I'll provide as much detail as I feel comfortable so that I can receive accurate advice.
Nationality: Canadian
Age: 24
Male/Caucasian
Status: Single with no dependents.
Credentials: Bachelor of Education Secondary, British Columbia Certified K-12, almost expired Alberta Intern certificate (is this worth renewing)? Major in English and a minor in Chinese (can write, read, and speak).
Teaching experience: 3 years (all in certified international schools)
1 year at a BC certified off shore school, 2 years at a Project Based Learning/Montessori based school. Currently employed at a second tier level school (got in with connections).
Courses taught: English 12, Health 10, Drama 10, Humanities (PBL/Montessori). No IB experience.
Major accomplishments: English 12 students achieved a 61% average on the provincial exam (BC).
Based on the information above, please use your professional judgement and experiences to offer feedback on what I should do next.
My end goal is to stay abroad for my career. I am very happy at my current school, but I am looking to move after I've got a few more years of experience. Would like to break into the elite tier schools to learn "best practises." I'm learning a lot at my current school, I am the youngest and most the educators have at least 8 years experience over me.
Ideally, I would like to complete a masters degree online part time and still continue working full time. An MA in History is appealing because I think it complements my experience ,and (hopefully), I can get certified in teaching Social Studies with an MA in History?
An education masters is not appealing to me, as I don't want to go into admin (at least not right now...). I've done some reading online, and as I feared, a lot of folks felt that their MEd was a waste of time. Anyone care to comment?
Here's where I would love to comment on how great my bachelors program and where my fear was stemming from: I graduated from one of the best universities in Canada, but I still think my bachelors degree ill prepared me for teaching. I don't want to waste time and money doing more pointless education classes that are going to be grounded in dated theory and in ideal situations. The only thing here that makes me a little bit nervous is I am not sure if all international schools will credit an MA over a MEd? I mean, not to be greedy, but I would also like my masters to pay for itself with the pay raise that comes with earning another parchment on the wall. Comments anyone?
Thirdly: is completing a masters degree online respected on paper? This is somewhat not important to me, but I think it is important to outstanding international schools. Any educators out there who can comment?
Thanks, and please let me know if you need more information about me to offer advice.
MA in History or Master of Education?
Response
No, its not worth renewing the intern credential.
A 61% isnt going to impress anyone in IE.
McGill is the only CAN 'Ivy'.
Elite tier ISs dont necessarily have best practices, what you find is they have old school practices, that they have just been repeating forever. Elite tier ISs are far more resistant to pop.ed trends and fads.
You are already in the second tier which has a high concentration of IB ISs and serves as the bridge for many ITs between the third and first tier.
You can get a credential in History/Social Studies without a degree or even a major (not in Canada, but in the US you can get one). Do you want to pretend you are a historian for a couple years? A Masters in History will do absolutely nothing for you except get you a Canadian credential and a higher salary band. You will spend much more on it then just going back for a second bachelors in History. Doing the program online wont even give you access to the academics who could facilitate your advancement in the field.
M.Eds are not a waste of time if you are doing them for the right reason. My position is that a Masters should do more for you than get you into a classroom. This means the Masters should qualify you for something in administration, librarian, counseling, technology, etc.. Until you are ready for one of those goals, you are better off waiting. There is the argument that in terms of economics the sooner you are on the higher academic band for comp the better the lifelong benefit.
Where you get your masters depends on the region you get it. Many US M.Eds are just warmed up EPP/ITT programs (especially an MA.T or MA program), that continue with the text where you left off as an undergrad. Outside of the US (UK) many M.Ed programs are research lite or (CAN/AUS) business lite programs for education.
Most Uni EPP/ITT programs ill prepare new DTs/ITs for the classroom.
