Job Discussion Forums

umm1 · Joined: 08 Aug 2006 Posts: 8

Hello everyone,

This is my first post. Does anyone have any info on how employable someone with a CELTA and no degree (a few college credit hours) would be. I have a masters in education and eight years teaching experience but my husband has no degree and is thinking of completing a CELTA becuase we would both like to get jobs in the middle east. Does he have a chance?

thrifty · Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 1665 Location: chip van

He could get a language school job but the pay and conditions would be very poor.

tedkarma · Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 8:12 am Post subject:

Working in the Middle-East is difficult enough with good qualifications (one reason they pay well) - so you can guess that the lower level jobs will be very unpleasant.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

I don't know about the ME, but here in Japan, if your spouse gets a FT job, you can get a dependent visa and be eligible to work PT at practically any job. Of course, some employers will want you to have the degree, but not all.

What is your nationality? Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and New Zealanders can get a working holiday visa (no degree required) if they meet the requirements.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

There are still a few countries where someone with certificate only can get a teaching job, but as others have said, those will be bottom rung jobs in a McSchool such as English First. Those are okay as a first job to get a little teaching experience on his resume, but he can't expect the pay or conditions to be great.

umm1 · Joined: 08 Aug 2006 Posts: 8

We are Americans

What is your nationality? Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and New Zealanders can get a working holiday visa (no degree required) if they meet the requirements.[/quote]

teacherpunk · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 25

hey everyone, this is also my first post. forgive me for the non-capitalization, but i am very informal when posting on message boards.

like the original poster i am also curious about not having completed my degree work. i'm hoping to start my celta program in oct. in nyc, and after that i'll be looking to find work in eastern europe somewhere. i would prefer to work in russia, ukraine, or in prague, but would be willing to work someplace else for the first year or so just to pad my resume with some experience.

i'm not what you would call uneducated. i realize that having the rubber stamp of a degree sometimes makes all the difference in the world, but i only need about a years worth of classes to finish my b.a. i went to school for philosophy, so there's no doubt that i have an understanding of language (ever tried reading 400 pages of dewey and william james back to back and understanding them?), but i am not sure if employers will necessarily understand the rigorous nature of a philosophy degree.

best case scenario for me would be to get a job teaching in moscow or prague, even for low-end pay, and finish up the last bit of course load i have for my degree while there. i'm at the point now where all i really have left are electives anyways, so i was hoping i could fill those with language classes. however, i cannot afford to do any kind of internship. i'm not exactly in a position to be able to toss aside everything and work for free for a year.

with a few great letters of recommendation from professors, my almost b.a., and a celta, do you think i'll be able to at least find something in one of those places?

thanks
mike

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Assuming that you have a professional appearance and a responsible manner, you should be able to find entry-level positions in either Prague or Moscow with your qualifications.
Can you fund your studies to finish up your BA?
Entry level jobs don't pay enough to subsidize any important extras, ...you can expect to make enough to live all right, but if you need to fund your schooling also, it's probably too tight to make it work.

teacherpunk · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 25

Glenski,
i didn't mean to sound pompous or anything raving about how much better a degree in philosophy was than anything else. i just meant that to be able to get through a degree in philosophy you need a very high level of comprehension. reading philosophy isn't like reading hemingway or carver, it's very wordy and thick with information. i know a few english majors who've tried reading metaphysics and the language was just too thick for them to get through. i've also had to do a lot more writing than any english majors that i know. obviously linguistics is different and grants you a different type of understanding of language.

spiral,
i would plan on funding my own education, assuming it'll be a little less expensive overseas than here in the states. if i can get the work i won't be overly concerned with finishing it right away. so long as i can keep getting jobs i'd be happy to chip away at it over a couple years.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

teacherpunk · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 25

[quote="Glenski"]

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Whoa... someone's just a wee bit defensive. That's quite a rant there.

teacherpunk · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 25

yeah, sorry about that. i just woke up and can be a bit grumpy without my coffee.

look, i just want to teach. i think i'm more than qualified to be able to communicate the english language. school is too expensive here in the states for me to be able to finish up, so this is basically my only chance to do what i want to do. and for someone to question my education or qualifications pisses me off, because it is kind of a joke that someone with a physical education major would get a job teaching english before me.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia