Does undergraduate degree field matter?

[terrukba]

Hi

 

My girlfriend is 34. In her mid twenties she did a degree in English and Linguistics in a good university highly ranked for Linguistics in the UK, then worked in marketing. 

 

After 2 years travelling out here in Asia she has thought about getting into teaching English and making a career of it as she has an interest in education. Her plan is to teach English for 2 years and then perhaps return to her university in the UK and do an MA in TESOL/TEFL/Applied linguistics.

 

Last night we went out with some friends, some of whom teach in Thailand without degrees and they told her that her BA in English and Linguistics would offer her no advantage over someone with a degree in a non related field and that she should stay in marketing. This has put some doubt in her mind

 

I was hoping to know if this really is the case, or whether due to that group of people mostly either having no degree, or a degree in non related field, were just biased in their opinion

 

Thanks 

 

 

 

[brewsterbudgen]

It depends where she wants to teach, but in schools, language institutes and most other places, it's more about your teaching skills and experience and how well you 'fit in' than what your degree is in.

[zeichen]

Your friends were right. Her degrees are unrelated degrees for teaching conversational English. They are no different than any other humanities degrees.  Think about the knowledge she gained from her degrees. She most likely studied literature, not a subject she would teach k-12, and she studied about languages not how to teach languages. 

 

Her degrees won't help her get a teacher's license which is a requirement to teach in Thailand. She can get waivers for a few years but eventually will need a teacher's license.  If she was going to teach k-12 she would be better off getting her PGCE QTS, than an MATESOL. 

 

If she is looking at teaching at universities, then her degrees would be applicable. She would teach some literature and perhaps some linguistics courses.  She would need a masters though to compete at the better schools paying more than 30k baht a month.

 

If she is serious about teaching, then go for a degree or qualification in teaching, then apply for international schools. She could also teach back home or in many other countries.  She will have more flexibility.  MATESOL would be ok for university jobs and some middle east jobs but overall the better paid jobs want degrees in education and experience. 

[allane]

She is 34 and female, so she should go for it ! There are schools, post-secondary institutions and language schools all over Thailand that would welcome her, many with a red carpet. The field is dominated by men, with a majority old enough to be her father. I know. I have been here 21 years, and I am one of them. If she finds that someone working alongside  her obtained his position even though he has inferior qualifications, who cares ?

[little mary sunshine]

She will make more money with her degree as well as

be able to teach at a better International School...; should 

be able to start with about B50,000 in BKK as opposed to

20-25,000 with a non-related degree...Good Luck.

[humqdpf]

It is completely unclear what kind of advantage she was looking at. Employers look at degrees depending on what the job is. If the job requires a specific degree (must have an economics component, for instance), then there would be no point in applying with a degree with no economics component. Sometimes, the employer is looking for high-level numeracy. In that case, stats, maths or degrees with a serious amount of maths and stats would be appropriate. And clearly there are degrees that are aimed at a profession - law for lawyers, geology for geologists and medicine for doctors.

 

But, when there is not specific component or specialism required, quality employers look for something else, which are positive character traits that they require and some secondary characteristics they might find desirable. The first thing that employers desire more than anything when a specific specialism is not required is high achievement as it usually indicates both intelligence and ability to work hard and be self-motivated. Wave a first class honours degree in front of employers and see what happens!

 

A Masters is a different story. It does help you to get certain jobs but clearly they would not be the jobs that the degree-less people would be in the market for. Now you are looking at jobs where brain power is more important than some other characteristics, where research skills are more to the fore, where someone can intellectually pick up something very new very quickly. 

 

Anyone doing a Masters degree is well-advised to think it through - do you want to be an academic? Is this subject going to wake you up in the morning and motivate you when you have a cold and feel tired? You will not lose by getting a Masters degree but it costs you in time and effort. You have to really want to do it. And at the end, you will have a job. I have a Masters in Philosophy and I have a job, in fact many jobs since I got my masters!

[Rhys]

7 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

It depends where she wants to teach, but in schools, language institutes and most other places, it's more about your teaching skills and experience and how well you 'fit in' than what your degree is in.

 

 

I would agree with our esteemed colleague here, it is really where and I might add WHO...

 

All the best.

[wlcart]

Keep in mind that if someday she wants to get into the 100,000+ baht/month range, she will probably need a masters degree. (She is young, she has time to get it.)  Her work as an undergrad is relevant to her ability to be accepted in a masters program. 

