I need a degree

Mark1159 on 28/02/2021 - 12:26
Last edited 28/02/2021 - 12:36

I need a degree.
Any degree, apparently.

I plan to teach English OS - but once completing the relevant course, OS employment agencies, OS education institutes, OS governments stipulate “a degree”.

Don’t have.
Qualified as three year trained Primary School Teacher (Diploma Teaching - Primary) in the 70s.

Working life spent in Health Sciences, Administration and Offshore OHS.
Tertiary qualifications in all - but only Associate Diplomas, Graduate Certificates and dozens of in house courses everywhere etc etc all from recognised Australian Tertiary Institutions Monash/RMIT etc.

Can add in Australian Flight Crew Licence - think that’s gone Tertiary as well now.
Kept copies and originals of every certificate.

Did all the EEO/Affirmative Action/Bullying/Cyber Security-Protocol thing when computers and faxes came on board.

So, I am well rounded; plenty of widespread work experience and widely credentialled.
I wrote that myself :)
Figjam. :)

But no degree.

As a couple of courses were at RMIT, I’m attending there tomorrow, hoping I can get RPL and credits for previous courses. I’ll do the CELTA - TESOL course at RMIT as well.
See if all that might combine to see if they’ll smile and confer a degree on me.

I read somewhere qualifications over 10 years old are not credited.

Anyway, if all that fails - what is the cheapest, easiest pathway (any course - don’t care/not interested) to getting a degree so I can tick all the boxes.

Thankyou.

Education & Work

Comments

  • brokenglish on 28/02/2021 - 12:49
    -1

    By the time you get that degree in 3 years (2 if you get credit from your past diploma), your plan to teach English overseas might be gone.

    If the degree doesn’t have to be from Australia, there are plenty of cheap online courses that can give you a bachelor degree certificate. The credibility may be questionable though.

    • Mark1159 on 28/02/2021 - 13:00

      Cheap online course OS - ya, good thought. Not interested in quality.
      Only wanna tick checklist.

    • SydStrand on 28/02/2021 - 14:21
      +3

      If the degree doesn’t have to be from Australia, there are plenty of cheap online courses that can give you a bachelor degree certificate.

      Most are diploma mill scams, and I'll assume the OP's employer will only consider diplomas from accredited schools.

  • brendanm on 28/02/2021 - 12:56
    +9

    Piece of paper is much more important that actual skills and life experience these days. Stupid.

    • pharkurnell on 28/02/2021 - 13:17

      Sad but true.

    • hasher22 on 28/02/2021 - 15:01
      +3

      I think both play a huge role.

      A piece of paper is a minimum requirement now, employers don't care what uni or how many degrees you have, just as long you passed uni (obviously exceptions to the rule, like doctors and lawyers and such)

      Experience is still the most wanted aspect of a resume.

    • Clear on 28/02/2021 - 16:16
      +4

      Piece of paper is much more important that actual skills and life experience these days. Stupid.

      Really depends on the job. I studied IT/Engineering and I find unless you're wanting to work for a big corporation/mutlinational, most will value the experience more. That's in my industry though.,

  • websterp on 28/02/2021 - 13:02
    +6

    what is the cheapest, easiest pathway (any course - don’t care/not interested) to getting a degree so I can tick all the boxes.

    University of American Samoa
    Better call Saul - He will tell you all about it.

    • SydStrand on 28/02/2021 - 14:21
      +3

      Go, Land Crabs!

  • Mark1159 on 28/02/2021 - 13:06
    +1

    I’m watching Jimmy and that hot Kim Wexler atm

    • Quantumcat on 28/02/2021 - 18:20

      Me too - haven't finished - I am dreading the moment something happens to Kim given she isn't in Breaking Bad

    • mingofmongo on 01/03/2021 - 15:28

      I haven't seen that atm

  • [Deactivated] on 28/02/2021 - 13:22

    Talk to some universities. They will often consider credits for past experience or education. That may shave some time off a degree course.

    If you have considerable flight experience then perhaps a flight related degree may seriously consider crediting a significant portion of the courses as completed already.

  • [Deactivated] on 28/02/2021 - 13:27

    Isn't it much, much harder to get the English teaching jobs if you are older? I thought Japan had an age limit.

