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ryulikia
Joined: 26 Sep 2007
Posts: 1
Location: USA
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 Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 4:37 am Post subject: I want to teach in China this fall, but I only have... |
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你门好！
I am sure this topic has been hashed and rehashed a million times but I always find contradicting reports and I am hoping for a reliable answer.
My name is Paul, and I am a 21 year old college student. This semester I will have received my AA Degree, and have taken a lot of teaching prep courses. I also plan to get my TEFL Certificate over the holiday break. In addition to that 我学了两个学期中文。(Hope my grammar is correct) I have also instructed several of summer art courses before, and currently work as a DJ so I have very clear pronunciation; and I would like to go to China and teach English this fall--however I am hearing more and more lately that a BA is mandatory. It's not that I don't plan to get my BA--I just want to go overseas while I am still young. I plan to continue taking classes online, while I am over there. I just need to know if I can find a 'good job' with what I already have.
What I mean by good job would be a school that actually pays (I have read some horror stories - lol ), has a decent support system, although I don't mind a smaller city, I don't particularly want to be in a goat farming village on the Kyrgyzstan border.
So with that in mind I hope to be able to teach this fall.
Oh -- I would also like to take my finance ' along also.
Any information about teaching requirements, or available positions would be appreciated. I would like either a 6 month or year long contract--I'm not picky.
Many Thanks
多谢，
保罗
Paul |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 4:52 am Post subject: Re: I want to teach in China this fall, but I only have... |
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| ryulikia wrote: |
你门好！
I am sure this topic has been hashed and rehashed a million times but I always find contradicting reports and I am hoping for a reliable answer.
My name is Paul, and I am a 21 year old college student. This semester I will have received my AA Degree, and have taken a lot of teaching prep courses. I also plan to get my TEFL Certificate over the holiday break. In addition to that 我学了两个学期中文。(Hope my grammar is correct) I have also instructed several of summer art courses before, and currently work as a DJ so I have very clear pronunciation; and I would like to go to China and teach English this fall--however I am hearing more and more lately that a BA is mandatory. It's not that I don't plan to get my BA--I just want to go overseas while I am still young. I plan to continue taking classes online, while I am over there. I just need to know if I can find a 'good job' with what I already have.
What I mean by good job would be a school that actually pays (I have read some horror stories - lol ), has a decent support system, although I don't mind a smaller city, I don't particularly want to be in a goat farming village on the Kyrgyzstan border.
So with that in mind I hope to be able to teach this fall.
Oh -- I would also like to take my finance ' along also.
Any information about teaching requirements, or available positions would be appreciated. I would like either a 6 month or year long contract--I'm not picky.
Many Thanks
多谢，
保罗
Paul |
You will find a job. It won't even need to be in Gansu. I got two job offers (and one more who was receptive if I e-mailed her, and I lost her e-mail address), and all I have is CELTA -- I don't even have the AA. I'm sure you're aware that the pay isn't great (someone in another forum said about $8,000 a year, I was offered a little bit more than that) but it'll buy a lot on the local economy ($8,000 a year = approximately 32,000 beers a year).
As for wanting to go overseas while you're young, I applaud you. I was 19 when I moved to South Korea, living off of savings from 7-Eleven. After almost two years of living off of savings here and studying at Yonsei University, I have to make some money, so I'm going to pack up and be teaching in China as well. Anyone who tells you that you need a BA to go overseas and work is just full of it. They're probably just regretting their own stupid decisions. You can get your BA online while living here if that strikes your fancy. |
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beautification
Joined: 09 Jan 2007
Posts: 111
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| Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 6:05 am Post subject: |
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You won't be able to work in larger cities without a BA (Beijing, Shanghai as examples) but smaller cities sure. You could get a job in my area Foshan or Shunde -- not too far from Guangzhou. You might be able to get a job in Guangzhou even.
What is an AA degree? If it kind of looks like a University degree it could help in obtaining a visa in areas that are too lazy to check on its validity  |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 11:42 am Post subject: |
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| beautification wrote: |
You won't be able to work in larger cities without a BA (Beijing, Shanghai as examples) but smaller cities sure. You could get a job in my area Foshan or Shunde -- not too far from Guangzhou. You might be able to get a job in Guangzhou even.
What is an AA degree? If it kind of looks like a University degree it could help in obtaining a visa in areas that are too lazy to check on its validity |
It's an associate in arts degree. It usually takes about two years to earn (60 credit hours, maybe a few more for more prestigious ones). I don't think most countries with the three-year university system use them, since there's only one year difference between the two, but in the US, it's a nice stepping stone between just high school and a BA. Usually tuition costs for the lower level classes (100- and 200-level classes) in an AA are very, very cheap relative to a four-year school.
I have often wondered about getting one (I'm almost there) and getting a job somewhere -- no lies, just say "yes, I have a degree," which is technically true, and see if I get the job and the visa. Who knows, maybe it'd work, but you could also be perceived as trying to deceive Immigration, I guess. |
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SnoopBot
Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 740
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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The Associate degree is a degree often offered by Community Colleges, it is a 2 year degree.
Once you complete this degree it is sometimes possible to go to a university for two more years and get a 4-year degree.
Many do this in the USA to save tuition costs, because the CC tuition rates are much lower, often the CC is near the student's home so travel time is lower too.
However, the AA or AS degree is now often considered "not good enough" in the work force these days.
China will not accept an AA/AS degree in the place of a BA/BS degree (If they enforce the 4-year degree requirement)
As mentioned Beijing, Shanghai has a tight market now, not having a degree would place you in the lower-end McMill jobs at best.