[ozmeldo]

Zeichen, English teachers teach Literature. Perhaps not a many but I'm covering it this year in middle school even. Last year at another school I taught a semester of poetry as well.

 

 

Farang female teachers rarely last, especially in Mathayom. The prettier or frumpy-ier the more difficult. Female Thai teachers can be quite hard on them.

[zeichen]

 

On 1/24/2017 at 2:23 AM, ozmeldo said:

Zeichen, English teachers teach Literature. Perhaps not a many but I'm covering it this year in middle school even. Last year at another school I taught a semester of poetry as well.

 

 

Farang female teachers rarely last, especially in Mathayom. The prettier or frumpy-ier the more difficult. Female Thai teachers can be quite hard on them.

 

It is not part of the national curriculum. So you can do whatever you want in your classroom, but EFL teachers do not teach literature as the primary component of their English lessons. Yes, having students read and get interested in books and even poetry is fine. of course we all do it. But my point is having a degree in Literature doesn't help you teach literature to ELL's. Also when you study literature in university you study criticism and other concepts which again is not a part of what you need as an ELL. (English language leaner). If you teach any literature, you are most likely just having kids build comprehension and language skills not criticism.  Even at IB schools we don't teach literary criticism in the language acquisition classes only for native speakers.

 

The basic point is unless you have a degree in education or teacher's license in your home country, you don't have a chance for a long term career here. You won't be able to be mobile and progress in the field. All various backgrounds add something so in short there is no one degree that is more valued than others. 

 

Yes, she can get a job, but she is looking to make a career of teaching. So she need to think if she wants to go the university track or secondary schools.  University, then MATESOL is fine. She could also probably teach some specialty courses with her various backgrounds.  If she would prefer highschool or middleschool, a Masters in Education or at the minimum PGCE QTS, and some experience at home would open more doors for a real career worldwide.

[Mr0Yallow]

I had a friend that spent most of his life in Thailand as a US Military dependent. He worked as a K-12 teacher and always professed that "English" teachers are considered charlatans. Just my 2 Baht.  

[zeichen]

On 1/24/2017 at 4:45 PM, Mr0Yallow said:

I had a friend that spent most of his life in Thailand as a US Military dependent. He worked as a K-12 teacher and always professed that "English" teachers are considered charlatans. Just my 2 Baht.  

So you are not a teacher but you come on a teacher's forum to give advice. Thanks keep your two baht.

[ozmeldo]

10 hours ago, Mr0Yallow said:

I had a friend that spent MOST OF HIS LIFE in Thailand AS A US Military DEPENDENT

Oh the irony...

 

A man dependent upon his parents and the US government for most of his life. Now that sounds like a fraudulent life.

 

Sounds as if he tried his hand at teaching TEFL and failed, like the rest of his life.

 

 

All I can say is this is a second "career" for me. Each day I rise before 5, at work by 715 and do my absolute best. I have the same standards as when I was in the States making 2m baht a year. I realize I'm an anomaly in the public/private sector (believe me!), but I'm totally dedicated to my students.

 

My university can be easily compared to Boston University and George Washington University.

 

School is getting a bargain.

[Mr0Yallow]

21 hours ago, ozmeldo said:

Oh the irony...

 

A man dependent upon his parents and the US government for most of his life. Now that sounds like a fraudulent life.

 

Sounds as if he tried his hand at teaching TEFL and failed, like the rest of his life.

 

 

All I can say is this is a second "career" for me. Each day I rise before 5, at work by 715 and do my absolute best. I have the same standards as when I was in the States making 2m baht a year. I realize I'm an anomaly in the public/private sector (believe me!), but I'm totally dedicated to my students.

 

My university can be easily compared to Boston University and George Washington University.

 

School is getting a bargain.

What is fraudulent about a US military member having children and supporting said children while they attend school?

As far as I know the young man still works as a K-12 teacher in Thailand. 

I am curious what educational organization in the US pays employees in Thai Baht?

 

[zeichen]

 

15 minutes ago, Mr0Yallow said:

I am curious what educational organization in the US pays employees in Thai Baht?

I am curious how you think this helps the OP give advice to help his friend about building a career in teaching? Can you go be bored on a different forum.

[Scott]

Stay on topic or face a suspension.   This is the teaching forum and people come here for advice, assistance and guidance.   If you can't give help, please go elsewhere.   It's a big forum.