Masters or PGCE. Dilemma out of ideas need advice!

liamygunner29

Hello, I would be very grateful if the mods could leave this up as I am dire need of advice from someone with a little knowledge. I went to UEL in London for a PGCE interview in Secondary English. I was put on a waiting list and subsequently offered a place last week. In the meantime I applied for a masters in Brickbeck University a sbusidary of University of London in Romantic studies and also a Masters in public relations which I am soemwhwat interested in.

I don't know what to do. I did a BA in English and Sociology so run the risk of only having one subject when I come home. Would a masters enhance my employment opportunites however limited in Ireland. I intend to work in London for a few years until things in Ireland hopefully improve. I don't know if I will be offered a PGCE again but I dunno if I will be employable without a masters...Does anyone have any recomendations on this?

I have been a full time TEFL teacher for the past 2 years and love teaching. However I also enjoy a decent living and think I would be quite good in Public relations. Should I take this opportunity to leave teaching and pursue somehting different instead of years of scrapping by without a definite silver lining?

Any advice or guidance would be hugely appreciated as I change my mind every other day? Today it's the English masters and weigh up my options after that, though I imagine they will be fairly limited. Yesterday it was the Dip and do a few years in London and hope Ireland picks up.

For the record I am very aware of the difficulty of teaching in London schools and am fully prepared for this having done a brief placement and put through a tough interview.

Powerhouse

liamygunner29 wrote: »

Would a masters enhance my employment opportunites however limited in Ireland.

This is one of these questions that is very difficult to answer definitively and would attract many different opinions, but I would think that a Masters would not be a significant advantage to you. I would think that in your situation (with one subject) a few years under your belt actually teaching English after the PDE or whatever the English equivalent is called would be the best possible teaching employment recommendation for you. Frankly in a teaching context anyone without two (good) subjects will struggle and doing a Masters in your subject as if to maybe circumvent this disadvantage is probably not advisable especially given the costs. The opinion of someone in the business of actually interviewing/employing people (and I think we have one or two here) might be instructive.

liamygunner29

Appreciate that, thank you. If any of the people tasked with employment and interviews have any advice that would also be great.

evolving_doors

You may just possibly secure full permanent hours on just english in the UK! Have a look at jobs on offer there, it would be excellent experience ... Do that and once youre up and running, consider gettinf another subject part time...once the student population rises in Ireland in ten odd years (providing everyone hasn't left)you should be ready to return! Thats my barstool take on it but to be honest I dont know what the money is like in PR or how hard it is to crack into.
..As regards jobs in sociology.....

airneal

I'd definitely go the teaching route, masters is only equivalent to what a degree was 10 years ago, you'll find that a Ph.D. is equivalent to a masters 10 years ago now, they are two a penny... my advice go and get your teaching Qualification, then do your masters or whatever, things are moving at an alarming rate in the academic world i.e. value of Degrees etc. Fourth level education has really kicked into touch here in Ireland now, don't really know where its going to stop..People with Ph.D.'s can't get work, and the ones that are in work just get average wage...my advice do the teaching, its a real applied skill to have in your back pocket!!

liamygunner29 wrote: »

Hello, I would be very grateful if the mods could leave this up as I am dire need of advice from someone with a little knowledge. I went to UEL in London for a PGCE interview in Secondary English. I was put on a waiting list and subsequently offered a place last week. In the meantime I applied for a masters in Brickbeck University a sbusidary of University of London in Romantic studies and also a Masters in public relations which I am soemwhwat interested in.

I don't know what to do. I did a BA in English and Sociology so run the risk of only having one subject when I come home. Would a masters enhance my employment opportunites however limited in Ireland. I intend to work in London for a few years until things in Ireland hopefully improve. I don't know if I will be offered a PGCE again but I dunno if I will be employable without a masters...Does anyone have any recomendations on this?

I have been a full time TEFL teacher for the past 2 years and love teaching. However I also enjoy a decent living and think I would be quite good in Public relations. Should I take this opportunity to leave teaching and pursue somehting different instead of years of scrapping by without a definite silver lining?

Any advice or guidance would be hugely appreciated as I change my mind every other day? Today it's the English masters and weigh up my options after that, though I imagine they will be fairly limited. Yesterday it was the Dip and do a few years in London and hope Ireland picks up.

For the record I am very aware of the difficulty of teaching in London schools and am fully prepared for this having done a brief placement and put through a tough interview.

liamygunner29

Thank you for that and your time. Good advice.