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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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 Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 10:42 pm Post subject: |
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| wfh wrote: |
| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| Stephen Jones wrote: |
| You'll find people do check for the Bachelors before the Masters in the Gulf (which is fun for those with degrees from the older Scottish Universities). |
WHy's that? Older Scottish unis gave MAs without needing BAs? |
Yep, students graduate after three/four years with an MA degree instead of a BA. |
Does that still happen now? Sounds like a good deal. I think education is all about quality and not quantity. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 10:51 pm Post subject: Re: NO DEGREE = NO FUTURE |
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| roywebcafe wrote: |
| My degree is superfluous in reality but still opens doors for me. If you do get an MA + CElTA/tefl etc why not lie about a batchelors. Say you mislaid it. They will assume you have one if you have a masters. |
Don't lie. If you're ever caught, you risk some serious penalties, losing your job being only the start.
Don't know about where you've applied in the past, but in Japan, most employers and certainly immigration won't let you in the door without seeing the parchment. |
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wfh
Joined: 10 Nov 2006
Posts: 30
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| Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:11 am Post subject: |
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| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| wfh wrote: |
| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| Stephen Jones wrote: |
| You'll find people do check for the Bachelors before the Masters in the Gulf (which is fun for those with degrees from the older Scottish Universities). |
WHy's that? Older Scottish unis gave MAs without needing BAs? |
Yep, students graduate after three/four years with an MA degree instead of a BA. |
Does that still happen now? Sounds like a good deal. I think education is all about quality and not quantity. |
yes it still happens, and yes it's extremely high quality and a good deal (in my experience). |
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roywebcafe
Joined: 13 Jan 2006
Posts: 259
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| Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:49 am Post subject: Re: NO DEGREE = NO FUTURE |
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I do have a degree + Tefl BTW. It just doesn't add anything to ELT but does get me the job to begin with.
| Glenski wrote: |
| roywebcafe wrote: |
| My degree is superfluous in reality but still opens doors for me. If you do get an MA + CElTA/tefl etc why not lie about a batchelors. Say you mislaid it. They will assume you have one if you have a masters. |
Don't lie. If you're ever caught, you risk some serious penalties, losing your job being only the start.
Don't know about where you've applied in the past, but in Japan, most employers and certainly immigration won't let you in the door without seeing the parchment. |
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slaqdog
Joined: 29 Apr 2003
Posts: 211
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| Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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Where I work -CIS-they are totally hung up on seeing the original degree-paper counts for a lot out here; which is a pain in the arse when recruiting because people with great and valuable experience get turned down because we just cannot get the work permit. It may seem stupid but not having a degree limits your options.
A PGCE might be an option but I don't think the countries that demand a degree would accept that on its own-or an MA.
So the question is; Is it worth all that slog to get the degree and open a few more doors? If you are in it for the long haul yes: then a degree in Tesol/Tefl/Esol is probably the way to go and the cheapest option is back to the homeland for a three year slog on the breadline.
You never know you might learn something.... |
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khmerhit
Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 1874
Location: Reverse Culture Shock Unit
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| Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:46 pm Post subject: |
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| the trades are in big demand in canada--i know because i spend all my time reading the paper while trying to finish my worthless BA. bartenders make lots and can travel too, ask any fake irish bar owner...but seriosly, trades are good if you have the inclination |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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| slaqdog wrote: |
Where I work -CIS-they are totally hung up on seeing the original degree-paper counts for a lot out here; which is a pain in the arse when recruiting because people with great and valuable experience get turned down because we just cannot get the work permit. It may seem stupid but not having a degree limits your options.
A PGCE might be an option but I don't think the countries that demand a degree would accept that on its own-or an MA.
So the question is; Is it worth all that slog to get the degree and open a few more doors? If you are in it for the long haul yes: then a degree in Tesol/Tefl/Esol is probably the way to go and the cheapest option is back to the homeland for a three year slog on the breadline.
You never know you might learn something.... |
But why would they give a rat's behind about a bachelor's degree if you have a higher degree? |
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Antaraaaa
Joined: 04 May 2004
Posts: 120
Location: Dublin, Ireland
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| Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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I did my first ESL gig in China, and I did not have a degree.
Teaching and traveling in Asia was such a great experience for me, I don't think I have had a non-grateful day since I saw how life was for people over there, it really opened my eyes to a lot of harsh realities......
Anyways,
the people on this forum, the sharing of experiences, etc etc....eventually convinced me that going back to get my degree was a good idea. I am very fortunate that I had citizenship in a country that allowed me to avail of the 'free fees' scheme, and so I will (if things continue going well, lol) have a four year honours degree when I finish in June 2010. I am 2 months away from the end of year three!
I am 38 now, so I guess us old doggies can learn new tricks, lol.
