Work in the US with an English degree

[js_shadow]

hi everyone,i am a chinese girl teaching english in China now. my bf is from the US, since he is about to go back to the us to attend the grad.school.he wants me to find a job there. I am thinking what i can do in the US, my major is english in the collage,it is like no major at all in an english speaking country. and my bf told me his chinese teachers in the collage are all major in chinese. of course i never think that i can teach in the collage, i want to get some certificate first about teaching foreigners english in China and then go to the US. i am kinda worried about if i could find a job in the US. hope to hear your suggestions. Thank you very much~~~~

Shadow

Edited June 4, 2009 at 07:47 AM by gougou
Title

[gato]

Right, a degree in English from a Chinese university is not going to be very useful for getting a job in the U.S in of itself. But at least you'll have a head start in the language. I know someone with a similar background to yours (a BA in English from a teachers' college in China). After arriving in the US, she got a degree in accounting and went to work for an accounting firm.

[Don_Horhe]

What about doing some translating? I doubt the requirements would be that high for everyday, non-government documents.

[js_shadow]

i did think about translating before, just feel maybe teaching is easier,i am not sure of that... translataing for a chinese company in the US?

[WongHua]

I'm sorry but i think degrees obtained outside US aren't valid in US :

This happened to someone i know and he had to get the same degree again in an American school.

But on the bright side there are jobs you can get just knowing english and with a high school diploma so dont worry so much, though i know you were hoping to find a more professional job right?

Have you ever considered teaching Chinese in a college?

Oh and don horne's right! As far as i know all you need for a translating job is to be bilingual and have a high school diploma!

Hope it all goes well good luck!!

[js_shadow]

thanks very much for your advice.i do want to get a professional job about teaching, however the most important for me now is just to get a job first when i am in the US, since my bf has to go on his study,i myself also should find a job to be independent enough^^

[imron]

If you were going to seriously consider translating, you should look at getting a CATTI qualification.

If you were going to do professional translation in the US, more than likely, you would be translating for a US/foreign company needing things translated into Chinese. Professional translators typically only translate into their mother tongue.

[js_shadow]

^^ actually before i didnt think about going to the us,i wanted to get the catti certificate, i never thought i could do the translation job in the us though. yeah, I can continue trying to pass the catti and a ceritficate for teaching english as well~

[dalaowai]

You could look for jobs at immigration centers teaching english. There are some centers in the states that provide English language services to recently arrived immigrants. I'm sure that there would be many Chinese students that would benefit from your bilingual teaching abilities.

Once you arrive in the states, get involved with the local Chinese community and make some guanxi. You'll find that there are many many business investors that have little or no English and you could provide them live translation.

[woliveri]

collage <> college

A collage (From the French: coller, to glue) is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.

College (Latin: collegium) is a term most often used today to denote degree awarding tertiary educational institution.

Finding a job should be easy. Finding a teaching job may be more difficult depending on where in the US you land.

[renzhe]

I'm sorry but i think degrees obtained outside US aren't valid in US :

Of course they are.

But it depends on the country and the university. And the employer. And the kind of degree.

A law degree from China will likely not be very useful in the US. An engineering degree from Britain will.

[heifeng]

umm....not to depress you but in the US, we joke that English Majors are destined for a job at McDonalds....no seriously, here is an article for reference.

Best of luck though. Apparently it is a very versatile major...

[fanglu]

It should be noted that that article is talking about American graduates with an English degree, who can presumably not speak any other language, whereas most of the discussion here has been about translating or other work that in some way relies on her being able to speak Chinese.

A more accurate comparison would be if she had a degree in Chinese literature.

[heifeng]

yeah, this was kinda a joke..but if you want to note some other things, we don't know where in the big old US she is planning on going.

Secondly Chinese language skills are useful in some areas, and in other places, not so much...

Third, how is she planning to get a US visa and the 'legal' right to work here? She is basically stuck doing business under the table (ie. just working w/ other Chinese anyway or doing freelance) if she get's here on a visitors visa. OR is she saying she wants to get a job that will sponser her to come over? I'm confused....

Lastly, what's the use of having a boyfriend if he doesn't help you with such things. Make sure he doesn't sell you when you come over here:mrgreen:

(anyway, even McDonalds probably runs E-verify for it's employees.)

Edited June 5, 2009 at 05:05 AM by heifeng

[BrandeX]

To reinforce, what is posted above, you can't just come to the US and get a job (unless you are sneaking across the border), I'd count on getting married to a citizen first. Also as for some countries degrees being accepted in the USA, and not others, that is true, and China is one of the countries that is not. With the level of academic dishonesty here, it is really no surprise. guanxi + money can get anyone a degree essentially. Chinese students have said that after acceptance into any Uni, failing is nearly unheard of.

[renzhe]

Also as for some countries degrees being accepted in the USA, and not others, that is true, and China is one of the countries that is not.

In general, yes.

Still, many people with a good degree from Qinghua, Fudan, Beida or similar go on to do a PhD in the US, so at least some of the degrees are accepted.

A degree in English from a less renowned university is likely a different story.