Job Discussion Forums

nomadder · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2003 12:26 am Post subject: Options of Masters

So some people are thinking of doing Masters but I wonder what are the real options once you do one. You read the Japan thread and things look difficult-hard to get in to the universities now, age barriers(35 plus have problems), part time and maybe full time if you're lucky or have connections, short term contracts, etc.

Are there really some good options for those with Masters and if so where are they? Is it really worth it?

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

I think the Middle East is a good example. Most of the good jobs there require a masters. If you want to teach in N.A., a masters is now required in community colleges or DOS positions.

Without a masters, you are extremely limited in where you work. You need it if you want to teach at that next level.

shmooj · Joined: 11 Sep 2003 Posts: 1758 Location: Seoul, ROK

For the professional development alone I would recommend a Masters. For me the ability to get a better job is icing on what was already a pretty tasty cake. Cool

nomadder · Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2003 11:47 pm Post subject:

Since the Middle East doesn't appeal to me I guess a Masters is a waste of time. Career development would be nice if you could afford it.

Psy · Joined: 12 Sep 2003 Posts: 10 Location: Peace Bridge

If you plan on teaching ESL at a University in the U.S. as I am, I believe a TESOL master's degree is one requirement among others. (State certification and licensure along with college supervised teaching are some others) As far as other countries go, I don't believe a master's degree is a necessity. Of course there are exceptions. It should depend on where and what kind of students you want to teach. All it should take is a little research.

As for me, I believe more education is never a bad idea.
Unless you're dirt rich...then it's a great idea.

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

I agree with shmooj. I knew when I headed back for my MA that it wasn't really all that necessary--I could stay where I was or move on to any number of countries with my current qualifications (a TEFL certificate and a couple of years of teaching experience). I went back primarily because I wanted to know more about teaching.

That said, though, there ARE other reasons to go back to school. Even in the countries/schools that don't require MAs, you can get better positions and salaries. You will have more schools to choose from. And, as another poster (psy?) pointed out, an MA is a basic requirement for teaching ESL in the States--which I, too, hope to do in a few years.

Oh, wait--nomadder--are you American? My impression is that you're not--I think I read something in another one of your posts. If not, then the MA requirement wouldn't apply anyway, unless you want to teach in my once-great (or at least once-not-evil) nation.

d

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

i found the material in the masters of no actual use in the classroom. i think it is of much more use to do the DELTA

cabbagehead · Joined: 22 Sep 2003 Posts: 46 Location: Japan

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

Keep looking dmb.
Some Masters programs are all theory and no practicality, but others aren't.
Try looking at a program that's in the Faculty of Education.

Wolf · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth

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

Wolf
BTW how is your Masters going?

dduck · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 422 Location: In the middle

cabbagehead · Joined: 22 Sep 2003 Posts: 46 Location: Japan

Distance MA in TESOL/Applied Linguistics with Leicester Uni in the UK.

I based almost every piece of work I had to do on my immediate situation at my school hence the relevance. Granted, others may not have employers willing to let you run research at their schools and other courses may not be as adaptable.

But that course was for me.

Wolf · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing

I may sign on to do a full-time MA in ESL/Linguistics soon.

What features of a master's degree program did you look for when choosing a university? What do you recommend I look for when considering degree programs?

Is learning more about CALL becoming a standard feature? I would like to learn more about CALL, but in your opinion, is CALL really relevant to today's ESL classroom?