Job Discussion Forums

texasisthereason · Joined: 29 Apr 2009 Posts: 52

Hey there---- I was working in HK for about 2 years at random PT positions and a few morning kindergartens. Had a visa and did the entire thing legally, but I decided that it was beginning to become a bit stressful financially (no paid vacation) and stressful due to short contracts.

I have returned to the states and am finishing my post-baccalaureate teaching certification next Dec (09) and would like to return to HK for the NET scheme or an international program. I have BSc. in Geography/Biology and have taught for the last 7 years abroad (Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong). I will also have my physical education cert along with EC-6 teaching cert.

What is the next best step to take before returning? When should I apply for the NET scheme? Has anyone had success with the international schools? Any advice would be much appreciated.

oxi · Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 347 Location: elsewhere

Hi texas,

I don't think you'll get much luck with replies as your queries are very similar to other posts already here. Have a browse around.

For a quick answer - yep, you might as well apply to the NET scheme. Why not? But generally, applicants need a PGCE/PGDE. All the rest is cream on top. In more desperate times, the EDB will take people without a PGCE, but I don't think they need to this year. It might be a bit late for the September batch - but you can apply now anyway - it's ongoing.

Marcoregano · Joined: 19 May 2003 Posts: 872 Location: Hong Kong

Sounds like the OP will have QTS but I suspect you will also need a year or two post-qual experience to get onto NET thesedays. NETs are probably hanging on to their jobs in these dodgy times so there is likely to be tough competition for the posts available. But, like oxi says you never know - worth a shot for next year's intake.

texasisthereason · Joined: 29 Apr 2009 Posts: 52

oxi- thanks for the reply- I have had a look around the board and seen similar posts but I am looking to find out specifically when I should submit my application to the NET scheme. Am I able to do apply while I am still in the teaching program or must I wait until I am finished. I also was unsure as to when to apply since I would like to start work in December.

I am unsure of the difference in PGCE and teaching certificate. I am in a 2 year program at a state university to qualify myself as a teacher. Are they one in the same?

Marcoregano- I understand the need for experience-- but does the experience I have had prior to the program not count? I have taught for 2 years in HK as a contracted PNET and spent 1 semester as a PNET at a local primary school. I really have no desire to stay on in the states for 2 more years.

Marcoregano · Joined: 19 May 2003 Posts: 872 Location: Hong Kong

If you've already worked on the NET programme I'm sure it will help your cause - as would any local and relevant teaching experience.

As for the difference between a US teaching certificate or a UK PGCE - I don't think there is any. QTS is QTS.

Yes Sir I Can Bogey · Joined: 23 Mar 2009 Posts: 201

Actually, there is a world of difference between a US state teaching certificate and a UK PGCE.

oxi · Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 347 Location: elsewhere

texasisthereason · Joined: 29 Apr 2009 Posts: 52

Marcoregano - thanks for the reply. I haven't officially worked as a NET- I was contracted out from a local agency and sent in as a NET supplement. I have a few friends that work the international/NET teaching jobs with a state certificate and assume that it is recognized just as a PGCE would be. My program is a 2 year program of lectured classes as well as classroom observations. I am in the post baccalaureate program of the state university here and will be starting my student teaching in September of this year. I will be in Hong Kong this summer to visit and was looking to capitalize on my time there with interviews or applications. Ideally I would love to teach sports at an international school with some biology/maths on the side. I would PM you but i am under 25 posts due to being new to this site.

Yes Sir I Can Bogey · Joined: 23 Mar 2009 Posts: 201

Marcoregano · Joined: 19 May 2003 Posts: 872 Location: Hong Kong

Obviously there will be differences between courses. My point is that essentially these courses, whether in the UK or US, both lead to universal QTS recognition.

kowlooner · Joined: 24 Jun 2004 Posts: 230 Location: HK, BCC (former)

Oxi, Marco, I think Bogey's just trying to impress us with his vast knowledge, though I remember a post a few months back about this issue between him (another identity at that time) and an American teacher. Check this:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=66902

And thus, this is presumably where Bogey gets this factoid:

Yes Sir I Can Bogey · Joined: 23 Mar 2009 Posts: 201

Yet more disinformation from Kowlooner. Actually, I know of quite a few people who have been told by the EDB that they do not have QTS as far as HK is concerned as their teaching certificate was not universally recognised in their home country, viz., the USA. But, of course, people can choose to believe what they want. I'll just await the whining post which is sure to appear in a few days, weeks, or months about how the EDB has refused to recognise a US state teaching license.

kowlooner · Joined: 24 Jun 2004 Posts: 230 Location: HK, BCC (former)

Yet another "I know a bloke who..." from Bogey. Remember his "friend" who'd been turned down from a hawker's license because he "wasn't Chinese"? Which of course had to be totally bogus (or, possibly, simply a case of misinformation) since the government hasn't issued new licenses to anybody in the last 30 years or so. Perhaps Bogey is confusing things again and that his "friends" were turned down for other reasons.

texasisthereason · Joined: 29 Apr 2009 Posts: 52

In regards to my education- I have taken 3o semester hours in the university classroom. Next semester I will do full time student teaching under the eye of a co-operating teacher as well as a university professor. My certification is from a state university and is the same as the Americans I met that were teaching in HK (both the NET and IS).

Kowlooner--- I definitely would like to avoid teaching English at this point. I am a bit burnt out on it and would like to focus on science, math or sports. My original post was in question to how one goes about contacting these school as well as when. Am I able to start putting feelers out now even though I will not have completed my coursework until the end of December? Same question for the NET. If I wanted to start immediately after my program ends, do I apply this summer while I'm in HK and able to interview?

Mojoski · Joined: 03 May 2009 Posts: 170

Tex, I recently started looking into HK, and I was dismayed to find that the deadline for direct NET applications was Feb. 28. However, I then found that the recruiter, Teach Away, is giving interviews for 2009/2010 positions (in NYC and SF) around the end of this month or beginning of June. I've just sent off to them.

Since you still need to do your student teaching, I guess you are aiming at 2010/2011, so you will have until the end of Feb., 2010. However, their requirements always list the experiece requirement as 'post degree.' I don't know if you can get around this by having experience in HK, but they seem to be pretty rigid. Good luck!