Job Discussion Forums

[lucifer911]

Considering the cost and time to obtain a university degree I am wondering if it is worth the investment. I am 26 years young and have a TESOL Cert III qualification. I currently live with my parents and aim to save up $5k so I can travel to my first country.

I am in dilemma though... I have completed 2 out of 36 subjects to finish a university degree and I am wondering if its even worth my time when I can work without a degree. I have my TESOL Cert III and will probably upgrade it to Cert IV.

I plan on working in eastern europe - Ukraine, Russia, Slovakia are my preferences.

Given my circumstances is it necessary to complete a uni degree? I have heard quite a few TEFL teachers use fake university degrees!!!

So whats the deal?
what can I gain from a uni degree? and will it justify the time and investment I put in to completing a degree?

Off the top of my head I know France, Germany, Czech, Middle East require a university degree to teach. I know eastern europe doesn't require a uni degree...

........ help!!!!

[denise]

It depends on how long you want to teach, why you want to teach, what you want to do afterwards, and where you go--keeping in mind that just because a certain country doesn't require it, in your job search you will be competing against people who will likely have degrees, so you probably won't get the best jobs.

But generally, yes, it helps you. No, it is not absolutely necessary.

d

[lucifer911]

well... why would a person with a university degree apply for jobs in countries which do not require a degree? they could work in middle east and earn more money...

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Because most people in the middle east have relevant GRADUATE degrees, and the reality is that in the countries where you DO need a degree (like in Japan), there is a huge amount of competition, with most of the jobs going to people who are already in-country, and already speak intermediate Japanese and who have TESOL training as well, and there are more than a few people with masters degrees in Applied Linguistics or TESOL (et al), intermediate Japanese etc running around looking for jobs that require only a BA to do (because there aren't enough university or college jobs around for everybody with the appropriate qualifications to do those jobs). And so if you've already tried to get a job in a country like Japan, but the idea of a place like Korea scares you because of everything you've heard about it, then you might think about going to a country where the cost of living is lower, the pay is lower, but the overall consensus is that it's a nice place to live. With a degree you have significantly more than the minimum requirements to work in the country and that makes you a desirable applicant- just like the guys with masters degrees in TESOL working at junior high schools in Japan, when they could be teaching at a university.

Keep in mind that if it is your intention to make teaching English your career, then you will likely want to eventually get a master's degree in teaching English language. You can't without an undergraduate degree. If you think about it as if it were a retail store, then wanting a career in it, generally means you want to move into management (if for no other reason than you get paid a lot more). At this company (and in reality, it is most companies anyway) you are required to have a degree to work in management. So you can have a career in retail without a degree, but it's a career as a full-timer making $8.25 an hour or whatever stocking shelves, greeting customers, ringing through puchases, occasionally working as a reciever checking the list of what was supposed to arrive with what actually arrived (ie doing the stuff that the manager tells you to do). But you will be doing it (for $8.25 an hour) FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. Think about being 45 years old and earning $8.25 an hour stocking shelves, and having done that for the last 25 years.

[Glenski]

Get the degree. You'll appreciate it in the long run.

[denise]

[Justin Trullinger]

[fladude]

I'm going to buck the trend here. Go teach without a degree!!

Maybe you will get a job, maybe not. But you are only 26 so if you don't, then you can reboot without much problem.

I have a lot of degrees and honestly feel like much of it was a waste of time and money.

If you are going to a cheap public school, you might want to finish it up. But if you are at an expensive private school and are living off of student loans, then get out now!!! The schools tell you that the expensive education will pay off, but the reality is that for most people it does not. Not having a degree won't ruin your life, but massive student loans that you can't repay will.

[Madame J]

Yes, there are schools that don't require degrees, but most won't hire from outside the country. From what I hear some places are relatively easy to find work in, degree or no degree, but as others have said they will be the low level jobs. I'm going for it without a degree myself, but I don't plan to do it for more than a year.

If you do go ahead without a degree, just be honest about not having one. Is it really worth spending what should be an exciting experience living in another country with the constant anxiety in the back of your head that you might get busted? I believe that it isn't only a case of getting sacked if that happens, but sometimes even deported.

[Chancellor]

[Greg 09]

Not to mention becoming a more well rounded person. In the time it takes to get the degree, you'll learn more by osmosis than the Uni profs can possibly teach you. Just the experience it worthwhile and, sure, you're much more marketable, which equals $$$. Useful stuff that.

[jdl]

Get the degree!

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Um...yah!

NCTBA

[throwdownyourcrutches]

[jdl]

"Better, eggs today than chickens tomorrow"? I guess your decision, lucifer911, will depend a lot on how you interpret this adage.