employers will take someone with no experience before taking someone with several years experience. If this is true, it is the opposite of any industry I can think of.

I think I understand what you're saying, however. Are you saying that South Korean or Taiwanese school owners prefer someone "greener" so that they can easily take advantage of them? And are you also saying that they are so ignorant that they give as much preference to someone with a 4 week cert/4 month diploma as they do to someone with a 2 year MA? I have no idea if this is true or not, but if that's what you're saying I think it's an interesting point you brought up.

Otherwise, it seems pretty obvious that the "good" jobs require post-graduate education (of any kind, as in CERT up to Phd.), and/or some experience and would not normally go to someone with a BA and no experience. Any comments?

Sheep-Goats · Joined: 16 Apr 2004 Posts: 527

you forgot Poland · Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 13 Location: AB, Canada

Postmodern · Joined: 23 Nov 2004 Posts: 5

You Forgot Poland,

I think you understood me correctly; though I don't think that the owners of language schools are ignorant. They are very smart as far as making money goes, but are the last people who should have an educational institution, though I use the phrase extremely loosely: Language schools are neither institutions nor are they educational in every sense of this word.

These guys will go out of their way to hire someone young and inexperienced. How else are they going to tell you how languages are learned and that everything is done their way? Why else would they hire only whites and preferably blonds unless what they are looking for is to satisfy the students' fetish with the Western face? I realize that as teachers we are also entertainers to a certain degree, but not clowns.

Rice Paddy Daddy · Joined: 11 Jul 2004 Posts: 425 Location: Japan

All the same thing.

M.Ed in TESOL

Master of Applied Linguistics

M.A. TESOL

M.Sc. TESOL

M.A. TEFL

M.A. ELT

I've seen so many acronyms for these degrees that it is amazing.

I guess if you are really worried you need to think about how the letters on your degree are perceived by employers.

What are your future career goals?
Who are you applying to work with?

I think universities use these different names for their degrees as a marketing tool to sell their programs, when in actuality, they are all pretty much the same in content.

I went to a school where you could choose: M.Ed. Master of Applied Linguistics or Master in TESOL.

Some people in my class chose M.Ed and some earned a Master of Applied Linguistics or Master in TESOL.

We all took the same courses!

Sheep-Goats · Joined: 16 Apr 2004 Posts: 527