Job Discussion Forums

Berlioz · Joined: 20 Jun 2009 Posts: 4

I have a Master's in TESOL from an accredited American university (in the U.S) and over thirty years' teaching experience, almost all of it in college/university ESL and EFL classes both in the U.S. and Asia. Yet I did no practicum or supervised teaching that was required as part of my degree. In short, I am not "certified," and from everything I've read, it seems I do not have Qualified Teacher Status. Someone suggested that I apply anyway and offer to take a PGDE course at Hong Kong University over the first two years of employment. I'd be willing to do that since it's only five hours a week (and hey--it might be fun), but the cost is prohibitive. Offering to do so might also make me look desperate. Comments/advice welcome.

RiverMystic · Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Posts: 1986

With your experience and an MA I think you'd have a chance of getting into the NET scheme, especially at primary school level. If you got an interview, you can, as you say, emphasise that you will do the PGDE part-time. You would be capped at the low end of the pay scale (about 30 000 a month). Once you got the PGCE your pay would go up each year, about 1300 a month or so (I think). Many PNET jobs are quite easy (not all), so it could be a way for you to sneakily work on some other projects in your plentiful spare moments. I am a secondary NET, and I have found a school which lets me get away with murder. I spend some of my time doing my own projects.

Anyway, go to www.scmp.com (classifieds). You will see jobs advertised there. You need to do the government (EDB) interview before you take an official NET position. But there are other jobs advertised which are not official NET jobs. Public and private schools would be the best paying, with cram schools being the short end of the stick. It's sometimes hard to tell the difference from the ad, but if it says "under the NET scheme", you won't be eligible.

darkside1 · Joined: 16 Feb 2005 Posts: 86 Location: Glasgow, Scotland

I have a mate who has the following qualifications and is applying for the NET scheme- how does he match up to the current NET requirements?

-BA Hons Soc Sci (UK )
-Tefl Cert from UK Uni with observed teaching component (How long does this have to be to match up to NET criteria?)
-PGCE in FE and Adult Education but no QTS
-Masters in Applied Linguistics and ELT

-20 years EFL experience including 15 years at the British Council in Spain. He has also taught on a number of BC summer schools in HK.

Any helpful comments appreciated.