I've been having a hard time getting any responses for teaching English online. I have 30 grad units in English, my MA in English will be conferred in September. I also have a MS in Criminal Justice and a MS in Special Education. I teach part time on ground for Kaplan College and online as an adjunct assistant for Ashford. Does anybody know who's hiring? And, what are possible reasons for the lack of interest from potential employers? Do you think listing three masters on my resume hurts? Should I cut out the CJ degree when I'm applying for English jobs?
There are just a bunch of folks all trying for a few jobs. While it never hurts to keep looking at the normal schools (Kaplan, DeVry, EDMC, etc.), many of them are not hiring for English right now. Most likely, the best bet is to look at local community colleges. Your previous experience should be beneficial, but just remember that you will be competing with folks who already have experience teaching English at that level. I figure that most schools will want transcripts from all schools you have attended, so you will be telling them about your other degrees anyway.
If I was is your situation I'd cut out the CJ degree. Also, it's not clear to me exactly what you mean when you say "teaching English online." Are you trying to teach English literature or are you trying to teach English as a second language or some other thing?
I am in a situation not entirely unlike your own and so I don't want to be a discouraging influence. However, English Lit/Comp is an oversaturated field. There are PhDs that can't get adjunct jobs at community colleges because there's so many applicants. In a competitive hiring environment every single element of a CV becomes critical. Are you publishing? Are you even in submission? Are you teaching anything? Anywhere? Sadly, a Masters degree in English Lit is a "you want fries with that?" degree. Our friends who have similar degrees in History, Sociology,etc. are all in the same boat. I'm afraid to tell you one more thing. The boat has a leak. Best of luck to you and all the rest of us.
But yet and still, the kids leaving High School still have no idea how to construct properly placed paragraphs and essays. While in the tutoring capacity, I see it all the time.
I actually teach developmental English courses in a community college setting. Yeah, we have plenty of students who can't write paragraphs, much less essays. I guess I could consider it job security... <grin>
Keep at it... Just keep at it. I have an MFA in Creative Writing, and another masters. I spent two years as a TA (which still pays better than most adjunct jobs). I have sent resumes and filled-out applications for two solid years. Around nine moths ago it began to pay off. I now teach English at 4 On-line schools and Psychology at another. You have the qualifications. Just toss that spaghetti against the wall, and don't give up. It will come. Thanks, Dan
Jodokk, you are my MFA hero. I'd love to go through that Queens program. Will you please give us a little description?
So it seems even with a solid English background, getting a job teaching English is still hard. Like I like in another post, I have a friend who has a BA and MA in English, as well as a MA in Creative writing. His goal is to teach English composition as an online adjunct.
You guys piqued my interest in trying to get one of theses adjunct positions, part time, teaching beginning English composition online. Background: BA English Lit MA Humanities Working on DA at HMU Should I go back for a MA in English, Composition, or Creative Writing? I have been tutoring (Small self-owned business) for about 10 years now.
Well, there is pretty stiff competition for the online jobs. I teach English online, and it is pretty tough to get callbacks. Once you get your foot in the door, it isn't so bad, though. I know people who teach English that have a Masters in Psychology, but 18 hours in English. You already have a Masters, so I would focus on getting 18 hours in English (if you don't already) and then start applying, if that is what you want. I do think I remember hearing that DeVry has a humanities course that is basically literature. You could most likely qualify for that right now.
These are what I have (taken from unofficial transcript): ENGL100 - Principles of Composition ENGL101 - Proficiency in Writing ENGL102 - Effectiveness in Writing ENGL120 - Creative Writing ENGL200 - Composition and Literature ENGL225 - Business Writing ENGL320 - Freelance Writing ENGL401 - History of the English Language ENGL420 - Advanced Creative Writing ENGL498 - Senior Seminar in English
LSU offers theses as independent: Course List College Level English Click on course number to see fact sheet. ENGLISH COURSES: ENGL 1001 – English Composition, 1 (H) * ENGL 2001 – Advanced English Composition* ENGL 2002 – Business Writing ENGL 2025 – Fiction* ENGL 2027 – Poetry (H) * ENGL 2029 – Drama* ENGL 2123 – Studies in Literary Traditions and Themes* ENGL 2175 – The Civil War in Literature* ENGL 2710 – Descriptive Grammar of English ENGL 3002 – Technical Writing (H) ENGL 3020 – British Literature I* ENGL 3022 – British Literature: Romantics, Victorns, & Moderns ENGL 3070 – American Literature I Forging a Nation* ENGL 3072 – American Literature II: Coming of Age* ENGL 3124 – The Literature of the English Bible (H) ENGL 3593 – Survey of Women and Literature*
The only courses that count are graduate level courses. So the stuff you took for your Bachelors won't help here. To teach at the college level, you will have to have a Masters degree, and 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching subject. Now, honestly, you could get a position teaching developmental courses with a BA, but it is fairly rare, I think. Certainly rare online. So, if you don't have graduate English, then you need to get some grad courses before you could teach English (at the college level).
Yeah, all of these (and the others you listed) are undergrad courses. Won't help you in getting qualified to teach college.
Nope, for in the Grad level I have this: HUMN500 - Humanities: Research, Study and Use HUMN510 - The Ancient World HUMN520 - Antiquity and Medieval World HUMN530 - The Renaissance HUMN540 - Beginnings of the Enlightenment HUMN541 - Enlightenment and the Modern World HUMN555 - The 19th Century: Romantic and Industrial Revolutions HUMN551 - Evolution of Life and Intelligence HUMN571 - Individuals, Societies, and the Spirit HIST586 - History of Science HIST588 - History of Religion