Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mandrews1985]

I have decided that if I want to continue improving as a teacher and my quality of life I need to look into the possibilities of doing an MA. The problem is, I can't afford to be out of work for a year to attain this.

I believe my only option is to do an online MA, are they regarded as highly as regular MAs?

A few years ago, it appeared they were not regarded so highly, but now many top universities offer these distance online MAs.

In today's ESL world, are they equal?

If 2 candidates had the same credentials but one had an online MA while the other had a regular, who's the more likely to get the job.

also if anyone could recommend a good online MA TESOL/TEFL degree and a bit of information about it, would be great.

[Francis-Pax]

[swigs]

Thanks for the insights Francis-Pax. I agree with your sentiments. It's interesting to see start-ups try and tackle this problem as well. Curious what you're going to get your doctorate in, and are you in the UK for your doctorate, or have you managed to work internationally on it?

I agree that in the near future people will talk trash towards each other's online university. I'm curious, somewhat jokingly, if there will be 'online-gaming' teams to replace the physical games that people play for sport moral. So the University of X will have an official Halo team that competes with the University of Y...

[Francis-Pax]

[thebektionary]

Unless you tell someone your degree was earned online, no one will know.

For example, your degree will not say "John Hopkins University, Masters of TESOL earned online" it will just say "John Hopkins University, Masters of TESOL" just as someone else who got their degree offline.

If you never told an employer it was earned online, no one would ever know unless they asked about it or figured it out by looking at your resume.

That realization is ultimately what made me decide to earn an online masters from an accredited brick and mortar university, not from the University of Phoenix or whatever.

[cheezsteakwit]

OP,

I don't know if you're a US citizen, but I learned about the Teacher Ready program in a different thread.

It makes it easier for people to become certified teachers on-line, which could lead to a position at an international school. (which is presumably higher paying & with better benefits than a hagwon job in Korea)

http://www.teacherready.org/

The Teacher Ready program also offers the option of a Masters degree after completion. (see thread below)

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=224507

If you are NOT a US citizen, I don't have an answer to your original question in regards to an online MA versus in-person MA.

In the short term however, IF you are burnt out from your hagwon & need a change of scenery , there ARE other options for a public school gig besides EPIK.

I got my PS high school job (NON-EPIK) through Alistair at Korean Horizons.

When & IF you start a Masters program, a public school position should offer you more free time (deskwarming / 'lesson planning' time in between classes , etc... ), so you CAN study / research for that MA a little easier.

I mostly use my free time in between classes (AFTER lesson planning) to work on learning Korean , & get more information about what I'm going to do after my time in Korea.

[Seoulman69]

[big_fella1]

I did my Masters in Business on campus, but I am now doing a professional doctorate online.

Online is a much harder place to study, quite frankly.

If I were an employer I would give a preference to people that studied online as they have shown real perserverance.

Depending on your major, and what you want to do in the future, it may be worth looking at Masters degrees in fields other than TESOL/Education.

The easy money has dried up in Japan, and Korea now, and who knows how long China can sustain it's English boom.

Good luck.

[Francis-Pax]

[Francis-Pax]

[PatrickGHBusan]

Lots of good information Francis, thanks for sharing!

I took some online courses in the past few years and I have to say the quality was impressive. These courses were delivered by qualified educators and the standards were very high.

I think we have a come a long way from the age of shoddy correspondance courses. These days, online education is a very useful tool for professionals who wish to upgrade while they keep working. It is far more flexible than static in-class programs for example and it can be augmented with punctual in-class activities or with on-site classroom research.

In my position working full time (bit more than full time but that is my own damn fault), as a father of 2 young kids I really have no time to attend classes so online Ed is a huge boon.

[PatrickGHBusan]

[Swampfox10mm]

The anti-online MA people are just old school people who are pissed that the job market has become flooded with additional MAs they now have to compete with.

It's an old argument and actually not news at all. There really aren't any jobs left where arguing over an MA vs. distance MA means a hill of beans difference in pay over a job that can be had somewhere else. The truth is that any job worth its salt, paying more than the typical salary, will be looking for a Ph.d candidate, anyway (and they will likely get them).

Pay has become so tight/standardized at many schools, anyway.

At least 3 of us at our school have been at our jobs long enough now that, with yearly raises, we're earning what many Ph.d. jobs on the Jobs Board advertise as starting salary (with the very notable exceptions that we teach 15 hours minimum, and do not have to publish). Distance MA or traditional, the school just doesn't care -- it's an MA.

Pay here is really nothing to brag about. None of us are out there getting rich off of teaching university students in Korea. We just get more vacation (which I rarely enjoy, anyway, as I'm constantly trying to fill it with extra hours to fund family expenses).

[PatrickGHBusan]

To be fair swamp, no one in their right mind gets into teaching as a career to get rich.

[Seoulman69]