In IE a Masters is a Masters, an M.Ed is no different than an MA or an MS in terms of comp, and a difference of a letter or two after your name in your email signature. No one in IE is going to treat you differently because you have an MA or MS over an M.Ed as far as being a classroom IT. The only difference in utility and marketability is when it comes to leadership and non-classroom vacancies. Its a safer conclusion that a candidate with an M.Ed in Ed.Ld is more qualified for a leadership vacancy than a candidate with a MA in History. When you look at the bottom of leadership, at HOD and coordinator appointments, an M.Ed has an advantage in those appointments over those with field specific masters degrees (but this could easily be sample inflation, as there are many more M.Eds in IE than field specific masters).
The prestige and status of the program depends less on the method of delivery and more about the name on the degree and what your Uni says about it. There are regions (mostly the ME) that will not accept an online degree. It depends how the degree is documented, some Unis have a policy of non-distinction, they will record an online program as being 100% on campus delivered and that is all they will say. Other Unis will make a distinction and some even put it directly on the degree scroll. This really only matters to immigration and education ministries not ISs, if your degree wasnt from an 'Ivy' as long as its accredited it doesnt matter.
I would advise that if you arent interested in an M.Ed or other education related degree and want to pursue a Masters now if only for the economic advantage, the best utility to moving into a first or elite tier IS is presenting the best candidate at doing what you do best, and this means focusing on being a specialist and not a generalist, focus on literature and language arts. There are a lot of places that offer distance M.Lit and MFA programs and I would STRONGLY focus on the MFA if at all possible, as its still considered a terminal degree in many areas of the fine and performing arts, which could put you on the doctorate salary band at an IS. Especially if you went to a local Uni and got an appointment letter at prof. rank as an adjunct to support it.
Academic qualifications however is a minor issue for you. CAN ISs generally do not have high reputations, neither do Montessori ISs. You need to add more courses in literature and in school leaving level curriculum such as AP/A*/DIP, the 1st and elite tier ISs are either BSs or ASs and those are the curriculum expertise and performance you need to deliver.
Drama/Theater is good experience, now you should also consider journalism even if only as an ASP, a literary magazine or paper would be highly advisable. You need to consider a portfolio now and adding some productions to it as well as other literary events and accomplishments.
You can get US certifications in all these fields relatively easy, you can search this forum for the various pathways. It has been written about quite extensively. You should also apply for QTS in the UK now, the process takes about 15 minutes and the processing time of the application will be about 1-2 weeks.
You are a fairly young IT still at the entry class IT, but assuming your IS is a tier 2 IS you have have had good fortune in your career so far. Your lack of experience needs to be focused on what you can do and you will need to SHOW recruiters that you have differentiated yourself within your field from the competition. No one cares about an English IT that has taught health, and your humanities pales in comparison to all the courses within your field you could have taught. You teach theater, what productions? On the face you appear to be a generalist at a small IS that floated between departments and taught a little of this and a little of that. Your year 12 course (and your scores are low) is the only indicator youre a literature IT, thats not competitive for tier one not with only 3 years of experience.
Compared to that challenge a masters isnt the priority.
A 61% isnt going to impress anyone in IE.
McGill is the only CAN 'Ivy'.
Elite tier ISs dont necessarily have best practices, what you find is they have old school practices, that they have just been repeating forever. Elite tier ISs are far more resistant to pop.ed trends and fads.
You are already in the second tier which has a high concentration of IB ISs and serves as the bridge for many ITs between the third and first tier.
You can get a credential in History/Social Studies without a degree or even a major (not in Canada, but in the US you can get one). Do you want to pretend you are a historian for a couple years? A Masters in History will do absolutely nothing for you except get you a Canadian credential and a higher salary band. You will spend much more on it then just going back for a second bachelors in History. Doing the program online wont even give you access to the academics who could facilitate your advancement in the field.
M.Eds are not a waste of time if you are doing them for the right reason. My position is that a Masters should do more for you than get you into a classroom. This means the Masters should qualify you for something in administration, librarian, counseling, technology, etc.. Until you are ready for one of those goals, you are better off waiting. There is the argument that in terms of economics the sooner you are on the higher academic band for comp the better the lifelong benefit.
Where you get your masters depends on the region you get it. Many US M.Eds are just warmed up EPP/ITT programs (especially an MA.T or MA program), that continue with the text where you left off as an undergrad. Outside of the US (UK) many M.Ed programs are research lite or (CAN/AUS) business lite programs for education.
