Job Prospects for MA TESOL without certification?

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Link - 13 May 2006 03:48 GMT

I would like to go to graduate school and get an Masters degree. My
eventual goal is to get a Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition or a
similar field.

Between the Masters and Ph.D., I will probably have to work to save
money. I have a family, so I need to earn more than a Ph.D. program
will provide.

I am torn between different options. One is to pursue acceptance to
one of the top MA TESOL programs to prep me for a Ph.D. program. The
other option is to find a MAT in TESOL program with teacher
certification. This will allow me to work as a K-12 teacher in the US
or in an international school abroad and earn a decent living for a
couple of years before returning to graduate school. (International
schools may pay better considering perks and cost of living in some
countries.)

I have a bachelors in Linguistics, a field not taught in K-12, so I
would have to take a couple of years oof undergraduate studies in
another field if I wanted to be a certified teacher unless I take a
special MA TESOL certification program.

What if I decided to go the more academic route and go to one of the
top programs which is not tailor made for teacher certification? What
possibilities would I have for work in the US? Would I have to work at
McDonald's, and get a few part-time hours in at $7.00 an hour at some
cheesy school with my Master's degree? If I went to a top MA program,
would I be at the top of the list for working at a decent paying
English institute affiliated with a university.

I saw a job on Job Monster-- one decent job, once-- that paid over $50k
for a temporary ESL instructor with a Masters at a community college
school. I have a decent background and plenty of experience. How
common are decent paying jobs like this in the field for people with MA
TESOL degrees?

I saw other jobs in the mid $30k range at English institutes in places
like LA and Oahu, Hawaii where the cost of living is really high.

Is it worthwhile, financially, to get a MA TESOL, alone, without
teacher certification?

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Dave (from the UK) - 21 May 2006 14:35 GMT

> I would like to go to graduate school and get an Masters degree. My
> eventual goal is to get a Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition or a
> similar field.

If your first degree is half-decent, you should be able to get on a PhD
program without a masters degree, which might go some way to solving the
problems of financing two degrees.

I did a masters before a PhD and found it useful. But plenty of people
go straight to a PhD.

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Discussion Groups / ESL Teaching / May 2006

Job Prospects for MA TESOL without certification?