Job Discussion Forums

[Montanaland]

Hi-

I was wondering if someone could please clarify and head me in the right direction.

I'm a 33m and I'm currently a Special Needs Assistant at a Voc. high school in Montana ($15hr). I'm not certified to teach as I only have a B.S. in business finance. It's a glorified babysitting gig as I make half of what an entry level teacher makes.

Anyhow, I really want to teach overseas and I have Masters degree in Tesol program from the Univ of Missouri (online) in mind but a wondering if that is as good as being U.S. Certified.

Also i'm really liked by my school principle as he has made the remark "when are we going to get you certified and get you in here" 3 times...but thanks to George Bush that No Child Left Behind Act
requires your undergrad degree to be in the core subject that you teach and business classes is far and few in between.


Any feedback if a masters in Tesol is as good as being U.S. certified would be awesome. Some job postings are saying they require o.p.i. certification although some middle east postings just say a masters?

Thanks guys!

[tttompatz]

it all depends on what you want to teach and at what level.

Teaching kids in an international school required teacher certification + classroom experience.

Teaching ESL to kids required a simple BA (TESOL cert is a bonus).

Teaching College/Uni students the employer would usually want a MATESOL as the preferred choice.

.

[FrenchLieutenant'sWoman]

I think you're likely to run into the same issues internationally if you want to teach in a school with a degree in business and a teacher certification. You might be able to teach economics but there are very few full-time economics gigs out there!

Ifyou' want to teach post-18 then an MA TESOL is the way to go and you can probably get EAL support jobs in an international school with that. I'm pretty sure one if the teachers I worked with wasn't qualified as a teacher per se but she mostly did 1-1 EAL support for high school students so maybe they felt an MA TESOLwas more relevant/ she didn't do as much CLIL?

[Ursula]

Have you looked into dual degree programs? I am sure I came across some when I was looking into graduate school. I know SIT in Vermont has a program where you can earn a TESOL Masters and a teaching credential. This would allow you to teach at the college level and also be credentialed so you could teach ESL in public schools (and maybe even business...I'm not sure exactly how teaching credentials work).

[fladude]

[Montanaland]

Thanks for the response fladude!

I appreciate you looking up the MT code for me also. The route a few teachers seem to have taken at my high school is completing the ma in education here at the montana state university branch in billings. Its a 38 credit 2 1/2yr ($20k) full-fledge masters program,which i've heard isn't to demading. It could be that they are not researching the whole truth as to what you have brought to my attention...or they are getting stone walled by the administration or O.P.I requiring anybody to be enrolled in or have completed a university education program? My passion leans towards counseling, however that ma degree requires upwards of 60 credits if you do the complete addiction/rehab certificate.

I'm really wanting to Tefl and even maybe take a crack at starting a small language school while looking into that online ma program from mizzou. Then if I come back to states with a bad taste and/or my tail between my legs.. I will probably revisit an ma in counseling or try and take a h.r. job at and oil&gas company$$$ or something that matches my personality.


Thank you much!


Sincerely,

David

[fladude]

I certainly recommend working overseas for a year to get your head straight. Getting a relatively inexpensive TEFL and working in that line of work to check it out sounds like a good plan.

20k. two and a half years.... seems like a lot for an MA program.


You may also want to consider teaching in other states. Most states have alternative certification programs that do not cost 20 grand. I spent less than 10 percent that in Florida, although I just became certified and did not get a master's degree. I don't think that getting an MA is a bad idea, although I would get it in a content area such as psychology for you to become a counselor. An MA is education does not really impress me, although it can help you to make extra money in some school districts. The modern trend though is to value content area degrees above education degrees.

[scintillatestar]

Cert v. MA is really a question of whom you want to work with - K-12 for the cert and adults for the M.A. However, the M.A. would be a bonus for international schools and might also qualify you for an admin position after a few years experience. Also, as another poster mentioned, you do not have to choose between the two. There are a few programs that offer state cert. through the M.A. program. I know that Columbia does, and I believe even distance options are possible. I think USC offers a distance program that can coordinate state certification in your state of residence. So there are a lot of possibilities.

The M.A. is also a requirement for most academic manager/DOS jobs. However, many of the postings prefer teachers who have experience with young learners, as they offer a blend of classes for different age groups.

I would really try to do both. In general, the pay & benefits are better at the K-12 level. However, you could teach summer courses at the tertiary level if you wanted - or just pick up an extra class for extra money. It gives you a lot of flexibility.

One more potential bonus of K-12 certification: You may be able to work in Western Europe. There are a number of American schools affiliated with the U.S. embassy and/or Department of State. They prefer to hire U.S. citizens. Barring this, it's very difficult without prior work authorization.