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Antaraaaa wrote: |
I did my first ESL gig in China, and I did not have a degree.
Teaching and traveling in Asia was such a great experience for me, I don't think I have had a non-grateful day since I saw how life was for people over there, it really opened my eyes to a lot of harsh realities......
Anyways,
the people on this forum, the sharing of experiences, etc etc....eventually convinced me that going back to get my degree was a good idea. I am very fortunate that I had citizenship in a country that allowed me to avail of the 'free fees' scheme, and so I will (if things continue going well, lol) have a four year honours degree when I finish in June 2010. I am 2 months away from the end of year three!
I am 38 now, so I guess us old doggies can learn new tricks, lol.
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Well, I'm 45 and finally getting around to finishing up a four-year degree (I'm working on my last two courses now). |
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MDDude
Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 43
Location: Maryland, United States
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| Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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Hello everyone,
I am considering taking a CELTA in Thailand, and this degree issue is one of the biggest questions I have. I am from the United States. Is it acceptable to have a Bachelor's of Science degree? I have both an undergraduate and a graduate degree in Computer Science. Is it OK to have a degree in a "sciencey" area? |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:03 pm Post subject: |
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| MDDude wrote: |
Hello everyone,
I am considering taking a CELTA in Thailand, and this degree issue is one of the biggest questions I have. I am from the United States. Is it acceptable to have a Bachelor's of Science degree? I have both an undergraduate and a graduate degree in Computer Science. Is it OK to have a degree in a "sciencey" area? |
Yep, it's fine. |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:04 pm Post subject: |
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| MDDude wrote: |
Hello everyone,
I am considering taking a CELTA in Thailand, and this degree issue is one of the biggest questions I have. I am from the United States. Is it acceptable to have a Bachelor's of Science degree? I have both an undergraduate and a graduate degree in Computer Science. Is it OK to have a degree in a "sciencey" area? |
My bachelor of science degree is in multidisciplinary studies that include special education. The purpose of the four-year degree is mainly to be allowed entry into certain countries on a work visa; it's the governments of those countries that require it, not the school. Where schools require a degree, I think they're looking for a degree that would lead to teacher certification. |
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Marcoregano
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 872
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 1:53 am Post subject: |
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| Chancellor wrote: |
| My bachelor of science degree is in multidisciplinary studies that include special education. The purpose of the four-year degree is mainly to be allowed entry into certain countries on a work visa; it's the governments of those countries that require it, not the school. Where schools require a degree, I think they're looking for a degree that would lead to teacher certification. |
A few baffling non-sequiturs here Chancellor, but it's your last sentence that I think is most misleading and/or confusing. Any degree can lead to teacher certification. A degree is a degree. Teacher certification is teacher certification. The two are not always linked, and in most cases - certainly in the UK - teachers undertake teacher training as a separate qualification after obtaining their degree. OK, some take a bachelor of education degree, which involves doing both at once, but this is far less popular than the degree-followed-by PGCE route.
Anyway, certainly if you want to go down the professional teacher route (i.e. public sector education), you need to have proper teacher certification, or QTS for short (Qualified Teacher Status). However, in most of the TEFL world, schools are content with a degree (which usually takes four years in the US, usually three years in the UK) AND a recognised four-week TEFL certificate (CELTA and Trinity being the most widely recognised). |
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Gringo Greg
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 264
Location: Everywhere and nowhere
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| Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 5:16 am Post subject: |
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I've got a new idea, change the name of what you do, not what you do.
Yeah, teachers need degrees and that is just going to become more and more the case over the years. Yes there is no future if you are a teacher and have no degree. If you want to stay being a teacher, then this is a problem. You've got to get a degree.
But there are other ways...if you have years of experience in business, why not call yourself a Business Communication Consultant and be hired as that. You'd be essentially doing the same thing, but you might find it's easier to get a visa as a consultant than as a teacher.
You might also see about forming a company in the place where you are and hiring yourself as an employee. Lots of ideas?
Here is just one idea for someone who wants to avoid as much paperwork as possible in Mexico. Form a US company, easy to do. Have your company give you a letter saying that they are sending you to Mexico to do Business Communication Consulting and that your pay will come from US sources. Go to Mexican Consulate and they will give you an FM-3 based solely on that letter.
As long as all payments pass through the US company, you are good to go.
If you are living relatively close to the border, you don't even have to get an Fm-3 since the 30 day nafta visa will cover you. Just cross every 30 days.
You might even find a school willing to "contract" with your "US company" to provide "communication services" at their school. Be creative.
Where there is a will there is a way. |
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workingnomad
Joined: 26 Sep 2005
Posts: 106
Location: SE Asia
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| Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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I agree that without a degree these days you are screwed big time. I would never employ someone without a degree.
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