Job Discussion Forums

Jizzo T. Clown · Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 1:18 pm Post subject:

Henry--

You don't paint a very realistic picture. I'm sure the jobs you mention require a PhD and involve more than teaching ESL (probably Linguistics or Methods).

I'm aslo a member of TESOL and get their job digest weekly and have never seen ESL/IEP teaching jobs that pay what you claim.

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

The jobs require only an MA in TESOL (or a related field) and experience. A Ph.D. simply commands a (slightly) higher salary.

Again, this is the California community college (junior college and vocational education) system. It's not a university system.

On less than 70K a year in California, I was able to purchase real estate in an extremely central city in the SF Bay Area. It's by no means impossible.

Jizzo T. Clown · Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 4:47 pm Post subject:

Gee, it's too bad this topic wasn't posted in the North American forum! Crying or Very sad

Admittedly I don't know much about CA. Don't they have some strange credential requirements out there?

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

The community college jobs don't require "credentials," which are for K-12 teaching. They generally require master's degrees only (not doctorates).

Typical ESL workloads are three to five classes. In a given term, you might teach Reading 4, Writing 6, Grammar 1, and Pronunciation 3. Some classes meet five hours per week; others might meet as little as two hours a week.

Jizzo T. Clown · Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:47 pm Post subject:

Then what is this:

California Community College Instructor�s Credential in English as a Second Language

Question

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

I have no idea. Where did you find it? I googled the long phrase and found only the thread that you started here on Dave's ESL Cafe back on Friday the 13th of January 2006. Cool

I believe that taikibansei answered your question then. The credential no longer seems to be offered.

rusmeister · Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 867 Location: Russia

There are sweet job assignments, with special funding, that make much better offers than what is generally available.

A good example is the Anglo-American School in Moscow (which was founded as a school for US embassy kids in the bad old days). As a qualified teacher, I applied there, and found that they get funding from the federal gov't and have to publicly advertise positions in the states with the good salary and bennies (incl yearly family air travel and other goodies). But they actually don't hire that many teachers that way, and then only if you have other connections. The ass't director (who was planning to step down) told me frankly that the people who get those jobs are on rotating circuits and spend a few years in one such school in one country, and then transfer to the same school in another country. A majority of their hires are local, meaning they get desperate local expats, with pay significantly less and largely without bennies. I walked away.

Just reading your description, Henry, reminded me of that. I have worked East Coast, West Coast, public and private schools and centers on both, as well as Russia, have scoured all of the quarterlies and what not, and have not seen offers going that high. Perhaps the sources you're hooked into are required by law to put out such job advertisements...?

I said all that to say I believe you are telling the truth (and have found such an ad, and maybe even multiple ads), but know from personal experience that that's NOT average ESL pay nationwide, and wouldn't want someone looking to come to the States to teach ESL to think that it was.

Brooks · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara

north of New York, in Westchester county there is similar opportunity for ESL teachers. Getting a decent gig at a community college is the way to go.

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

Brooks · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara

what are taxes like in California, Henry?
As in the tax rate.

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

The property taxes are 1% of assessed value plus any special county assessments.

The income tax is 8% to 9.5%

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

gaijinalways · Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279

That's interesting if the community college jobs are paying that high in those states (NY and CA). Certainly in the Northeast, they're nowhere near that high and the ESL program budgets are being cut, not increased.

As to rich areas, at one time Fairfield County in Connecticut was ranked 1# for income (not sure about now), but ESL teaching posts have never paid that well (70K for a Master's at a community college). Maybe there are some other reasons why these colleges pay so well. Do these colleges also include living quarters (dormitories) and do they have large foreign student populations? The reason I ask as foreign students typically pay from 5 to 12 times what an in-state student will pay.

taikibansei · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Posts: 811 Location: Japan

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

There aren't all that many PhDs employed in California community colleges today compared to 20 years ago. And in ESL there are almost none.