Job Discussion Forums

[frozenpeas]

I'm currently working in Korea. 3 Years experience (2 years EPIK), A Bachelors degree in English literature and a full CELTA.

I want to move to HK as soon as possible, but I don't want to stop working. EPIK is quite easy, and I have a lot of free time for studying. If I were to do an on-line Masters in Education with say, the Open University. I would have a Masters in Education, but I would not have qualified teacher status.

Would this be sufficient to start working and advancing up the pay scale in HK? Or should I return to the UK for a year and do a PGCE?

I also read that you could work as a NET and get your PGDE at the same time from the University of HK. Has anyone done this and would you recommend it?

Please help, I have to get out of Korea - it's draining my will to live!

Thanks!
Matt

[once again]

A masters degree doesn't really get you much in the primary or secondary levels. Of far more importance would be a full public teaching cert, such as the PGCE. I know many people who have done the PGDE at Hong Kong Uni aswell as serving as NETs. Its not that difficult to manage both, provided that you have a reasonable work load at school.

[dandan]

Agree with Once Again, if you're looking for a teaching position then a Masters is not really relevant. People usually take a Masters when they're ready to move out of teaching into education research, teacher training/lecturing or school administration (depending on the Masters programme).

A mainstream teaching qualification such as BEd, PGCE, PGDE etc or a specialist EFL Teaching qualification will be more relevant.

[frozenpeas]

Thank you.

Would it be a good idea to mention the fact that I want to do a PGCE in my application?

do you think it would be taken as a sign that I am serious about my career, or would it count against me for taking up too much of my time and perhaps distracting me from my work.

[monty97]

Hi there,

A PNET friend did a PGDE in English part-time over 2 years in HK. You do realise that the qualification would not help you get a job outside of HK.
Good luck.

[once again]

That is an interesting comment about a Hong Kong PGDE not allowing a job outside of hong kong. Why? The Hong Kong PGDE qualifies a person to teach a specific subject, and as such, is not really suitable for somewhere where a teacher is expected to teach maths etc.

But is Hong Kong the only place that has specialized teachers? Can a teacher qualified in Hong Kong take a conversion course in an other country?

I am not sure, so this really is just a search for extra information.

[once again]

Srry, forgot to answer the OP. Yes, schools appreciate it if you say you will do the PGDE.

[Marcoregano]

I would have thought that a Hong Kong PGDE is the equivalent of the UK's PGCE - i.e. you attain QTS, you become internationally recognised as a teacher in whatever your subject is. Ergo, it is certainly worth doing if you see your future in teaching primary or secondary education.

[Honky Nick]

I used to think that PGDE from HK was not worth anything outside HK, but a friend of mine has done the course, and she assures me that it's legit outside of HK.

I think it should be fine, but probably just double-check before your sign up for the course.