Job Discussion Forums

[demitrescou]

As mentioned in another post, I'm due to begin the MA in a few weeks. Having thought about how much longer I really want to stay in ESL and the helpful comments and views from some helpful peers on this board, I am leaning more towards giving it a miss.

The MA will cost about �5000, but when one considers the other costs involved - books, living expenses (not rent but daily costs of travel, food etc), plus the money lost from not working for the year, it's more like �15-20,000. Fair or am I exaggerating.

The way I feel now, I would only want to stay in ESL a few more years - perhaps 4-6. Not because I dislike teaching ESL but for the many reasons explored thoroughly on these boards including the desire to get back to the homeland eventually.That said, I'm inclined to feel that it's probably not worth it.

On the other hand, things could change (as they often do) and I could end up doing ESL for many years to come, in which case I'd be vexed for not having done the MA. But I guess there would come a time when I'd be sure that it's going to be my long term future and could always do it then.

I'd like to hear the thoughts of others. Wisdom sought and appreciated. There must be others deliberating over similar thoughts.

Thanks

[spiral78]

No-one can tell you if it's worth it for you. I did the MA a few years back, but I definitely wanted (and still want) to stay in the field.

What about an MA in general education? More widely applicable?

[Zero]

Not worth it. My advice is to get K-12 certified, PGCE or whatever. Then you have options both overseas at home. And the overseas pay top-of-the-line salaries.

[Glenski]

I'm a little confused about what sort of MA you're shooting for: linguistics or speech therapy. Quite different fields.

I also don't know your current work situation. Where are you, and what are you doing for teaching work?

Even with answers to the above, I'm in agreement with spiral here. It seems that you want someone to tell you what to study, and that's a pretty individual thing. Sounds like you need a lot of soul searching and a good job counselor. Kind of hard for anonymous posters on a discussion forum to give you advice with sporadic text info to go on.

[dean_a_jones]

Where will you be doing your MA? Is there really no chance to work alongside study (I did an MA in the UK, and worked part time as the class load was not that high and I needed the money).

Would agree that a PGCE would enable you to pull in more cash when abroad, and secure a long term future back home if you want to continue to teach. It is also quite a bit different from an MA, in terms of workload, time to complete etc. Still, worth considering if (non-ESL) teaching is something you could see yourself doing as a career when you return home.

Finally, once you get this degree, will you be heading off to a country where having an ESL related MA will mean a significant increase in pay, job quality etc? If so, and you know the numbers, do the math. You would need to earn 1,000GBP/year more than you could without the MA over 5 years to make it pay itself off (assuming it is not put to use beyond this). Or say 2,000GBP/year if you factor in some additional costs (like food, rent etc.) If you can make that kind of cash, then your real cost is the time it takes you to actually do it, and the study involved.

Not knowing you, your personal situation, personality etc. it is tough to give more than just basic advice. I would say that, if you are going to put yourself through a year of study (and no doubt budgeted living conditions) then you had better want to do the course itself, rather than see it as a means to an end. If you do, you might find simply being in that environment for a year is refreshing and fun. If not, you might regret the decision after a month or two and find that a year goes by quite slowly and painfully as you slog through something you don't really want to study.

[Perilla]

I've copied this response to your other post in case you missed it - and it's probably more relevant here anyway.

An option you don't seem to be considering is doing your masters p/t by distance while working, which is what I did. That way you make less of a commitment financially than taking a whole year out of work.

About ten years ago I was going through a similar-ish dilemma, when I was working roughly 50/50 as a TEFLer/freelance journalist in HK. After much thought I made what turned out to be the wrong choice - I decided to chase my ideal vision of academia - some form of high-end university position, with mostly research based work, very little actual teaching and huge holidays.

With this in mind I embarked on a a distance MEd TESOL with Tasmania Uni. I chose this course as it offered massive flexibility in terms of choice of topics and assignments (I didn't want loads of boring practical teaching stuff) and perhaps most importantly it was cheap.

While doing the course, which I enjoyed hugely studying interesting (but relatively useless) things like creative writing in Asia and the evolution of English, I realised that in fact I was chasing a mirage - I was NEVER going to get my dream academic job, for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, because I realised (or discovered) that this kind of old-fashioned 'pipe and slippers' university tenureship doesn't exist in the TEFL world. Second because to get anywhere near these non-existent posts I'd also need a PhD, and that simply wasn't a feasible option as it would take too long and cost too much.

A disaster then, taking the MEd? Not at all. As I mentioned, I enjoyed it. So I carried on with the split career and eventually found a f/t editing job and was able to drop TEFL (though I don't rule out the possibility of going back to it at some point). I found out after getting the editing job that my MEd had impressed my new employers - although not directly relevant it had still helped my cause.

The moral of the story, I think, is that it's worth going ahead and doing an MA (or whatever) as you never know what's round the corner and it may help you find something you didn't expect. At the very least it will get you a better TEFL job. But I'd say that if you're not 100% sure about which direction you want to go, choose a masters that isn't too narrowly focused and - maybe most important - which you think you might actually enjoy doing

[demitrescou]

Thanks guys, helpful points.

Glenski, the Speech Therapy thing was a different discussion. I don't want someone to tell me what to do. Was just seeking advice from perhaps (but not only) more mature peers who have been through these dilemmas. Specifically about the worthwhile of an MA for one who only intends to remain in the field of ESl for a few more years.

Thanks for the views guys. It really does help.

[Glenski]

ok, so what sort of MA are you looking into, and what kind of teaching are you doing?

[rayman]

Some good advice here. I teach in an international school and recently completed a MEd (Educational Leadership). This specialisation wasn't my initial intention, but I found the coursework in this area so interesting and enjoyable. As such, it made the course a breeze. Having a MEd instantly boosted my salary $2500/year and is almost a pre-requisite nowadays for admin positions, should I apply down the track.

My advice is, choose a specialisation that is not too specific and one in which you have a sincere interest.

[demitrescou]

[spiral78]

I think IT sounds like a reasonable thing to try - if you did get back into EFL later one, IT quals can come in handy anyway. Lots of places want to expand computer-based learning, or blended learning opps.

And there's clearly a gap in the IT world these days with Steve Jobs stepping down. Perhaps just the niche for you, demitrescou

[demitrescou]

[Glenski]

Being well-versed in IT covers a lot of ground. Just your general computer geek might be all right for a lot of computer-related needs in ESL/EFL school situations, but I've found that it is often (usually?) the school that dictates what sort of computer operations you can play around with, and that teachers need little more than basic proficiency in Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. If you are into Moodle, you'll still have to convince the administration of its worth before they buy into it.

What I'm trying to say is that unless you have a definite provable plan how to use your IT skills, they may not serve you all that well in landing a job in teaching.

[sparks]

One could argue that with today's job market and high cost of education it isn't worth going back to school at all. Does any degree guarantee you a job? Maybe it would be more worthwhile to spend your money attending fancy parties to meet the "right" people to expand your list of contacts and thus, hopefully, job opps.