What kind of job can I get with these quals?

[Noraft]

• M.Ed. in Education
  
• 8 years experience in education, with 3 years in TESL teaching in South Korea, 1 of those teaching iBT TOEFL, 2 teaching university.
  
• Currently conducting research in the field of English education
  

I don't have a certificate of any kind, though.

What kind of job can I expect to get? I'd like to keep doing research, so finding a university that would support my research interests would be great, but for enough money I could be lured into a non-university situation.

I've spent a month in China, so I've got a little familiarity, with the basics, but I know very little about the ESL industry. Any help would be appreciated (in the form of straight advice or links to things I should read).

Thanks!

[Senzhi]

This "Teaching English in China" comprehensive guide will answer many of the questions you may have: http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/teaching-english-in-china-guide.htm

[Noraft]

I read through it. It didn't answer the question I asked here. If anyone has any opinions or advice on my question, I would very much appreciate it.

[roddy]

Basically with that kind of CV you can probably have any kind of job you want. You'll be better off asking what kind of job you want.

I'd look at teaching English, preferably to English majors, rather than other majors taking compulsory English courses, at a university with a specialization in teaching languages, or training teachers. In Beijing that might mean Beijing Normal University, Capital Normal University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, etc. Any city will have equivalents. Speak to them about the possibility of doing research; giving classes on education rather than English, etc. Teacher training may well be a possibility.

If money's a concern, maybe the international schools.

[BrandeX]

but I know very little about the ESL industry.

Typically you (preferably) need to be: white, native speaker, entertaining.

Anything beyond that is extra, and may or may not matter to whoever will be hiring you depending on the particular person in charge, or school.

[zerolife]

I agree with Roddy

I have a friend who is straight out of college (BA in Chinese) and has no clue about English grammar not to mention ESL teaching. He got at least three job offers including one from a fairly good university he ended up taking. With your qualification, and as long as you are Western looking, you shouldn't have any problems getting a university teaching job

[Lingjian23]

With those qualifications it seems like you might be pretty disappointed or frustrated teaching at a Chinese university. While you might get free time to pursue research, I can't imagine getting much support (except in the sense that they won't interfere!)

[whereishunter]

I've spent a month in China, so I've got a little familiarity, with the basics, but I know very little about the ESL industry.

I think overall the Chinese ESL industry is not far behind Korea (I also spent a few years in Korea). There are a lot of private schools that only care about $$. I have found that the overall standard of teaching is lower than my time in Korea. This is mainly because there is more demand for teachers then supply.

University jobs here are a dime a dozen. You don’t really need any qualifications and they will employ anyone. I am a good example of this!!!

But in saying that if you head for the countries top universities there could be some good opportunities for you.

[kdavid]

I'd look at teaching English, preferably to English majors, rather than other majors taking compulsory English courses

Eh, not sure I agree here.

In my three years in China, it is always the non-English majors that have better English, motivation and passion for studying the language that English majors.

Look at it this way: 高考 results determine major. Those who do not test well are generally told that they only way they can attend university is by studying a language or some other "lower tier" subject such as mathematics. As a result, English majors tend to have lower motivation for studying as they are not as passionate about the subject.

Students who did test well on the 高考 can opt to take extra English classes. Many do because they see the importance of studying English, as well as the extra opportunities it opens up for them.

Now, there are always exceptions. Technically, all university students have to pass the CET-4, so you could have non-English majors that do not want to study English taking a class because it's mandatory. You can also have brilliant students who did test well on the 高考 choosing to study English because it's their passion--though these types of students would be a minority.

To answer the OPs question: you'll be able to pick a job anywhere you want with whichever type of school. However, as mentioned above, you may become quite frustrated with the "lack of respect" you get at some institutions of "higher" learning.

IMO children are the easiest to teach. They're fun and enjoy learning (as long as you're having fun with them). They're less judgmental than university students. They enjoy playing, and, if they act up in class, you can punish them, and they'll accept your punishment.

[imron]

That makes sense to some degree, however my own personal experience was almost always the opposite. The school I taught was maybe a slight exception in that it was a foreign languages college so most people were learning English (or another foreign language), with separate streams then focused on a particular specialty (tourism, business, education etc), however it was always the streams with a lower focus on English and higher focus on the specialty that had the worse English. From speaking to friends at other schools they would always complain about how students beings forced to take English classes (to gain CET-4 in order to graduate) had very low motivation for English classes in general, especially if they saw English as irrelevant/not necessary for their major. That being said, I think it depends highly on the school. If you're at a school that required a high Gaokao score for entry then the situation will probably be more like kdavid suggested. I definitely noticed that as the Gaokao requirement for the school I was at increased so did the English level of first-years. In fact in my final year of teaching many of the first-year classes had better English than the third-year classes due to an increase in the school's rating, allowing it to significantly increase the Gaokao entry score.