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What to do after PGCEi being useless?

Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 10:56 am
by sketchbo0k
Hey everyone!

I recently finished all my theoretical modules and will be completing my ITT placement soon (August). I have learned that my PGCEi is pretty much useless in getting my a job in the Middle East. I’m currently living in Kuwait and will be using an accredited certificate that I obtained from Kuwait a few months prior to enrolling in the PGCEi program. Unfortunately, I can’t use it outside of Kuwait. I also would love to leave Kuwait, I don’t want to stay here.

What can I do now? Do I need to do Teach Now to get my license? Or is there a way to get license using my PGCEi? I have studied and written essays for 9 months, I have learned a lot about teaching. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher but now my dream seems no closer than it was 9 months ago because of how useless the PGCEi is. What do people here suggest I do?

Regards,
AD

Re: What to do after PGCEi being useless?

Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 11:08 am
by TCH12
Blind leading the blind here, but are you sure your PGCEi has no utility? What nationality are you, and what is your teaching subject(s)?

Re: What to do after PGCEi being useless?

Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 11:26 am
by sketchbo0k
Hi TCH,

I’m Lebanese. My subject is Art and Design. I am unsure if it has any utility. From what I’m reading, my chances of employment are very low.

Re: What to do after PGCEi being useless?

Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 11:42 am
by TCH12
I'm really sorry to hear that. Hopefully the good people of this board can help you to find a solution. I'm sure it's possible, otherwise no one would bother doing a PGCEi!

Re: What to do after PGCEi being useless?

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2021 2:38 am
by expatscot
It's definitely not the PGCEi that's the problem - it is a teaching qualification, although it doesn't get you work in the UK. I know of people working in the ME with this, as well as in Asia.

Response

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2021 5:03 am
by PsyGuy
Change your nationality. Look I'm just going to say it, its not the PGCEi, there are many ITs working in IE, mostly 3rd tier, with a PGCEi. Its that your Lebanese, and its assumed your not a NES. Your passport matters, your skin color matters. You dont have the resume for upper tier ISs where those things matter less, and you cant build that resume in the lower tier if no one gives you an appointment because you dont match the 'look' they are wanting. If that werent enough, art isnt a high demand field, and this cycle it doesnt have elevated need. Some places leadership are falling over themselves to recruit because they cant really bring ITs in, but youre in Kuwait and your Lebanese. Why would an IS do the back flips needed to bring you in when there are 'western' ITs with fuller resumes and the right demographic that justify all that bureaucratic and political gymnastics. Its not the PGCEi thats useless, its more your. . . . resume doesnt offer a whole lot of utility and its competing in a pretty full pond.

Re: What to do after PGCEi being useless?

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2021 7:48 am
by sketchbo0k
That’s very unfortunate. I spent 12 years of my education in a british school. Another 2 years in a british university and another 4 in a Canadian university. And to be turned down because my nationality is Lebanese does not give me hope in the international education system.

Re: What to do after PGCEi being useless?

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2021 12:24 pm
by shadowjack
I have friends from many different nations teaching in IE. The certification IS the issue for many schools which might hire you, especially given where your education has been from.

Here is what I would do - blind email a couple principals. Explain your situation and ask if they could critique your CV and qualification from their perspective of possibly hiring you. If they don't answer, wash, rinse, repeat.

While some heads WON"T answer, others eventually will. Teaching is a profession of helpers in general, and a few will respond. I have had some interesting (and enlightening!) email conversations with heads, even though I never got a job with them.

Good luck!

Shad

Reply

Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 2:01 am
by PsyGuy
@sketchbo0k

Like @SJ I too have friends in IE of different ethnicity, and if you had a heftier resume it might be different. Look around though at the lower third tier ISs, its the entry jumping on point for ITs, why hire someone who has little professionally to offer and doesnt even look the part they want. Their are plenty of colonial western ITs/ETs who offer as much as you do and match the look they want.

The credential isnt the issue, but if you want to test it get the MA provisional credential. Right now you can take the exams online without travel. Then add it to your resume and shop it around and see how it goes, or if your just curious make some fake resumes with different names that are similar, but one has a credential and one doesnt and then send them out and see if theres any difference in your response.

I dont see how @SJs plan works, they arent going to identify themselves as racist by actually telling you, yeah Id hire you if you were a westerner. Unless you can somehow leverage that critique into getting an appointment its not going to help you.

Re: What to do after PGCEi being useless?

Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 7:49 am
by Illiane_Blues
Your ethnicity does diminish your chances but you can still get to where you want to go. It does mean the road to get there will be longer.
The better schools are usually the ones that will look less at skin color but unfortunately to be considered there you first experience at the the lower tier schools that more often do look for a white face. But there are schools that will give you a shot and then you can slowly move up through the tiers.
Asking principals for feedback like Shadowjack suggests might be helpful but do stress that you're only looking for feedback from their point of view as recruiters and that it's not an elaborate way to land a job there. Some of them will answer.

Re: What to do after PGCEi being useless?

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:08 am
by Verano
I also don’t think that your PGCEi is useless. Unfortunately, people with non-US, UK, Australian, and New Zealand passports are not always an IS’s first choice. After that, EU passports are probably accepted more than other nationalities. I have found that IB schools are more open-minded and embrace more diversity in general, but not all the time. With that said, if you have any IB training and experience, they tend to hire you regardless of your passport depending on the school. However, I have seen more diversity in teachers who teach DP math, chemistry, and physics than other subjects.

To answer your original question, I think you still have a chance to work at international schools around the world. If you don’t work at an IB school, you might want to look into finding schools that are willing to hire you to get an experience. I know lots of international teachers from different countries have worked in China as well, which could also be your next step.

After rereading the original post, it doesn’t look like you have any teaching experience, which could be the biggest reason you’re not getting any interviews. Typically, the minimum requirement is to have at least two years of teaching experience.

Re: What to do after PGCEi being useless?

Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2021 3:02 pm
by ElArbalest
I think there are bigger reasons for your struggle than your nationality, and PGCEi.

I'm from the UK, Maths graduate, 8 years experience teaching with my CELTA in the TEFL world, and wouldn't probably only be able to get an international school teaching job of Mathematics that paid slightly more than a TEFL job at a bi-lingual school.

You have no experience, and you're trying to find a job in a subject that is far from a shortage subject. Even if you were a westerner, you'd probably struggle to get a job at an international school.

Discussion

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2021 10:55 pm
by PsyGuy
Its not any one thing, its not even any two things its a summ of a number of things that have negative synergy thats working against the LW: no experience, no credential, saturated subject area with low demand, non-NES, non-western. That synergy makes it difficult to pull the ones you can do something about (such as experience) because of the ones you cant do anything about (non-western).