MLA or MEd - please advise

[Tabaann]

I am having a dilemma regarding the best degree for the career I'd like. I would like to develop short and long term curriculums and/or programs for international students such as ESL classes, short language and site seeing programs or international club activities.

I have a BA in English and a no-name TEFL Cert which got me a job at a small, American university in China where I taught for 2.5 years. I advised for just under 2 years and I'm now working in International Services (with employees, not students). I've also started doing some volunteer ESL teaching.

I am trying to decide between the following:

1. A Masters of Liberal Arts from a name brand school; a 'southern ivy' some say. The professors are excellent and I would write a thesis on a topic of my choice which would be related to international education. It would cost me just under $9,000 in tuition.

2. A Masters in Education with a concentration in TESOL (online) from a small, private school in the Boston area. I like that it is a skill set rather than general knowledge and 'transferable skills'. It would cost me a bit over $6,000.

I am worried about the job market for ESL though. I am also worried that I wouldn't be considered for a non-ESL job like (international student advising) because it would seem to the employer like a second choice.

However, the MLA seems very general and, name or not, could make it hard to find a job.

I know I would enjoy either option so it's impossible to decide based on that. Primarily it's for career advancement. I plan to move to the Boston or Virginia Beach area in 2-4 years and know finding a job will be difficult. Which would make it easier to get and advance in the kind of job I want?

Thank you for any advice/insight.

[Coconut Water]

I don't know the Boston/VA Beach job market.

 

What is most likely to get you in the door to where you truly want to be working? (Also, does either option provide any kind of job networking opportunities after you complete your Masters?) 

[Tabaann]

What is most likely to get you in the door to where you truly want to be working?

I'm not sure. That is what Need help with.

Also, does either option provide any kind of job networking opportunities after you complete your Masters?

Nothing more than basic alumni stuff. I am currently working in international programs though so I have memberships, go to conferences and have networking opportunities through work.

[hokiestar]

This is interesting. I was born and raised in Virginia Beach and now work at a university in the Boston area. I can't speak to your schools (unless the Southern Ivy is UVA, but I haven't heard of them offering a MLA). But Virginia Beach (and Norfolk, Chesapeake, etc - commonly referred to as the 757) and the Boston area are very different places to live, so your choice of school may be impacted by where you decide to live in the future.

 

Boston is obviously a more competitive area, but has a larger population which leads to a higher need for the types of jobs you are looking for, as well as a variety of places you could work for. From second hand experience, it can be tough to get a job here if you don't already live here, but it can be very expensive to live here if you don't have a solid job. People come here from all over, many with advanced/prestigious degrees. It's been rare that I find someone who went to my university, and there only seems to be a handful from any of the universities in VA.

 

The 757 population is smaller than Boston, obviously, and there's a significant chunk of people who live in the area that are military. In VB, ESL is done within the public school system, and from what I remember, an ESL teacher is hired to serve multiple schools. Even though there are a lot of schools, there may not be a lot of ESL specialists.

 

If you are talking about international student advising at the university level, there are a decent number of unversities in both Boston and the 757. I'm assuming, just based on just growing up in the area, that the universities in the 757 are not as competitive as some of the Boston area ones.

 

A quick search of the school systems in Virginia Beach/Chesapeake/Norfolk (maybe even Newport News, Hampton) and in greater Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, Newton can probably give you an idea of what jobs are/will be available in the future. If you need advice on specific schools or systems or universities, feel free to shoot me a message and I can send you more info. Hopefully this is a little bit helpful!

 

Edit to add: I skipped over this part

 

I would like to develop short and long term curriculums and/or programs for international students such as ESL classes, short language and site seeing programs or international club activities.

I've seen this a lot in Boston, done through individual agencies and such. Not really a common thing in Virginia Beach from what I've seen. There are some cultural (especially Asian) groups, but they've been long established by families in the area and have their programs in place; I believe they're also just community programs rather than organizations that hire people to run them. I don't think there's a huge population of internationals in the area, and generally the international students are taken care of at their university or K-12 school. If you have specific questions about this, let me know.

Edited September 4, 2014 by hokiestar

[Tabaann]

Thanks for the reply.

I have been keeping an eye on job posts in both places for a couple of months. There are definitely more options in Boston but, as you say, the competition is also extremely high. There are fewer options in VB but I wonder if it'd be pretty easy to snag one of the jobs that are available. I've been lucky to get jobs in San Antonio and Knoxville very quickly even though they're fairly limited. My husband thinks this is a 'safer' option but I'm not so sure. He is in banking so he has a lot of options.

I'm also wondering if having an MEd in TESOL is going to make me less competitive going for a non ESL job like ISS Advising and Immigration Counseling.

[hokiestar]

I can't really answer your question about degree titles and such, but I did some digging on the internet for people in the International Education field back in VB. At the community college level, it looks the International Student Advisor has an MA in applied linguistics from ODU, and taught ESL before becoming the advisor there. The equivalent of that person at ODU also has that degree. At my undergrad (not near VB, but in VA), the staff in the both International Student Center and the Language Institute had degrees in Higher Ed, Public Health, International Studies, Counselor Education - didn't see anyone who specifically had a degree in International Ed or TESOL. Hopefully that can provide a bit of insight into what degrees get these types of jobs.

[Tabaann]

Thank you so much for your help!