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adorabilly
Joined: 20 May 2006
Posts: 430
Location: Ras Al Khaimah
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 Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 2:37 pm Post subject: |
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Hey Kite.
Helen and Lime said it very succinctly (sp?).
Without the MA and the experience, no university here will touch you (as full time faculty. You can get in and do adjunct work, but smaller pay and NO benefits).
without the teachers certification no expat/international/english speaking school here will touch you.
Those are the two highest paying education jobs here in the UAE.
So either finish the MA, or get the teaching cert from the states. It is easily worth it in the UAE.
There are jobs for non MA, non teaching cert folks but they are run by dodgy establishments, and you can make more teaching in Korea or Japan. |
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kiteflyer
Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 5:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Is an online/distance degree MA TESOL acceptable? |
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adorabilly
Joined: 20 May 2006
Posts: 430
Location: Ras Al Khaimah
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| Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 7:38 am Post subject: |
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They usually are, just so long as the school isn't a diploma mill online.
I know several people who are here in the UAE who have online MA's, and I know lots of folks who are here and currently working on online PhD's. |
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kiteflyer
Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 12:54 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you for your honest response.
I have waited to enroll for this degree, contingent upon it's acceptance, especially somewhere in the UAE. |
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one bird
Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 2:47 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="like2answer"]
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However, new PhDs are arriving at HCT all the time. Why? There are jobs here. There are very few jobs to be had in Canada, the USA, the UK, Australia. Sure, the people are over qualified, but who isn't at HCT? Master degree holders are teaching in Diploma Foundation (Middle school math and Elementary school English).
In my small little area, I know of three new PhD holders who arrived this year alone - none teaching in the bachelor programs. With the new way HCT is heading, they'll need all the PhD holders they can get their hands on.. |
I am wondering what is the new way HCT is heading....
Is it still a good place for PhD holders to work in.
I read that some people said, it is a horrible place.....others said it is ok and may be good.....Is it a risk to work in this place or can be ok....
Really, the more one goes through all posted discussion, the more confusion he gets ...am I right !!  |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 3:48 pm Post subject: |
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HCT is a large system... something like 14 branches and nearly a 1000 teachers. Some branches are better than others... some managers are better than others... some people get along with their managers and others don't. That is life when one is in education or any other field.
Another factor of boards like this is that it is usually the unhappy teachers that have the incentive to come here and post. So weigh the number of negative posts over the last few years versus the size of their faculty and make your own decision.
Is it a good place for someone with a PhD? I'd say that it is better than most, but probably not the best. UAEU or AUS or ZU *might* be better. It depends on what your PhD is in and your goals.
VS |
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one bird
Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
Another factor of boards like this is that it is usually the unhappy teachers that have the incentive to come here and post. So weigh the number of negative posts over the last few years versus the size of their faculty and make your own decision.
Is it a good place for someone with a PhD? I'd say that it is better than most, but probably not the best. UAEU or AUS or ZU *might* be better. It depends on what your PhD is in and your goals.
VS |
Thanks VS for your wise words. I can not PM you as my posts are less than 25. From the posts, your were working in HCT. Does it mean you were unhappy working there...I appreciate telling me your experience with your wise words...
Thanks |
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Afra
Joined: 02 Feb 2003
Posts: 389
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:48 pm Post subject: |
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| HCT is actively recruiting PhD holders as lead faculty - title may have change recently - as there are now several 'centres of excellence' which are required to do research. Dubai Men's for Engineering, Al Ain for English Language, etc. |
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SheikhShamal
Joined: 26 Jun 2009
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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I can not for the life of me understand why somebody with a Doctorate, or in the process of getting one, would ever want to work at HCT. It's a glorified further education college, populated by students who were not bright enough to get into one of the 'wonderful' UAE universities. Where is the scope for meaningful research there? Oh, right - the word 'meaningful' has been debased to include 'looks good on paper'.
Let's be totally frank here - if an Emirati has any brains, he'll go and study abroad. And the girls will settle for ZU, or any of the other 'social clubs' that the UAE likes to call Womens Colleges. Most (but not all) of the students there are dull, lazy, and ungrateful for their well-resourced colleges and unis., and display about as much drive and ambition as a camel on holiday. Again - what is the subject matter for research there?
