Job Discussion Forums

[RoseMarie]

I would like to go back to school and get my MA...in Arts and Aesthetics. Is that going to be helpful at all for a career teaching English? I understand that to work in a University setting, you need an MA (preferably in Education, Linguistics, or Education) and that to work in most places you need to be able to teach in your country of origin.

With an MA in any subject, you can usually teach in a community college in my country. So, what can I do with it abroad? I assume that it's better than not having gone to graduate school at all. If nothing else it should slip me in between people with an MA in Education, linguistics, or Education, and people with just a BA, so that when they run out of candidates in the first category, I'll be next in line.

Any advice, warnings, etc...

[Gordon]

If you want to teach ESL/EFL, why get a masters in arts and aesthetics (I'm not even sure what that is)? You may be right that it would be better than just a BA, but employers might and probably will ask you what it is or throw away your application because they don't care.

[Otterman Ollie]

Hi Rose Marie

I noticed that you didn't mention what you already have ,would I be wrong in thinking that you don't have a BA and a tefl ? This is usually the first thing any prospective employer looks for . The other stuff like an MA is considered ıcing on the cake , anyway the cost involved to you would make me question the whole economics of the venture ,some employers pay you a bit more for it but we are not talking mega bucks here .

[RoseMarie]

I knew you guys were going to question my motives for the MA in arts and Aesthetics. Honestly English is NOT a passion of mine. The best part of teaching English are the discussions that I have with my students and the opportunity that exists for cultural exchange. If I could ever master the language of my host country and find a way to get out of teaching English and into teaching in my field, I would do it in a heartbeat.

So basically, I want to pursue my passion, while leaving myself with a way to earn a living. Maybe I'm asking for too much. Maybe that is not an acceptable motive for pursuing this career. But then again, that's pretty much my motives for pursuing any career. Unless it involves singing and dancing, or jaunting around the world doing fieldwork in exotic places, it's not going to be my passion. But at least teaching English would let me jaunt around the world, no?

As for why would I get this MA when it's not relevant (Otterman Ollie says that I would make only slightly more money with it), I was under that you needed to be able to teach in your own country to be legal in Turkey and that an MA is absolutely necessary to teach in certain locals (ie. university). see my first post for details My main goal in life is to teach in a university setting. Originally I thought that I wanted to teach Indology or Anthropology, but when I realised that I don't want to live in most of the English speaking countries, I also realised that it would be hard to get a faculty position like that abroad. So.... enter Teaching English Career.

P.S. An MA in Arts and Aesthetics is a Masters degree in Art and the philosphy of what makes something beautiful, artistic, etc...

[scot47]

Yes. I am interested in breeding pigeons, but I am not going to do a degree in that and then expect to get a job teaching English.

Most people teaching English have other interests in life and manage to pursue them while holding down a job.

[RoseMarie]

That's funny because I DID get a job teaching English with a BA in an unrelated field. Some stupid employer seemed to think that having an education, even if not in English, made me more qualified to teach English than the other applicants. What an idiot.

Higher education is not a hobby - it's an intellectual endeavor. It teaches you to think critically, especially if you're required you to wrote 60-100 pages of publishable material in the English language. I learned a lot of random tidbits about the correct usage of the English language from the criticisms I got while writing my undergraduate thesis.

Did anyone notice that I said an MA (higher education) and a CELTA? You must have... you clicked on that big link. I would expect to get a job by virtue of the CELTA and prior work experience. What I want to know is if an MA in an unrelated field is at all helpful or completely irrelevant. I ask because an MA in any field qualifies you to teach in my country, and someone said in another thread that to be legal in Turkey you should be qualified to teach in your country of origin. I specifically stated my reason for asking in my original post, and NO ONE has responded to my line of questioning. Frankly, your sarcasm is a little over the line.

I said helpful at all, not the best career decision in the world. Perhaps, I'm not as gung ho about this proffession as some other people, but an education has to count for something. I've also worked for several years as a nanny with no degree in child psychology, either. What are the world's standards coming to?

(By the way, I doubt that some employer is going to throw a resume listing a CELTA and experience teaching English in the trash because the applicant has an MA in an unrelated field.)

Look, all I wanted was a simple answer clarifying immigration laws and what locations expect what qualifications, not snotty attitude from people who think that their qualifications are better than mine.

[Otterman Ollie]

Hi
Sorry RM I didn't intend to belittle or trivilize your pursuit of intellectual excellence ,its just that I meet so few people who work in a Uni with an MA . Surprised ! I was too ,hence my earlier remark . I know that it is shall we say nice to have it at intervew time but,the majority of employers I 've run across prefer experience to a fist full of documents . Strangely enough the last time I sat down with one he seeemed more impressed by my previous bosses certificates he gave for a job well done Tesakurs and such like ,he said he had never seen a foreign teacher with one before .
There are only a handful of fellow professional I've met as well who are qualified enough to teach in their own country . Its all about supply and demand ,fully qualified teachers can justify much higher salaries than the average 1.5 to 2.00 miliyar a month ,but, who would pay it not many especially in places like Izmir .
Must say I quite like the sound of this other stuff you were on about ,but where it fits in with this lot god knows .

[RoseMarie]

Okay, I really appreciate the information. Sorry, for almost having a heart attack, but it seems like people are so quick to criticize sometimes, and I'm not targeting you with that statement.

Everything that you just said was very helpful and I really appreciate it. That's exactly the kind of information I was looking for.

I think I'll go calm down now.

P.S. Going off of what you just said, would you recommend that teachers ask for letters of recommendation when they leave their schools? I feel pretty confident that I can get my supervisor to write me a glowing recommendation. I also have nice student reviews. Should I put papers like that in a portfolio, or would that be overkill?

[Gordon]

Yes, get letters of recommendation from your empoyers when you leave. Include any feedback from observed lessons that were done, if they were done. This is even better than a standard letter.

[Otterman Ollie]

Hi RM

Without a doubt get as much as you can in the way of testimonials ,letters ,references even stuff from students or even better their PARENTS . This kind of stuff goes a long way and the bigger your portfolio the better ,always cultivate torpil anyway you can ,its not about WHAT you know but WHO .
When I taught in Tire the mayor came and watched me teach his grand son and when I left I saw him about a leter of introduction he was more than happy to help his "foreign " friend .