degree or not degree?

[STEVESHAYMAN]

Hi

I am new to this board and relatively new to the idea of teaching English as a career. I apologise if this question has been answered somewhere else or even if it sounds aomewhat stupid on my behalf.

From what I have read so far I am under the impression that having a degre will make it easier to obtain visas and ultimately to find work. Does this have to be specifically a degree or would some other form of higher education certificate be sufficient eg: btec HND etc.

Would having a higher education certificate (HND) in a totally different subject (countryside management) make the process of getting a visa and a job any easier.

any help with this is much appreciated

Steve

[systematic]

Hi Steve,

I think you'll find that your specific question has indeed been discussed in some depth already, but the short answer is: no - most foreign governments that I know will want to see a university degree and won't want to waste their time finding out if an HND is an equivalent. Furthermore, at least here in Thailand, there is now a plethora of teachers with degrees looking for jobs - and the degrees are now required to be in a linguistic or teaching related field. If they are not, a PGCE+degree will do the trick.