I have 2 Associate degree's I earned in the military years ago, one was in Liberal Arts and the other was Electronics Engineering Technology (AS).
I don't mention them on my current resume because they take up space. While they served their purpose years ago, I was promoted in the military for having them. They are now considered not useful for most positions in the tight job market found in the USA.
Sad but true...
(However, they should trump a backpacker applying for the same job with NO degree) |
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beautification
Joined: 09 Jan 2007
Posts: 111
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| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 5:22 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| It's an associate in arts degree. It usually takes about two years to earn (60 credit hours, maybe a few more for more prestigious ones). |
If I were you I would mention it on a resume. I am here with my girlfriend who doesn't have a BA but has other degrees similar to yours and we both (I have a BA) had no problem getting a Z-Visa in Guangdong. Now, from recent posts I do see that the police are cracking down on people teaching on F-Visas in Guangdong, so just make sure the school is able to get the Z-Visa |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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| beautification wrote: |
| Quote: |
| It's an associate in arts degree. It usually takes about two years to earn (60 credit hours, maybe a few more for more prestigious ones). |
If I were you I would mention it on a resume. I am here with my girlfriend who doesn't have a BA but has other degrees similar to yours and we both (I have a BA) had no problem getting a Z-Visa in Guangdong. Now, from recent posts I do see that the police are cracking down on people teaching on F-Visas in Guangdong, so just make sure the school is able to get the Z-Visa |
I came straight out to a potential employer in Guangdong that I only had CELTA and no degree, and she said it was okay and that they could still sponsor my L visa. Now, I can't be sure that it wasn't a scam, but I think it's still possible to get a job/get the visa there without.
I don't see why someone would omit their AA or AS from their resume, unless they had like 50 degrees. Contrary to the conventional wisdom on these forums "the ONLY thing you need is a degree in any subject" (completely ignoring the fact that a degree takes years and thousands of dollars to get) I believe a degree is a BIG thing that should be emphasized. However, if you have 50 of them, I guess you don't want to make your employer read through all the irrelevant ones. I can't see ever getting more than, say, 10, though. |
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SnoopBot
Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 740
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 4:48 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="Rooster_2006"]
| beautification wrote: |
| Quote: |
| It's an associate in arts degree. It usually takes about two years to earn (60 credit hours, maybe a few more for more prestigious ones). |
I don't see why someone would omit their AA or AS from their resume, unless they had like 50 degrees. Contrary to the conventional wisdom on these forums "the ONLY thing you need is a degree in any subject" (completely ignoring the fact that a degree takes years and thousands of dollars to get) I believe a degree is a BIG thing that should be emphasized. However, if you have 50 of them, I guess you don't want to make your employer read through all the irrelevant ones. I can't see ever getting more than, say, 10, though. |
In my case I had the two associates degree's, a BS degree and my 2 master's degree listed together and it almost took up 1 page of a resume. I found that I was shooting myself in the foot to list these, the resume would be trashed as too long.
I've been told my two Associates Degree's were not good enough, hence getting my BS degree a few years later. Nothing wrong with those that have an Associate degree, this degree should matter but in these days it doesn't matter.
I found those Associates degree's much more difficult to get because I earned them while on Full Active Duty military, which was difficult to do working +12 hours a day. So they shouldn't have been so easily discarded by future potential employers like they were.
In these days, a degree is a dime a dozen and it has gotten to the point a potential employer will check the rankings of your Master's degree to select their candidates.
The higher you go up in education the more important the name of the school is to your career. This is why I strongly suggest those that do Online Masters degree's to be very careful. These degree programs will not lead to teaching certification and to the bigger jobs.
The USA has a listing of Teaching Certified Schools, if your school isn't listed , you will be denied a license request from the State.
An example of this can be described as simple as this:
University A - offers a MA Ed program with various endorsements such as Early Childhood Education, TESOL, Special Education , Primary School ETC.
However, only a few of these areas are on the State license board granting list. So you just finished a Masters Degree specializing in Special Education, to find out you cannot be State Certified in Special Education you must pick another area or Alternate Certification.
It's all a mess, right now.. You need to have all your eggs in one basket to get those more Expat salaried teaching positions.
If not, one might go from one McJob to another waiting for their big break.
Not a pleasant situation (As you mentioned) after spending thousands of dollars for your education to find you will die before you will earn back the total cost of your education.
Lucky, for me I used my military education benefits for most of my education. If I was saddled with student loans I could have never been able to teach in China and repay back these loans.
Today my wife decided if we will continue teaching, we will either go to Taiwan or Korea because the Chinese wages are so low compared to the rising cost. (She is Chinese too) |
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tw
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
Posts: 3898
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| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 12:29 am Post subject: |
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| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
| I came straight out to a potential employer in Guangdong that I only had CELTA and no degree, and she said it was okay and that they could still sponsor my L visa. Now, I can't be sure that it wasn't a scam, but I think it's still possible to get a job/get the visa there without. |
Numerous posters have pointed out that even now, Guangdong seems to still issue FEC's and RPF's to people with L visas. So, that might explain why she said it was OK.
| Quote: |
| I don't see why someone would omit their AA or AS from their resume, unless they had like 50 degrees. Contrary to the conventional wisdom on these forums "the ONLY thing you need is a degree in any subject" (completely ignoring the fact that a degree takes years and thousands of dollars to get) I believe a degree is a BIG thing that should be emphasized. However, if you have 50 of them, I guess you don't want to make your employer read through all the irrelevant ones. I can't see ever getting more than, say, 10, though. |
And to many employers, or for that matter people at the local education bureau/ministry, they probably wouldn't know or care about the difference between an associated degree or a four-year degree as long as they see the word "degree". |
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