Most Uni EPP/ITT programs ill prepare new DTs/ITs for the classroom.
In IE a Masters is a Masters, an M.Ed is no different than an MA or an MS in terms of comp, and a difference of a letter or two after your name in your email signature. No one in IE is going to treat you differently because you have an MA or MS over an M.Ed as far as being a classroom IT. The only difference in utility and marketability is when it comes to leadership and non-classroom vacancies. Its a safer conclusion that a candidate with an M.Ed in Ed.Ld is more qualified for a leadership vacancy than a candidate with a MA in History. When you look at the bottom of leadership, at HOD and coordinator appointments, an M.Ed has an advantage in those appointments over those with field specific masters degrees (but this could easily be sample inflation, as there are many more M.Eds in IE than field specific masters).
The prestige and status of the program depends less on the method of delivery and more about the name on the degree and what your Uni says about it. There are regions (mostly the ME) that will not accept an online degree. It depends how the degree is documented, some Unis have a policy of non-distinction, they will record an online program as being 100% on campus delivered and that is all they will say. Other Unis will make a distinction and some even put it directly on the degree scroll. This really only matters to immigration and education ministries not ISs, if your degree wasnt from an 'Ivy' as long as its accredited it doesnt matter.
I would advise that if you arent interested in an M.Ed or other education related degree and want to pursue a Masters now if only for the economic advantage, the best utility to moving into a first or elite tier IS is presenting the best candidate at doing what you do best, and this means focusing on being a specialist and not a generalist, focus on literature and language arts. There are a lot of places that offer distance M.Lit and MFA programs and I would STRONGLY focus on the MFA if at all possible, as its still considered a terminal degree in many areas of the fine and performing arts, which could put you on the doctorate salary band at an IS. Especially if you went to a local Uni and got an appointment letter at prof. rank as an adjunct to support it.
Academic qualifications however is a minor issue for you. CAN ISs generally do not have high reputations, neither do Montessori ISs. You need to add more courses in literature and in school leaving level curriculum such as AP/A*/DIP, the 1st and elite tier ISs are either BSs or ASs and those are the curriculum expertise and performance you need to deliver.
Drama/Theater is good experience, now you should also consider journalism even if only as an ASP, a literary magazine or paper would be highly advisable. You need to consider a portfolio now and adding some productions to it as well as other literary events and accomplishments.
You can get US certifications in all these fields relatively easy, you can search this forum for the various pathways. It has been written about quite extensively. You should also apply for QTS in the UK now, the process takes about 15 minutes and the processing time of the application will be about 1-2 weeks.
You are a fairly young IT still at the entry class IT, but assuming your IS is a tier 2 IS you have have had good fortune in your career so far. Your lack of experience needs to be focused on what you can do and you will need to SHOW recruiters that you have differentiated yourself within your field from the competition. No one cares about an English IT that has taught health, and your humanities pales in comparison to all the courses within your field you could have taught. You teach theater, what productions? On the face you appear to be a generalist at a small IS that floated between departments and taught a little of this and a little of that. Your year 12 course (and your scores are low) is the only indicator youre a literature IT, thats not competitive for tier one not with only 3 years of experience.
Compared to that challenge a masters isnt the priority.
Re: MA in History or Master of Education?
I don't think the MA really matters in terms of content, what matters is that the course fees are low and it's delivered online (so you can still work while doing it). The opportunity cost of taking a year out to study on campus balloons the cost of your degree. Let's say you would have earned $35,000, plus $5,000 worth of benefits like accommodation, flights etc. Including course fees (which tend to be higher for on campus programs) your course could well be costing you around $50,000 which takes a long time to earn back by just moving up one salary band. This goes double if you're doing an American MA (I understand MA's in America are two year courses, not one)
On the other hand there's plenty of distance learning programs out there offering an MA for around $7,000. With that you could well make back your investment in 3-4 years from moving up a point on the salary band, and from then on it's all profit.
