If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work abroad

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chanta76
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If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work abroad

Post by chanta76 »

What will it be?

Education major? MBA? Law degree for international law?

Living abroad you need some sort of income and a job overseas. Most seem to go the ESL route but it is limited to a degree. Some MBA does open doors but besides that what else is there.
MrMan
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Re: If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work ab

Post by MrMan »

If you get an MBA degree and you don't have any background in business, it may be hard to land that first job. You'll be competing with people who have better experience. Some of the better MBA programs typically recruit most students with work experience.

If you graduate from a top school or a top program where there are a lot of companies recruiting, you may be able to get a job. But I doubt you'll have people coming over from China or Russia or wherever you want to go coming over to recruit at your school.

I knew an English teacher who majored in finance in a good, second tier MBA program and he got some kind of job coming out of the program. Finance may be different in regard to their work experience since Finance courses teach a technical skill you can use coming out of an MBA program.

Going right out of an MBA program to jump into an overseas position would be a stretch. Maybe you could find a US position, get experience, and then leverage your experience to work abroad later.

I don't know about International Law. A double degree law and MBA student I knew coming out of the same MBA program got a position as a corporate lawyer with a big aluminum company. He said you get paid less than if you work at a big law firm, but you don't have to work those years at 90 hours a week that the lower level lawyer (associate is it?) has to work in a law firm. I don't know what they paid starting out, but if it were $100K or so, that would be good.

You could probably work abroad right out of the gate if you got a PhD in Engineering or Business. Accounting PhD's are hard to find. One accounting professor in the US said there are five jobs for every graduate from his university's PhD program. All the grads get jobs. There are a lot of Asian schools seeking accreditation, and they either have to compete to get an PhD or design their program to allow people with master's degrees to teach. The down side is that the US uses GAAP, which is a different accounting system than some of the foreign countries, though these systems are similar in a lot of ways. It probably wouldn't keep one from getting a job overseas, though. I don't think they get into the details of GAAP or other accounting systems at the early level courses, and someone could learn one system... I would imagine... and teaching accounting 101 or 102 in the other system. Business-related PhD graduates who go to decent schools can start out at over $100K. I think accounting is like $120K or $140K. Finance pays well, but not quite as well as Accounting. Some schools in China will pay US salaries, or a bit less giving you the same after tax income you'd get in the US, and some pay much less.

It seemed to me living in Indonesia when I was considering going to grad school, that getting an MA TESOL wouldn't do much. It might make it easier to change jobs, but the jobs wouldn't pay much more.

In Indonesia, and some other countries, being a certified teacher in the US or some other English-speaking western country might qualify you to teach at an international school that pays either a wage higher than an English institute wage, or a normal US teachers wage with some perks, while you live in a foreign country. Back then, some universities were offering MAT degrees. I remember The University of Maryland offered one of those. You could go into an MAT not being a certified teacher, get the degree, do student teaching, and come out a certified teacher in that state.
chanta76
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Re: If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work ab

Post by chanta76 »

Mr.man


Thanks for the response. I dont know if you mentioned it already maybe in a different thread but whats your back ground?

For me i have a college degree already but been working in real estate as a property manager for years. I thought about going for mba or maybe graduate degree in teaching but think my age is a problem now. (Im 40 years old.) I actually thought about pilot school but realize my age again .



I think for the younger guys who still has some time should really think about career choices that can have an effect if you can afford to move overseas.
Kradmelder
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Re: If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work ab

Post by Kradmelder »

Chanta, technical skills like engineering are always good and transplantable and I worked all over the world. But you must start in your 20s and do site work and build your cv. You form the contacts while on sites in other countries. I formed many and was asked to come work there. But I'm too obligated to racial duty to have ever done that. Prefer to raise strong white kids than live in debauchery.

It won't work at your age and non technical background. So in your situation I can't offer meaningful advice. Asian who speaks and writes english? The multinationals. For young people, young whites with technical skills, you will get a job anywhere.
chanta76
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Re: If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work ab

Post by chanta76 »

I think that why you have allot of expats go the ESL route even the older guys. It's harder for the older guys to get ESL gigs but not impossible. The other choices is if you saved enough or invest enough to live on for a few years. That's something.

