Job Discussion Forums

[MrBlueBook]

Hey everyone,

Just to give you a brief intro, I've recently gotten back to the USA after having lived in Thailand for about a year.

While I was there I taught ESL at what was basically a technical college, and Nontaburi Huawang near Don Mueng.

Before that, I lived in India (Jaipur, Rajasthan) for about 3 years working for a company that, yes - outsourced call centers.

I don't have any teacher certification, and I don't even have a bachelors degree. I'm 29 years old at this point.

Now, before everyone rips me a new one, this is not one of those posts looking to find out about finding a job when you're unqualified, etc.

I basically know I'm unqualified. I did a pretty good job of teaching, though I think, but I think it's a disservice to the students, myself, etc. not to do it the right way.

I REALLY liked teaching, too. I never felt burnt out. I always had a pretty good time, and despite problems with agents/agencies, etc. thought it was a really rewarding career.

What I want to do is get the TESL certification. I'de like to also go ahead and try to get a masters in applied linguistics.

My problem is that I want to do all of this as soon as possible, and I have to support myself in the process. I also don't have alot of money at this point.

I was wondering if there were any kind of fellowship programs, or foundations, etc. where I could do a work study type of program, towards getting real certification, and internationally recognized MA's in either applied linguistics, TEFL, education, etc.

I want to do it this way for several reasons - The foremost, is because at some point when I'm older I may want to come back to the US to teach/work. Besides that, I'm really a person who gets "itchy feet" and would love to get out of the country again, don't want to go back into the corporate sector (which pulled me out of university to begin with during the "tech boom"), I want to be fair to the students and good schools, etc.

Does anybody have any ideas about this?

Has anyone done, or seen programs like this that they could give me an evaluation of?

I don't need to make alot of money. I'm not really going to go crazy chasing women, so anywhere is ok (I am 29, though . . .!), and I don't want to become a mormon, a moonie, etc. I also don't want to, and am not really able to spend anything, or certainly not much, but can give alot of time, effort and dedication.

My other option, I guess is to just go and teach illegitimately, and work on online degrees through accredited schools that I can get financial aid for, but I'm really looking for something more like the above.
Regards everyone =

MrBlueBook

[fromCanada]

[chinagirl]

A master's degree is post-graduate study. You'll need a bachelor's degree first in the area of your choosing. Not to say that there aren't scams out there, but you seem sincere, so I'm telling it to you straight - there are no shortcuts. A master's degree is for people who already have a bachelor's.

You could get a bachelor's degree in education, if you were so inclined. Some schools now have 5th year in teaching programs, which means you can do a masters in year 5 for free. If money is a concern, start at a community college and then transfer in year 3. Take some loans.

I've never heard of any foundations offering certification - but the kind of certification that you speak of ( a short 1-3 months) would not qualify you for a masters degree. You will still need a Bachelor's degree.

You can go ahead and get a certificate without a college degree. If you go abroad, you can find work with it. Some countries such as Thailand, China, don't care. You won't find legit work anywhere that pays decently. The other thing to know is that if you ever want to teach anything at any level in the US, no one will give you the time of day unless you have a degree. Your CELTA or TEFL will be worthless here.

If you really want to be fair to your students, then you owe it to them to do it right. There are no short cuts. Your own education needs to be a priority. I know that traveling and living abroad is in itself it's own education - I've been there too. But you can only expect so much to be handed to you, and a bachelor's degree is pretty much something that everyone has to get these days.

If you are in the US, go to any local university and talk to someone in their education department about programs they may offer. The only free option I can think of is to join the Army or the National Guard, and I'm guessing you wouldn't want to choose that option

Good luck.

[surfingyogini]

At lots of the unis in Australia, you can do a Bachelor of Education (or B.Teach) externally, so can do it while you're OS working. Don't know about other countries though... check out the good uni guide for info on Australian uni courses...

http://ratings.thegoodguides.com.au/searchguide.cfm

[nomadic]