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Omkara
Joined: 18 Feb 2006
Location: USA
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 Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 2:06 am Post subject: Uni Look Good on A Resume? |
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I'm waiting for a call. I'll have a choice to accept a uni position or not.
On the negative side, taking it would mean: cutting my P.S. contract this summer. (My school already knows.) It would also mean taking less money: 2.3 to 2.0. No severance at either uni or P.S. No return flight. Pay for my own visa run. And my school worries that they could not find a replacement easily (guilt factor). Oh, and a two year commitment.
On the upside: Fewer hours; better students; possibility of actually teaching. The overall lifestyle I think would be better.
But, do you think that a uni is a good career move for a guy who wants to get back to the States to teach? |
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purple_buddha
Joined: 18 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 4:38 am Post subject: |
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What are looking to take away from the experience? A 2.0 salary sounds quite low. How many hours are you expected to teach a week?
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| On the upside: Fewer hours |
Have you seen your schedule? Even 16 or 18 teaching hours with 5 office hours could translate into being on campus 40 or so hours per week.
To whom are you comparing these new students? Will you be teaching beginner conversation-type courses to freshmen? The typical class size is 45 students, 40 of whom don't want to be there and half of them won't understand much English-ee.
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| possibility of actually teaching |
Again, will you be teaching content classes or beginner conversation classes? If it's the latter, I'd use the word "teaching" loosely. While you may connect with some of them, the majority will merely tolerate you to fulfill their graduation requirement.
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| The overall lifestyle I think would be better. |
That would really depend on you.
Two years is a lot of time to sacrifice just for a resume bullet, especially if the experience turns out to be disappointing. As far as respectability is concerned, teaching at a university is probably the better career move. Nevertheless, you should factor-in overall job satisfaction, potential work hours, and perks (i.e., overtime pay, vacation time, any allowances, etc.) before making any final decisions. Furthermore, unless the university is well known outside of Korea, I wouldn't expect a whole lot of mileage from the experience back in the States; Korean unis in general aren't exactly well-respected back home. |
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Jeweltone
Joined: 29 Mar 2005
Location: Seoul, S. Korea
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| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 9:18 pm Post subject: |
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It DOES help to have some uni experience on your resume, but only marginally - that is, if you intend to teach at a community or for-profit college. If you intend to do it this way, you need to focus, in your cover letter, on the skills you picked up while working in a foreign country. I feel that my uni experience did help me when I re-entered the US job market, albeit not as much as I had hoped.
I sent out numerous CVs after I was well enough to work (I left Korea because of a debilitating, and still unresolved, illness), and got roundly rejected for ESL teaching positions, in spite of teaching in Korea for three years (half of that time at a uni). My M.A. is in English, and not ESL, so this is not terribly surprising.
It took me four months, but I did score a part-time job at a private art college. I am teaching transitional and college English at the moment; the dean interviewed me BECAUSE of my overseas experience (though a background in theatrical design didn't hurt at an art college!) . The school pays half of what an adjunct professor would make at a community college, but it is a good starting point. I like the school and I am willing to take a chance that they will hire me full-time. But I digress.
My point is, if the uni position gives you a wide variety of classes, go for it! If you can score a position that allows you teach classes in addition to Freshman ESL, then it looks better on your resume. Letters of reference (in proper English!) from your uni after your contract will also help. Two years of teaching expereince is standard "entry-level" (!) for community colleges in the USA (if that is where you are from). Naturally, if you are planning to teach K-12, you will have to get a teaching crediential. |
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KoreanAmbition
Joined: 03 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm just curious why your new university job doesn't pay severance. |
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cruisemonkey
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Location: Hopefully, the same place as my luggage.
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| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 9:34 pm Post subject: |
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Two questions:
Is it a 'real' university job (i.e. teaching only credit classes), or a unigwon?
Why do you think university students will be 'better'? |
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spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
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| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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Will it look better? NO. You could put 3 bogus uni's on your CV...nobody would check.  |
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Omkara
Joined: 18 Feb 2006
Location: USA
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Jeweltone wrote: |
It DOES help to have some uni experience on your resume, but only marginally - that is, if you intend to teach at a community or for-profit college. If you intend to do it this way, you need to focus, in your cover letter, on the skills you picked up while working in a foreign country. I feel that my uni experience did help me when I re-entered the US job market, albeit not as much as I had hoped.
I sent out numerous CVs after I was well enough to work (I left Korea because of a debilitating, and still unresolved, illness), and got roundly rejected for ESL teaching positions, in spite of teaching in Korea for three years (half of that time at a uni). My M.A. is in English, and not ESL, so this is not terribly surprising.
It took me four months, but I did score a part-time job at a private art college. I am teaching transitional and college English at the moment; the dean interviewed me BECAUSE of my overseas experience (though a background in theatrical design didn't hurt at an art college!) . The school pays half of what an adjunct professor would make at a community college, but it is a good starting point. I like the school and I am willing to take a chance that they will hire me full-time. But I digress.
My point is, if the uni position gives you a wide variety of classes, go for it! If you can score a position that allows you teach classes in addition to Freshman ESL, then it looks better on your resume. Letters of reference (in proper English!) from your uni after your contract will also help. Two years of teaching expereince is standard "entry-level" (!) for community colleges in the USA (if that is where you are from). Naturally, if you are planning to teach K-12, you will have to get a teaching crediential. |
You are in much the same boat as me.
In the States, I was teaching composition in a community college. I liked it, but enrollment went down. So, I lost my classes for the sememster to a full-timer.
I also taught part time in a matriculation program, teaching international students ESL.
I want to teach in a community college again, but need to get a stable situation. So, I think of getting a teaching certification when I get back States' side.
Or, I could get a grad certificate in TESOL.
The point, though, is this. After two years are up, will I have been better off having built experience at home, or here? Tough to see into that crystal ball!
As to the other poster, it is a real university and the other english teachers seem very happy. They tell me as much. I just worry about 1) lower pay, 2) 2-years, and 3)building in korea when I could be building at home. |
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spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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| grad certificate in TESOL. |
What's that?[/quote] |
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Omkara
Joined: 18 Feb 2006
Location: USA
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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| spliff wrote: |
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| grad certificate in TESOL. |
What's that? |
[/quote]
They have a program at California State, Chico. Basically, it's a one year program in which you cover all the applied core units of a master's in TESOL, but do not write a thesis. It is half the time of an MA.
I've got an MA, so a second might not make sense. |
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