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candy_girl
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Posts: 14
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 Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:20 pm Post subject: JET Broke my heart |
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After a long and agonizing wait (all six weeks of it  ) I finally got my rejection letter from JET. I actually got it a bit before Christmas -- anyhow... now I am looking at my alternatives....I am looking to change careers, and wondering if work at any of the private schools (including the big 3) prepares one for work in the teaching field. Any ideas?
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:52 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry to hear about that.
What are your long-term goals in teaching?
Stay in Japan?
Learn to teach EFL so you can return to your home country and teach ESL?
Teach kids only? Adults only?
Other?
I assume you have a bachelor's degree, or you wouldn't have applied to JET. What else can you tell us about your background?
Personally, I consider eikaiwas as only a stepping stone to other types of EFL teaching. Eikaiwa work itself is not a means to an end in teaching, nor does it do much to prepare you for teaching serious English classes. |
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candy_girl
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:17 am Post subject: Options..... |
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| I would like to teach mainly adults at the college/university level. I have a BA in the Social Sciences and a TEFL certificate. EFL is an option long term, but I'm hoping to do graduate level work and then teach. I don't have any teaching experience so far, so I'd like to try something that is even semi-teaching to get some experience in. That and I would like to travel. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 1:10 am Post subject: Re: Options..... |
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| candy_girl wrote: |
| I would like to teach mainly adults at the college/university level. I have a BA in the Social Sciences and a TEFL certificate. EFL is an option long term, but I'm hoping to do graduate level work and then teach. I don't have any teaching experience so far, so I'd like to try something that is even semi-teaching to get some experience in. That and I would like to travel. |
You wont get university jobs with only a BA. 95% of university teaching jobs (part time but you still need a sponsor) request a minimum of a Masters degree. You also need previous teaching experience and be in Japan.
Most people here get their break by working at a language school, picking up one or two days part time at a university and then networking, increasing their teaching schedule at a university. I went from teaching 2 days a week to 5 days a week at different universities part time.
I don't know what semi-teaching is, either you are teaching or you are not and if you have no proper experience you have to start somewhere. An eikaiwa or conversation school is where most people earn their wings and get basic experience. No one is going to hand a raw newbie a class full of high school students if you have never taught before (ALTS and dispatch teachers are usually under the control of the Japanese teacher in the school and many resent babysitting and hand-holding clueless foreigners new to a classroom). |
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candy_girl
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 1:32 am Post subject: |
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| By graduate level work I meant getting an MA/PHD. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 1:43 am Post subject: |
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| candy_girl wrote: |
| By graduate level work I meant getting an MA/PHD. |
As someone who is doing this now (phD) you have several options
1. Do your masters in the US and then fly here and look for as job.
2. Do a Masters degree at Temple University or Columbia in Japan while working. this is hard as conversation school work schedules do not neatly mesh with lecture schedules at TUJ, which are held in the evenings
3. Do a Masters degree by distance learning. Not impossible but would stay away from distance degrees offered from American universities. Not very reputable and there are only two I know of in the US worth doing. British and Australian degrees are far more reputable.
Last point: you have to weigh up the cost of getting a masters degree (TUJ costs about $20,000, Columbia is about $25,000 over three years) and balance that with your ability to get a job here.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but as someone who has made a lifetime career here and is now working on a PhD degree the job market for university teachers, part time and full time is increasingly grim. Full time jobs are disappearing as schools close their doors in the next few years, going to part timers or dispatch companies. I am on a 3 year contract which ends in 18 months so i will be looking for work again.
im not sure you would be happy with spending 20 grand on a Masters and all you can get here is eikaiwa work or endless part time work at universities. Of course that is personal choice as i know teachers who forgo full time jobs for part time at several places. With full time you lose ALL your classes after three years. part time you can work indefinitely at a school but there are less perks.
I dont know your goals and i dont want to sound pessimistic but things dont look too bright here. I have a wife and kids to think of and am looking at jobs overseas. I have been looking at a job in China but am looking further afield now, possible even the Middle East. There are jobs for qualified people in the Middle East (not just Saudi where the trouble is but places like Oman, Qatar and Dubai, which are relatively safe and stable and have open societies esp. for women).
I would recommend a Masters if you want to increase your hireability and job skills here, its just a question of whether there will actually be jobs you can go to when you graduate.
P.S. Do you want to spend 3-4 years getting a Masters, 3-5 years getting a pHD just so you can teach English conversation to freshmen?
Thats the position Im in at the moment, though 'academic' type positions become available outside ESL if you conduct research or develop a specialty. Things like CALL, Testing and curriculum development are popular areas for research these days.
I'm not sure the time spent at university justifies the kind of teaching you would end up doing in japan, considering the average contract is 1-3 years and your degree might take twice that long to complete. |
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lalalateda
Joined: 05 Nov 2005
Posts: 72
Location: JAPAN
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:01 am Post subject: |
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My Masters in ELT cost 13000, USD or 9000 euro and took one full year.
Anyone can send me a PM if they want information about it. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:09 am Post subject: |
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| lalalateda wrote: |
My Masters in ELT cost 13000, USD or 9000 euro and took one full year.
Anyone can send me a PM if they want information about it. |
The Masters at Temple costs about 2 million yen part time and Columbia costs 2.5 million over 3 years.