    • Mark1159 on 28/02/2021 - 13:30

      Couple of mates do it - one older than me.
      Not so much off shore work now - and I’m less inclined to climb six flights of stairs from cellar deck to helideck.

  • Meho2026 on 28/02/2021 - 14:16
    +1

    If you've completed a Graduate Certificate, that should be enough.
    The Australian Qualifications Framework puts a Bachelor Degree at Level 7 and a Graduate Certificate above that on level 8.
    If you are asked for details of your degree, you should be able to give your Graduate Certificate info and that be acceptable.
    If your Undergraduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate are in the same discipline it will probably be more straightforward.
    You could contact the agencies that you want to apply through and discuss it.
    The other option is if you have a Grad cert it might be quicker (but more expensive) to do a Masters than a Bachelor from scratch.

    • Mark1159 on 28/02/2021 - 14:32

      Thankyou.
      Tomorrow I go into RMIT with every qualification since 1976.

      Mate presently teaching in SE Asia says I can still work, albeit lower pay scale.

      Happy to take part time or sessional position. Money no real consequence.
      Super keeps growing and above the limit.
      Stops boredom.

      Lived (and worked some) Vietnam 2014-20. Know to live well and cheap.

  • iNeed2Pee on 28/02/2021 - 14:30

    Would you like my Masters in Teaching? (Inclusive of Bachelor and Graduate Diploma)

    Will sell it for $46,560. (Cost of my HECS)

    Please don't report. Im joking.

    • MS Paint on 28/02/2021 - 14:36

      Private selling on ozbargain forums is forbidden 😁

    • Mark1159 on 28/02/2021 - 14:38

      Really? Wow. Is that how much debt you come out with?
      Didn’t think my kid accrued that much HECS doing medicine. Better check.

      I got paid initially by Education Department to study primary teaching.

      • iNeed2Pee on 28/02/2021 - 14:42
        +1

        Yeah, when I see other teachers who complain about things it makes me sick. Most teachers in the game were either payed by the department to do teaching or didn't have to pay for HECS.

        Hard not to be bitter about that.

        My HECS isn't even that much compared to others who did teaching. Some owe 60k because the cost of degrees differed between universities.

        Tbh, I'm even getting over teaching and looking to do something else.

        Teaching the kids is the best part. Everything else that comes with it, that's another story.

  • mskeggs on 28/02/2021 - 15:08
    -1

    Can you just bluff your way by showing your graduate certificate shows you have completed degree equivalent? When the requirement is "a degree" it is usually up to somebody to look at the piece of paper and judge if it counts - e.g is American "college" suitable, it a German technical degree.

    I would be grilling the orgs who require "a degree" and saying here are my teaching credentials and my grad certs etc. and let them tell you it isn't suitable.

    • Mark1159 on 28/02/2021 - 15:46
      +2

      Good point.
      Acquaintance told me someone got into serious trouble “fabricating” a degree.
      You are not suggesting that; nor my inclination to consider your suggestion could be viewed as outright deception.
      At least to you and me.

      However, a militaristic regime may not quite extend the same “understanding and acceptance”.

      As you suggest, say what I’ve got, present the quals I do have - and see what happens.
      Thanks

    • [Deactivated] on 28/02/2021 - 16:00

      Quite often for Japan you have to send your actual degree by post for the application. :o They are meticulous and demanding.

      • mskeggs on 02/03/2021 - 14:55

        Do you think a primary school teaching accreditation plus a graduate certificate would meet the definition?

        I guess the requirement must either specify what is required in terms of the AQF framework for Australian applicants, or we must guess what they mean if they say "a degree" where that varies considerably from country to country.

        If you want to be pendantic, I'm sure a US based theological college will award a non-accredited degree in religious studies for free, if you fill out their web form.

        But i think it's likely trying to understand the requirement in more detail is the best course.

        • [Deactivated] on 02/03/2021 - 15:15

          Japan makes bureaucracy an artform. The academic standards will vary with the quality of the employer and I would check with the employer well in advance. Quite a few english teaching businesses collapsed a few years ago causing issues for teachers on visas, so it's a gamble and you don't want one with low standards.

          Do read up on the Nova collapse. :)

  • Diji1 on 28/02/2021 - 16:07
    +1

    I mean if you just want the cheapest, easiest degree I can suggest marketing. Also a lot of attractive women if that interests you which is better than say … IT.

