Job Discussion Forums

[maj0915]

Hey everyone, recently I've been considering earning my Master's degree in Diplomacy/International Relations and I was just wondering how that would work out teaching-wise. By the time I finish my degree, I would have 3.5 years of teaching experience in China, one year of experience in the US, some conversational Chinese ability, a BA in English, and a TEFL certification.

I'm probably going to explore working in a different industry after graduating, but I'm curious about how the Master's degree would affect the jobs/salaries available to me. Here are some specific questions, for anyone who wouldn't mind sharing their knowledge or experiences:

1. Does a Master's in an unrelated field improve job prospects?

2. Does a Master's in an unrelated field improve per-month salary?

3. Is it possible to teach courses in your Master's concentration rather than English?

Any information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[RiverMystic]

Well, I have PhD in Policy Studies, focussing upon intelligence theory. Useless in today's market-driven university system. But it landed me just about the best job in teaching in China.

But like you I do not see ESL as my real job. It's just a way to make money and have a place to live while I do my writing, research and other stuff. So, it all depends what you want to do. Having an Masters might help if you have a teaching qualification and are going for good jobs in international schools and such - even if the Masters is not related. But Chinese schools are probably more interested where you got your degree from, rather than what you did. It can be very superficial here - they often want face more than anything else.

Edit: Think I better erase the rest. Even though I was being facetious, you never know who reads this stuff!

[roadwalker]

1. Yes it will improve prospects. All else being equal, the candidate with a master's will trump a candidate with a bachelor's, for example.

2. Yes, it will probably lead to a higher salary, but not enough to compensate for the expense, in time and tuition fees, of acquiring the degree.

3. Yes it's possible. Most schools won't pay you anymore than if you taught oral English though, in my opinion. If you market yourself well and develop a useful and interesting course, you may be able to find a university that will pay you more. Most of the time, I would guess that the average university would offer your course in western government or whatever, as an elective for those students interested in the topic and those who want another course in English.

[nomad soul]

[spiral78]

In more competitive job markets, an unrelated MA won't add any weight to a CV. I can't speak for how useful it will be in Asia, but in most of the rest of the world, it wouldn't be useful.

As this is the China board, though, I assume your long-term goals are to teach in China, so possibly my bits above are moot anyway.

[maj0915]

[currentaffairs]

Overall, I would say do an unrelated MA to fulfil your passion and own interest. It may add some weight to your job applications but not as much as 5-10 years ago. Lots of peeps have TEFL MAs or the experience behind them.

To teach courses in philosophy, international relations or whatever you would probably need a PhD or be studying for one.

[esl_prof]

If you want to move up the career ladder as a TEFL instructor, then do an MA in TESOL.

If you complete an MA in another discipline, consider carefully what your job prospects are. And, as currentaffairs noted, teaching jobs at four year schools typically require a PhD not just an MA.

http://chronicle.com/article/Graduate-School-in-the/44846

Community colleges, on the other hand, still hire lots of folks with only the MA, so long as they've completed at least 18 graduate hours in the discipline they wish to teach. Though, as with teaching positions at four year schools, those jobs are fairly competitive.

http://chronicle.com/article/Its-a-Viable-Career-Path/135628/

[spanglish]

I did this and it's worked out very well for me - after a *lot* of 'blood, sweat and tears.' I'd venture to say the OP's long-term goals need to be sharpened and clarified significantly. Beyond that, be prepared to make a hard break with teaching and for your experience to do you little if any good in your future career (in some cases it might hurt you even). Also - don't think for a second that that degree in IR is going to help you as an English teacher - either make the hard break and the career change or get yourself an MA in TESOL (I know I am repeating parts of what others have said). I don't know if you are as far along in your teaching career as I was but be prepared to take a large pay cut at the beginning of the change (I took a 50% pay cut after graduating from my master's degree). Finally, rankings and brand really, really matter in the esoteric world of International Relations/Affairs. Check out the master's programs rankings here - http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/03/top-twenty-five-schools-international-relations/

The methodology for that ranking is pretty awful, but it still does a pretty decent job of more or less ranking the world's top programs - the ones that are likely to help you actually get a job. The top 6 in particular are quite good; after that quality may fall off dramatically (with a few exceptions).

Best of luck and for sure go for what you really want to do. Not once have I regretted my choice.

[nomad soul]

[Omniscientfool]

Now failing out of a Ph.D. program, I'll have a second MA in political science/IR by Oct. The previous MA got me an extra 500rmb a month (whoopty-doo!) in China TEFLand. This one appears to have landed an offer to teach international politics in one of a second-tier city's universities for 8000/month, a bit more than half of the paltry salary as a teaching assistant in the U.S. Not sure whether to accept the financially mediocre offer to take a stab at a more stimulating discipline I've spent the last ten years studying or to cash in at preppy TEFL schools.

[esl_prof]

[Double_Dragon]

[Mikeylikesit114]

Hi everyone.
There seems to be a fair amount of confusion about what majors like international relations, diplomacy, global perspectives, public policy, etc, actually ARE.

At top schools, like Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, these programs are attended by the rich kids of corrupt business and government leaders (domestic and foreign). The sole purpose of these programs is to make it less embarrassing when their parents use their connections to get them a prestigious job somewhere. An added side benefit is it increases their connections to other rich kids of corrupt leaders.

Unfortunately, many middle class people don't know or understand this and think they they too can have a high flying career in international diplomacy just because they majored in IR at a state school, despite their lack of connections.

If someone ACTUALLY wanted to get into the field, a master's or PhD in East Asian Studies (or Middle Eastern Studies, or African Studies, or whatever) from a reputable university would be far superior.

[spanglish]