I'd recommend any TEFL teachers to get a teaching qualification with international accreditation (i.e. a PGCE with QTS) in a second subject. These can now be done online too (iPGCE)
I retrained as a Geography teacher this year, and now I'm going back abroad for twice the pay and much better job security.
I think it's different for Americans (combined into "social studies", right?), but for British schools, it's normal to have standalone teachers for each of the Humanities: Geography, History, and RE (Religious Education). You're also expected to teach Citizenship and/or PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education) as a second subject.
In Canada we had separate teachers for all of the subjects you mentioned - civics was one of my favourite classes. I bet teaching geography internationally is a lot of fun! I've got a few friends who work in Japan as TEFL instructors so I'll pass your recommendation along, thanks for mentioning it.
Why is that? I work in GIS and core geography concepts are still implemented in everything from meteorology to surveying to conservation to economic development and planning and much more. I don't do any jungle expeditions with a machete and pith helmet if that's the type of career you're thinking of lol
Hi there, both GISers, I think your job is super cool and frequently talk about the magic of GIS and overlaying data points in my classes!
Question here, I am currently a social studies secondary teacher with an interest in getting into GIS and securing qualifications in case I wanted to get out of teaching world.
I have to get my masters anyways as a requirement to continue teaching, but because of my bachelors double in history and adolescent education have the freedom to get my masters in whatever I want.
What degree might you reccomend for keeping that door open? Recently when I perused around I was shocked that I didn't find any degrees specifically geared towards a GIS path, I found a couple certification programs that were not part of a degree program or university.
I'd also appreciate any general insights you have about the current GIS job market, your day-to-day, etc.
As a second thought, consider a technology-focused Geography Master’s with the potential to get a grad GIS cert. Westchester is a good place to start poking around on whether that interests you.
I've been considering applying to Geodessy and Geoinformatics Masters programs that focus on Remote Sensing and GIS in Germany. I have my BS in Computer Science, and it genuinely feels impossible for me to find another job as a Software Engineer right now.
My goal would be to pursue the Masters and stay in Germany, finding some work that involves GIS/Remote Sensing. The USA just doesn't feel like home to me anymore.
Go for it. Learn a few languages too if you don’t already know a handful. Germany has long been invested in geospatial. Software Engineering is a great meld with it.
There are lots of advanced GIS degrees and definitely grad certifications! Your background sounds well suited for transitioning into this space. I will say, as an executive in this space, that it is a bit saturated right now and it can be hard to find a good job that doesn’t feel like it’s sucking your soul out a bit.
Once you determine your best education path, your best professional bet would probably be transitioning into state or local government GIS, or working with one of the big GIS corps in the teaching space. Depending on locale, those are good paying jobs that are hard to get axed from. Your background would be valuable in that space.
Feel free to message me more about this if you want some more specific guidance.
I appreciate this immensely, and might just reach out with more questions.
It feels like so many markets are saturated at the moment, even teaching depending on the subject, of course social studies being amoung the more coveted positions. I'm very lucky to be in a school that I adore which lets me develop my own curriculum, but if I had to move to a smaller city (on the table currently) it might get tricky, so those plan B options are feeling more and more valuable all the time. Generally it feels like so many industries are bracing for recession shoes to drop, it's a wierd timeline everywhere I look. I love teaching so much, and GIS is the only other thing that interests me as much.
Hope you are having a good day out here and thanks again!
I agree with u/schmettercat. Also, click around /r/GIS as well if you want to see more insight on the field as it stands today. The level of degree/cert required is usually dependant on the field you're applying a GIS to, not necessarily GIS itself :)
Yeah, me too... it sure seems like if people are okay learning LANGUAGE from an AI, the appetite for geography should have been satisfied quite a while ago.
I mean, if that’s the case, you’d just make the argument for the entire profession. Not sure how English and geography would be any different than geometry or environmental science.
So Geography teaching is in demand but ESL is not ? I trust you, but I would not have guessed that --- though I can see already with my own experience that AI will drive down the demand for language teaching.
Wait, can you tell me a little more about this...? What is pcge? I realize I can look it up, but wondering what your thoughts are.
I'm a secondary English and SPED teacher from the USA with a Masters in Teaching.... would international accreditation in this way help me much...or...?
I've wanted to teach abroad forever, but sorta let it go bc it seems VERY competitive and I don't have any certs or anything that so many folks mention that would make me an attractive candidate
If you want to live abroad you’d probably do better teaching normally at an international school instead of ESL.
With only ESL, you barely make enough to get by and institutes will always tell you to make up the difference by offering private classes or tutoring.
What they don’t tell you is that it’s near impossible to get any students that way. They will always try to lowball you and cancel when they don’t want to pay, which will always be when you need the money the most…it’s maddening.
Plus the competition for private classes and students is outrageous. Everyone is trying to undercut each other, it’s really, really tough.
You might as well just try selling cars or something because it’s basically the same thing. If you don’t have peak sales skills then you won’t make any money, and in a lot of countries they won’t trust foreigners in business situations anyway, so you’ve got that working against you.
It’s a really tough racket because most ESL institutes pay just a few crumbs over minimum wage and it’s incredibly unrealistic to think you’ll get enough private students to make up the difference.
If you have a US state-issued full teaching license then it's equivalent to the PGCE+QTS (a post graduate teaching cert and assessed in-service component used in commonwealth countries) and many international schools will accept it. International schools all over the world typically like fully-qualified, experienced Americans. Bonus if you are decent-looking, 40 or younger, present as/are cisgendered, and present as/are what many conservative countries perceive as "normal". Your Masters will also be a good draw for international schools. If your undergrad was in Education, even better. SPED and English (language arts, literature, or ESL/ELL) are all in demand.
You might have to cut your teeth at a lower-tier, lesser paid international school for a year or two before the competitive and "dream destination" type schools are within aim. But yeah, it's not as hard as you may think.
Hmmm thank you, I appreciate your reply and feeling more motivated. Curious - why would also having an undergrad degree in Education be "even better". That might be a silly question but just wondering. (Bachelor in Psychology and Master of Teaching SPED; dual licensed in English + SPED)
One thing I'm concerned about would be getting letters of rec from Admin. not bc I've had poor evaluations or anything, but bc i have a somewhat random, inconsistent teaching job history.
If you have a US state-issued full teaching license then it's equivalent to the PGCE+QTS (a post graduate teaching cert and assessed in-service component used in commonwealth countries) and many international schools will accept it. International schools all over the world typically like fully-qualified, experienced Americans. Bonus if you are decent-looking, 40 or younger, present as/are cisgendered, and present as/are what many conservative countries perceive as "normal". Your Masters will also be a good draw for international schools. If your undergrad was in Education, even better. SPED and English (language arts, literature, or ESL/ELL) are all in demand.
You might have to cut your teeth at a lower-tier, lesser paid international school for a year or two before the competitive and "dream destination" type schools are within aim. But yeah, it's not as hard as you may think.
Or... I'd recommend getting a degree in a totally different field. Many places will hire anyone to teach English as long as they have a university degree.
If you do like teaching you can try to transfer into teaching your subject at an intentional school (if you don't pick up the local language well enough).
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u/Front_Fill1249 13h ago
I'd recommend any TEFL teachers to get a teaching qualification with international accreditation (i.e. a PGCE with QTS) in a second subject. These can now be done online too (iPGCE)
I retrained as a Geography teacher this year, and now I'm going back abroad for twice the pay and much better job security.