    But are you seriously suggesting that you just walk in with a random degree in something completely off topic and that aids you in securing English teaching? This seems nuts … but actually this is exactly the kind of moronic thinking that would probably be very impressed by a marketing degree so maybe it's a winner.

  • Mark1159 on 28/02/2021 - 16:49

    It’s moronic but that’s the way it is.
    A degree.

    Trained teacher - gotta be on a par with “any degree”

    As for the women, girl friend is at uni, plans to become flight attendant. Need a degree for that in Vietnam. And English. And “the look”.

    Topped her class in maths, physics and chemistry (second). I suggested she apply for Cadetship to learn to fly the plane.

    “Here, is only available to men”.

  • AussieDaddy on 28/02/2021 - 17:31

    All your past qualifications/certificates should get you into most degrees at Australian universities, now even more than ever, given the drop in international students and unis struggling. It has been a long time since I left school (overseas) and I had a certificate IV from TAFE that could get me into 80% of the degrees offered here when I decided to go back to tertiary education several years ago, but still decided to do a six-month foundation course (one of the pathways to go to uni these days), which got me straight into uni. Most AU unis have those foundation courses, where the conditions are that you attend classes full-time (4 topics, and usually 3 or max 4 days a week, and classes run between 9am & 2-3pm), you're an Australian citizen/permanent resident and not a school student below year 12 etc. And the whole semester is like 3-4 months tops. If you pass all 4 topics (all you need is 50% pass), then you're good to go.

    But as I said initially, your current qualifications and experience should easily get you into 80% of degrees offered at unis today. The only exceptions are if you want to do medicine, engineering, or other hard sciences (maybe law as well, not sure). In that case they would ask you to apply through the relevant state tertiary admissions centre (SATAC here in SA).

  • pdperth on 01/03/2021 - 10:41
    +2

    Get a graduate certificate (in teaching?). Your experience will allow entry. Much cheaper than a degree. A masters is generally 12 units, sometimes 8. An undergraduate degree is 24 or so. They won't allow credits for ug units against a pg course but once you do a grad cert that can be used as credit for a masters.

  • wongcr on 01/03/2021 - 11:55

    Hopefully you are not trying NSW

    https://www.teach.nsw.edu.au/becomeateacher/career-changers As they need a 1st degree in the relevant area (eg BSc for science) and then a graduate diploma/
    masters of teaching. But at least this is at commonwealth supported place (HECS & cheaper $)

    Ps bachelors/ undergrad diploma teaching degrees no longer accepted.

    • mskeggs on 02/03/2021 - 15:00

      I think there were transitional arrangements for 2 & 3 year trained teachers, but these qualifications haven't been offered since the 1980s, so would impact only a small number of people.

      From NESA:
      To become a teacher in NSW, you are required to complete an accredited teaching degree.

      Most students complete either:

      an accredited four-year teaching degree (eg Bachelor of Education) or a combined degree (eg Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Education)
      an undergraduate degree (eg Bachelor of Science) and an accredited graduate entry teaching degree (eg Master of Teaching).

  • OzHunterNSW on 01/03/2021 - 11:57

    Yeah, funny that. To teach they require you to be educated. Funny that.

    • mskeggs on 02/03/2021 - 15:01

      OP is a qualified primary teacher and holds a graduate certificate. Seems plenty educated to teach ESL.

  • Mark1159 on 01/03/2021 - 12:23

    I been into RMIT.
    They suggest I submit a course application in a desired field.
    Generally qualifications only accepted within last 10 years. I know I’m outta date and under no illusions about my currency.
    Think we still strapped kids when I trained and women were only getting equal pay.

    Doubt if I get any credit for anything cos some qualifications go back to mid 70s.
    RMIT guy had never heard of now defunct Victorian colleges that trained teachers in 60s and 70s - although I know RMIT is custodian for those institutes.

    No desire to undertake 2-3 years for degree.
    Haha, no desire to incur HECS liability.

    Back onto oil rigs or accept lower paid and inferior TESOL position cos no degree.

    Thanks to everyone for insight and input.

  • afah0447 on 01/03/2021 - 12:33

    You should be able to enrol in a Masters course based on your work experience. If you look hard enough you should be able to find a one year online Masters course. A Graduate Certificate is another option but won't carry as much weight in the eyes of overseas employers.

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