Distance degrees cost less but they usually involve no lectures and the writing of a lengthy dissertation. Birmingham is costing me 14,000 pound over 6 years. |
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scrying
Joined: 14 Nov 2004
Posts: 27
Location: Nagoya Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 6:07 am Post subject: |
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in the category of response falling under "less doom"  :
I am pretty much in your position, did a BA in psych, got tired of the US, came over with the Empire itself (NOVA), left after a year and a half, got a TEFL and a lil more XP in Europe and decided to come back to Japan (what can I say, for all the crap, I like it here more often than not). Now I am ALT-ing, and hopefully upgrading to a private HS in April after this contract finishes. I think doing a distance master's from the states wouldn't be necessarily unreputable as long as u do the research, though I am more likely to try to do a DELTA in Vietnam first.
Depending on your war chest and goals, I'd say either sign on with one of the Big 4 just to get over here and do the time, as Japan is still probably the best value for your salary(though you can also do a fair bit of traveling from S. Korea salaries too...) |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 6:55 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I would like to teach mainly adults at the college/university level. |
candy girl,
I hope you realize that the term "adults" and "Japanese college students" are mutually exclusive. I don't teach them, but it's pretty widely known how badly many of them act. In many colleges they don't even have to show up for more than 60% of the course lessons to pass. University life in Japan is a holiday for students, compared to the hellacious examination preparations they undertake in high school just to get there, and compared to the reasons that many westerners go to college.
In Japan, many graduates are chosen from the name / image of the school they attend. In places like the USA, they are chosen for their skills and grades and potential to succeed.
Last edited by Glenski on Sun Jan 08, 2006 6:56 am; edited 1 time in total |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 6:56 am Post subject: |
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| scrying wrote: |
i I think doing a distance master's from the states wouldn't be necessarily unreputable as long as u do the research, though I am more likely to try to do a DELTA in Vietnam first.
Depending on your war chest and goals, I'd say either sign on with one of the Big 4 just to get over here and do the time, as Japan is still probably the best value for your salary(though you can also do a fair bit of traveling from S. Korea salaries too...) |
I didn't say doing a US degree was less reputable, it depends on the school where you do your degree and whether its accreditted or not. US has literally dozens of 'diploma mills' that pump out Masters and Phds but are not recognised. The only schools I know of that offer accreditted legitimate masters degrees are School Of International Training, University of Shenandoah, University of Indiana and to some extent, University of phoenix Arizona. I currently know someoe studying for his masters at SIT.
The rest seem to operating out of postboxes, have some questionable regional accreditation or are not recognised outside certain states much less the US. The British and Australian degrees such as USQ Macquarie are offered by universities that are recognised by their own governments, unlike the US. I onlu suggest that you do your homework before choosing a school where to do your degree. It doesnt matter if you do your research, if no one recognises your institution.
here are some some links of accreditted universities
http://www.teachinginjapan.com/continuinged.html |
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scrying
Joined: 14 Nov 2004
Posts: 27
Location: Nagoya Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 7:06 am Post subject: |
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| ah, i'm afraid u misunderstand me, i meant "do research" as in background checking of programs, etc...(though you did say not v. reputable...re-read your post..sorry if i misinterpreted your meaning)...you're right on the diploma mills thing though, if I do go for the MA via distance I'll probably end up shooting for the UK |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:35 am Post subject: Re: JET Broke my heart |
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| candy_girl wrote: |
| I am looking to change careers, and wondering if work at any of the private schools (including the big 3) prepares one for work in the teaching field. |
EFL will do a lot in giving you the kind of classroom experience that will prepare you for teaching (and it'll help you find out whether teaching is actually a job you want or not). Having EFL experience may also help you get a teaching assistantship at whatever grad school you attend, which is a great way to help pay for school if you don't qulify for the sparse grants. However, your experience in EFL won't be given much creedence when you interview for teaching jobs in the US.
If you're looking to teach at the university level you should be aware (at least after the warnings from folks in this thread) that you probably won't be teaching university aged people in Japan (unless you go with Westgate, which has major drawbacks). You can work in universities in other countries (doing EFL) with only a BA, but be aware that in many countries professor type jobs at a university will require six classes a week (about 20 hours, like most any other EFL job), that you be on campus for longer time periods than that, and the pay will not be better than most straight up non-uni jobs. |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:38 am Post subject: |
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[quote="PAULH"]
| scrying wrote: |
I didn't say doing a US degree was less reputable, it depends on the school where you do your degree and whether its accreditted or not. US has literally dozens of 'diploma mills' that pump out Masters and Phds but are not recognised. |
The University of Pheonix (online) has a less than savory reputation as well, but it's nice to hear they're accredited. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:52 am Post subject: Re: JET Broke my heart |
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[quote="Sheep-Goats"]
| candy_girl wrote: |
| I am looking to change careers, and wondering If you're looking to teach at the university level you should be aware (at least after the warnings from folks in this thread) that you probably won't be teaching university aged people in Japan (unless you go with Westgate, which has major drawbacks). |
I just want to qualify this by saying that Westgate teachers are dispatch teachers employed by a conversation school, not by the university. You work on a university campus but you are not a professor or a 'lecturer' Giving yourself titles you have not earned is unprofessional and disingenuous. If you want to put down you were a university teacher I guess you can but dont forget to write your employers name, not the university's.
| Quote: |
| You can work in universities in other countries (doing EFL) with only a BA, but be aware that in many countries professor type jobs at a university will require six classes a week (about 20 hours, like most any other EFL job), that you be on campus for longer time periods than that, and the pay will not be better than most straight up non-uni jobs. |
You better qualify what countries you are talking about. people teaching in Korea and China get jobs in universities with a BA but you only need to be white and breathing to get hired. University jobs in Japan tend to hire people with higher qualifications though some unqualified people do slip through the cracks in Japan.
'most' countries in europe and English speaking countries require a minimum of a Masters degree. |
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