Job Discussion Forums

[NYCESOL11211]

Hello All,

After giving over a year's worth of consideration this, my wife and I have decided to move to the Gulf Region. Our target date for the move is August or September 2010. This will give us enough time to finish our respective degrees and wrap up the New York Chapter of our life. I've done enough research to get a pretty good idea of where I would be pay wise. Maybe you could give me a better idea. About me:

Married with no children (or plans for children for that matter).

Will be 30 next year. Native speaker. Almost no regional accent.

B.A. from large state university in non-related field.

One year of experience teaching kiddies in South Korea.

Will have a total of almost four more years teaching adults ESOL in New York City. Worked mostly for publicly funded groups, not language schools. Most of the teaching was for non-academic purposes.


Will have one year of teaching freshman composition in the CUNY system as an adjunct.

Will complete M.A. next May from a CUNY school in Language and Literacy. The degree is designed for literacy and ESOL teachers of adult students.

Will have no state certifications, as none are needed in my field.

Have excellent technical skills. I've done a lot with integrating blogger etc in the classroom.

Great references. Except Korea. That's another thread!

Will have given couple of professional presentations, but unlikely to have any publication by then (I do hope to publish something after graduation).

Plus, most importantly, I am good at teaching.

I will be seeking a university teaching job.

I think I should start between 3500 and 4500 with all the benefits that normally accompany a Gulf Job. Does that sound right?

I'm also thinking about visiting the TESOL conference up next March for possible job leads. Has anyone had luck there with finding work?

Location--rural or urban--doesn't matter. Country doesn't matter. Pros and cons either way. I'll take whatever I think the best job offer is.

[helenl]

If you're talking USD when you quote those figures, I'd say you're probably not going to get what you want. Unless politics on the ground here change dramatically (i.e. hostility in any way shape or form)

You don't have the years of experience that MANY others do. Your paper quals look good so I wouldn't die of surprise if you were hired, but I would still be very surprised.

You have very little overseas experience, none of itrelated to Arab speakers - it does count for something. There are a LOT of people who have taught for many more years in Korea and elsewhere (outside the GCC) who would be in your similar shoes.

[NYCESOL11211]

[veiledsentiments]

Normally helen1 and I run around the board agreeing with each other, but I will be a bit more positive this time. Although your MA is new, you have that one year at CUNY (Academic) and other years with adults plus that one overseas year though unrelated. (and stress any Arabic speakers in the mix on that CV)

The key factor to give you a leg up is attending TESOL and how well you sell yourself in an interview. Of course, it is supply and demand a year away, but I know people with similar credentials who got offers at TESOL from HCT and ZU in the UAE and QU in Qatar for between 3500-3700 plus normal bennies.

No guarantees, of course, but I know of many people who got jobs at TESOL in the last few years... at all three of those places. Check out their websites and read a few threads here about these employers. Remember that they will always weigh to the negative because few of the happy teachers bother to post.

VS

[NYCESOL11211]

VS,
Thank you for your contribution. I plan to look those employers up, but I understand that negative sentiment seems to permeate through these TESOL message boards.

[15yearsinQ8]

the universities i've worked at count your experience to start POST Masters so your pay will be on the bottom edge of your range and you will be treated as a fresh hire/the most junior of the team

you have to sell your degree because it's less well known - you can compensate that with getting a celta/delta - many very qualified teachers do just to show something familiar on their resume even though the courses will bore them to death

you may be lucky to get ONE offer because so many others have more experience - accept your first offer w/o haggling over price IMHO

[NYCESOL11211]

[veiledsentiments]

It can count to get you hired... but not affect the pay scale. Every time you get a degree, you rather re-set on the scale. A CELTA wouldn't hurt... especially if you could sneak it in before TESOL.

VS

[Pikgitina]

With your qualifications and experience, and especially if you have enough spare cash (and time) lying around, I'd recommend the DELTA. It most certainly wouldn't bore you. I have heard many descriptions of the DELTA, but 'boring' is definitely not one of them. Others may disagree with me, I'm sure.

From my experience, which is limited, the DELTA is not a requirement for jobs in the ME/Gulf, especially if you have an MA, but employers do seem impressed by the willingness to invest in (significant) professional development.

Often with these Cambridge ESOL teacher-training courses, candidates' satisfaction and course quality depend very much on the trainers. Some of them are excellent, whereas others can be quite mediocre.

Good luck with the hunt and all that goes with it!

[NYCESOL11211]

You have convinced me that I should at least look into the DELTA program. After the bit of research I did, it seems more suitable for me than the CELTA. Don't think I'll have the time or money to do it before I begin my next job search though.

I do not know anyone who went through the CELTA or DELTA programs. The coworkers I had in Korea and in NYC who did the certificates all went through other TESOL programs. I've never heard any graduate speak all that well of the NYC certificate programs. That might be unfairly tainting my perception of DELTA.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[NYCESOL11211]

No, I'm not a vet. The Army sounded like a good deal back when I was 18 though, but they didn't want an asthmatic.

[smedini]

[NYCESOL11211]

Thanks for the input, Smedini.

It's funny how varied the opinions of CELTA and DELTA are. I am convinced I should research the actual site if I decide to pursue one or the other.

[NYCESOL11211]

More Questions:

Assuming I can't get a university job with my M.A., and assuming I still want to gain experience in the ME after graduation, what would be my best target area? I want my next work experience to help springboard me into a good university job. Should I look into two-year colleges, technical schools, prep schools, or adult language institutes? What is the best, in terms of salary, I would be looking at if those were my options?