San Francisco State University

M.A. TESOL Alumni Survey

SFSU M.A. TESOL Alumni Career Survey
Please mark N/A (not applicable) if the question does not apply to you.

  1. Preliminary question:
    May I quote from your comments in the forthcoming SFSU MATESOL Career Handbook?
    Yes, and it is O.K. to acknowledge me by name.
    Yes, but please don’t use my name.
    Yes, but I have marked some comments "CONFIDENTIAL"; please do not publish these.
    No, my comments are intended only as feedback to the program.

  2. Information about you:
    Name:
    Month/year of SFSU M.A. TESOL degree:
    E-mail address:
    Web site, if you have one:
    Native language:

  3. List any Certificates, Credentials, and/or other advanced degrees that you have obtained/are working on, date received, field of specialization, and college/university.


  4. Current Employment: If you are currently employed, list your current job title, employer, city, country, and when you started work there. How did you find out about this job?


  5. Other significant employment since graduation from SFSU (employer, job title, number of years)


  6. If you are NOT teaching at the current time, why did you decide to leave the teaching profession?


  7. Job Satisfaction:What are the most rewarding aspects of your work? What are the biggest challenges?


  8. What advice would you give to M.A. TESOL graduates regarding how to get hired at your current institution or an institution similar to yours?


  9. Influence of M.A. TESOL studies: What, if any, are some of the most significant ideas (principles) and skills that you learned while in the SFSU M.A. TESOL program that have influenced your teaching or other employment? (It is O.K. to say that what you studied has been too difficult to apply/is not applicable.)


  10. Professional Development: What steps have you taken, and what support does your employer provide, to promote your own professional growth (to expand your knowledge and skills)? Examples: Reading journals, attending conferences/in-service workshops, collaborating with colleagues, participating in an online discussion group, engaging in self reflection, conducting research, publishing. (If you have published, please list your publications.)


  11. Feedback to the M.A. TESOL Program: What recommendations do you have for changes and improvements to the SFSU M.A. TESOL program, in particular to better prepare M.A. TESOL students for their future employment?


  12. Optional Additional Thoughts: What would you like to tell current M.A. TESOL students, your former classmates, and the MATESOL faculty? Additional reflections are welcomed regarding employment, professional growth, your career path since graduation, and personal/family life.


Sample topics:

  • Advice for researching job openings
  • Advice for obtaining a teaching position at a particular type of school
  • A typical day on your job(s), with personal reflections
  • Surviving on part-time work
  • Your career path since graduation from SFSU, with comparisons of jobs and salaries
  • Why you changed to a different field/profession (left TESOL/left teaching); what you like about your new field/profession
  • Pursuing a Ph.D./Ed.D./other professional degree
  • If you got the SFSU Reading/Writing Certificate: Your employment now, how Certificate training has helped you in your work
  • If you moved away from the SF Bay Area: Experiences and advice on finding a job in a new location
  • For former international students: Re-acculturating after returning to your native country; whether or not an M.A. from an American university has been an asset
  • For Americans who are teaching or who taught overseas: What it’s like to be an expat abroad; the transition back to the U.S.
  • Balancing your career and your personal life/family
  • If you are intentionally unemployed due to raising children: Thoughts on being unemployed or on re-entering the work force
  • Volunteer work that you do
  • Any other topic

Thank you for filling out this survey!