Job Discussion Forums

Sheikh Abdullah · Joined: 07 Mar 2009 Posts: 54 Location: California, USA

I have been hearing from quite a few people that if you have a Bachelors degree in anything other than English, it's hard for you to get an employment visa. How accurate is this? I called a recruiting agency here in the states and they said even if the company hires you with your degree, it ultimately depends on the cultural mission center in Washington DC. Anyone know about this in detail? Please respond.

Thanks,

Abdullah

trapezius · Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 9:23 pm Post subject:

Most ESL instructors I know or know of have bachelor's degrees in fields other than English.

johnslat · Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:39 pm Post subject:

Dear trapezius,
Hmm, guess it may depend on where you work. Just about every EFL teacher I knew in the Kingdom had at least a MA, usually in TESOL or Applied Linguistics.
I was kind of an exception. My MA is in English Education. But I was first hired way back in 1980.
Regards,
John

trapezius · Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:33 am Post subject:

I didn't say anything about master's degrees. Just that their bachelor's degrees were in various fields, such as history, economics, linguistics, even physical education. After that, of course, they had done some ESL certification. And yes, some did have a master's in TESOL or in applied linguistics.

A lot of people study whatever in college, and when they can't find jobs, they do some ESL certification and start on the adventure of teaching ESL around the world! I have no idea what percentage of ESL instructors fit that, but there definitely are quite a few.

12 Monkeys · Joined: 06 Apr 2009 Posts: 82 Location: paradise lost

trapezius · Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:17 am Post subject:

You can't just study whatever in college and then do some "mathematics certification", as there is no such thing. You need to have degrees in math to teach it at tertiary level.

12 Monkeys · Joined: 06 Apr 2009 Posts: 82 Location: paradise lost

Relax my dear friend. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. I just read your previous posts and comented on that. You seem to go for the throat. I know history, physics, and archeology profs that travel the world. Yes I have a BA in English Lit. and TESL certification and this is my ticket to travel the world as you say. Is it not?

Cornelius

johnslat · Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 1:49 pm Post subject:

Dear trapezius,

"I didn't say anything about master's degrees."

That's true - you didn't. Or, for that matter, about Ph.Ds or ESL certification.
Which may be why I apparently misunderstood your post.

Regards,
John

GlobalDawg · Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Posts: 91

Rather than calling a recruiting agency, try calling the Cultural Mission Center in Washington, DC. I called once and the person I spoke with was very courteous and provided me with the information I sought. In fact, he even returned a call to me (long distance) once he had gathered the correct information.