Unless, of course, it's to study just why one particular nation, with some of the best human and technical resources in the world, still find it impossible to reach the 'mediocre' bar on the world's academic league tables.
Sorry to sound SO cynical - but almost every tertiary-level teacher in the UAE will state the same. It's the truth. And I must say that a researcher would find HCT very disappointing - unless they enjoy teaching remedial level English day after day, without any tangible results.
PS: I think the term 'lead faculty' is appropriate - as long as 'lead' rhymes with 'bread'! |
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Noor
Joined: 06 May 2009
Posts: 152
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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I've met a number of people who did a doctoral degree in order to secure more stable or better paying work. They weren't at all interested in doing innovative research; some weren't really interested in doing any research at all. After looking through a number of journals in the university libraries, my impression is that most of the world's published research goes unread and is done simply to meet the requirements of the university that the professor might keep his or her job.
Not every PhD is out to change the world. |
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one bird
Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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No place is perfect
Last edited by one bird on Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:37 am Post subject: |
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| SheikhShamal wrote: |
And the girls will settle for ZU, or any of the other 'social clubs' that the UAE likes to call Womens Colleges. Most (but not all) of the students there are dull, lazy, and ungrateful for their well-resourced colleges and unis., and display about as much drive and ambition as a camel on holiday.
Sorry to sound SO cynical - but almost every tertiary-level teacher in the UAE will state the same. It's the truth. |
I am always happy to see teachers with this sort of attitude leave the Gulf. They are obviously not cut out for this sort of teaching and should move on when they become this cynical because the students pick up on it and perform to expectations.
I strongly disagree that "almost every tertiary-level teacher will state the same" as I have found that the teachers that I worked with did not, nor do my friends that still teach within this system. Perhaps one needs to be a woman to understand and relate to these young women. Yes, many, if not most of them, are rich and spoiled. Their families will marry them off within a nanosecond of their graduation with little or no input from them. For four years they get to study... work with other young women, many of whom are exceptional (and one is devastated that their options are so few)... and get to meet and work with teachers from many countries and cultures.
The women in these colleges deal with their reality. The colleges are their escape and the social life probably is more important to them than the academics. And why not? Most of them will never be allowed to work by their families anyway.
They will never have the opportunity to just pack up and go halfway across the world to teach the young women of another culture... and make lots of money... and then head home and bitch about what lousy students they had because they weren't academic enough.
VS |
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Afra
Joined: 02 Feb 2003
Posts: 389
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| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 6:51 am Post subject: |
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| VS is correct, although things have moved on a little since her time here. There are many women graduates who have responsible jobs in the UAE. Many have started their own businesses or work in the private sector, not opting for the easy 'government job' route of the men. A significant number of my students are proud and happy to support their wives in academic or business endeavours. Teachers' attitudes and expectations influence their students. If we expect little, that's what we'll get and we do our students a disservice. |
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ItsJustMe
Joined: 29 May 2009
Posts: 34
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| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 8:50 am Post subject: |
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| SheikhShamal wrote: |
| Most (but not all) of the students there are dull, lazy, and ungrateful for their well-resourced colleges and unis., and display about as much drive and ambition as a camel on holiday. |
In my experience, I have found that students often measure up to the quality and expectations of their professors. After all, it is the professor's job to elevate the student to a higher level of knowledge and awareness. I have seen the change in the motivation of my own students when I successfully engage them in class. I remember the point in my own education when I transitioned from being mediocre at best to the realization that I could accomplish something positive by taking advantage of the opportunity to improve myself. I credit that change to the drive of my professors, not my own self-awareness.
Good for the schools that are trying to raise the standards of their faculty. Working for a school whose students are not the cream of the crop can be fulfilling if you have the right attitude. The best way for these schools to deal with "dull, lazy, and ungrateful" students is to avoid hiring faculty of the same ilk.
IJM |
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Noor
Joined: 06 May 2009
Posts: 152
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| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 11:42 am Post subject: |
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| ItsJustMe wrote: |
| I remember the point in my own education when I transitioned from being mediocre at best to the realization that I could accomplish something positive by taking advantage of the opportunity to improve myself. I credit that change to the drive of my professors, not my own self-awareness. |
Thank you for sharing that.
In fact, thanks for all the recent replies in this thread. It's inspiring to read something besides gripes and complaints.
Carry on. |
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