For me I do have some investment since I work in real estate. I plan on retiring with my family in another country or do dual citizenship perhaps. Granted at 40 years I can just keep building on real estate or try another path or do both.
Kradmelder
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Re: If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work ab

Post by Kradmelder »

chanta76 wrote:I think that why you have allot of expats go the ESL route even the older guys. It's harder for the older guys to get ESL gigs but not impossible. The other choices is if you saved enough or invest enough to live on for a few years. That's something.

For me I do have some investment since I work in real estate. I plan on retiring with my family in another country or do dual citizenship perhaps. Granted at 40 years I can just keep building on real estate or try another path or do both.
You are Korean right? Do you speak it? Why not market yourself to your strengths? Like approach Korean corporations for helping their staff relocate to English speaking countries and finding them properties? And the same for Americans relocating to Korea for work?

But a bit more than just finding a home. Like assistance placing kids in schools, arranging a vehicle, appliances etc. Would there be a market for such a relocation service business if you understand both cultures and have real estate experience?

Esl is low pay and unimaginative. Play to your strengths, skills you have others don't. If you are a real estate agent you must have good people skills and be able to read what people want.
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Cornfed
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Re: If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work ab

Post by Cornfed »

The reality is that after a certain age the degree --> career thing is over for most of us and we just need to accept it.
chanta76
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Re: If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work ab

Post by chanta76 »

kradmelder,


My spoken Korean is so-so..saying that I think there is agency that does that service so I would be competing against establish businesses. My plan is further my investment become more like a landlord but hand it over to a property management that can manage it. But because I am in this business as a landlord sometimes you have to be there to make sure everything is manage well. I think in 10 years times I can accomplish that .


Cornfed,

Yes and no. I met people in their late 40's going for a career change. I actually know a guy who wanted to be a commercial pilot and some how was able to make the changes in his 40's. It's rare but it can happen. What I do notice with older people is that they end up working for themselves instead of working for someone else. In the end I think that's the best route if your able to do that .

Own something..own investment, business or something . I knew a white guy that married a Korean girl lost his job here in the states. Went to Korea and open up their own ESL school and is doing OK.. so instead of working for someone they hire ESL teachers and set their own hours.
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HouseMD
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Re: If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work ab

Post by HouseMD »

I'd get a master's degree in epidemiology and work as a medical officer for the CDC. They've got posts basically everywhere, and you get paid US doctor money (though on the low end) while working abroad.
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xiongmao
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Re: If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work ab

Post by xiongmao »

If you want to teach overseas it's always better to get a teaching qualification in your own country. And of course you'd have a career to come back to if you're bored with being Happier Abroad. I suppose I should do this but I've got such a backlog of crazy business ideas that I'd rather go my own way.

A guy I used to work with in the IT business did an accelerated doctor degree (5 years) and is now an MD, so a big career change is possible. My sister's doing a similar big mid-life career change. The main downside is that you have to take a sucky salary in your new career.
I was Happier Abroad for a while but Covid killed that off.
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HouseMD
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Re: If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work ab

Post by HouseMD »

xiongmao wrote:If you want to teach overseas it's always better to get a teaching qualification in your own country. And of course you'd have a career to come back to if you're bored with being Happier Abroad. I suppose I should do this but I've got such a backlog of crazy business ideas that I'd rather go my own way.

A guy I used to work with in the IT business did an accelerated doctor degree (5 years) and is now an MD, so a big career change is possible. My sister's doing a similar big mid-life career change. The main downside is that you have to take a sucky salary in your new career.
Doctor salary sucks early on, but after residency is pretty solid.
chanta76
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Re: If you can go back to school to earn a degree to work ab

Post by chanta76 »

I work in real estate and have some investment with partners. The money is ok but it's hand on job. I'm trying to find time to go back to school and earn a master or certificate. My plan is have some added skills to find work but also make my investment also pay me.

Leaning towards education degree since it's quickest to maybe finding work abroad.
Second choice is as HouseMD mention look into medical field but it be tough for me since it's a whole new field.
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