Out of the two options I'd do the MA in Education although I agree it seems kinda redundant. The main thing really is that it's distance learning and the fees are low though, otherwise it makes little sense from an ROI perspective.
On the other hand there's plenty of distance learning programs out there offering an MA for around $7,000. With that you could well make back your investment in 3-4 years from moving up a point on the salary band, and from then on it's all profit.
Out of the two options I'd do the MA in Education although I agree it seems kinda redundant. The main thing really is that it's distance learning and the fees are low though, otherwise it makes little sense from an ROI perspective.
Re: Response
> I would advise that if you arent interested in an M.Ed or other education
> related degree and want to pursue a Masters now if only for the economic
> advantage, the best utility to moving into a first or elite tier IS is
> presenting the best candidate at doing what you do best, and this means
> focusing on being a specialist and not a generalist, focus on literature
> and language arts. There are a lot of places that offer distance M.Lit and
> MFA programs and I would STRONGLY focus on the MFA if at all possible, as
> its still considered a terminal degree in many areas of the fine and
> performing arts, which could put you on the doctorate salary band at an IS.
> Especially if you went to a local Uni and got an appointment letter at
> prof. rank as an adjunct to support it.
>
>
> You are a fairly young IT still at the entry class IT, but assuming your IS
> is a tier 2 IS you have have had good fortune in your career so far. Your
> lack of experience needs to be focused on what you can do and you will need
> to SHOW recruiters that you have differentiated yourself within your field
> from the competition. No one cares about an English IT that has taught
> health, and your humanities pales in comparison to all the courses within
> your field you could have taught. You teach theater, what productions? On
> the face you appear to be a generalist at a small IS that floated between
> departments and taught a little of this and a little of that. Your year 12
> course (and your scores are low) is the only indicator youre a literature
> IT, thats not competitive for tier one not with only 3 years of experience.
>
> Compared to that challenge a masters isnt the priority.
Thanks for the detailed response
Can you please explain in further detail how having a masters in fine arts would qualify a teacher for a doctoral pay scale at an international school?
> related degree and want to pursue a Masters now if only for the economic
> advantage, the best utility to moving into a first or elite tier IS is
> presenting the best candidate at doing what you do best, and this means
> focusing on being a specialist and not a generalist, focus on literature
> and language arts. There are a lot of places that offer distance M.Lit and
> MFA programs and I would STRONGLY focus on the MFA if at all possible, as
> its still considered a terminal degree in many areas of the fine and
> performing arts, which could put you on the doctorate salary band at an IS.
> Especially if you went to a local Uni and got an appointment letter at
> prof. rank as an adjunct to support it.
>
>
> You are a fairly young IT still at the entry class IT, but assuming your IS
> is a tier 2 IS you have have had good fortune in your career so far. Your
> lack of experience needs to be focused on what you can do and you will need
> to SHOW recruiters that you have differentiated yourself within your field
> from the competition. No one cares about an English IT that has taught
> health, and your humanities pales in comparison to all the courses within
> your field you could have taught. You teach theater, what productions? On
> the face you appear to be a generalist at a small IS that floated between
> departments and taught a little of this and a little of that. Your year 12
> course (and your scores are low) is the only indicator youre a literature
> IT, thats not competitive for tier one not with only 3 years of experience.
>
> Compared to that challenge a masters isnt the priority.
Thanks for the detailed response
Can you please explain in further detail how having a masters in fine arts would qualify a teacher for a doctoral pay scale at an international school?
Reply
@whoami
The MFA in those cases is the terminal degree, there is no generally accepted doctoral degree above the MFA in certain fields. You can get a doctorate in theater, but can only get an MFA in acting, there is no "Doctorate of Acting". You can get a doctorate in communication, but can only get an MFA in rhetoric and oratory, there is no comparable doctorate level degree in rhetoric and oratory. In these cases the MFA is the terminal degree, its the highest level degree you can obtain in the field. In your case you could get an MFA in creative writing, and while you could get a doctorate in literature, there is no doctoral level degree in creative writing. You can then make the argument that your degree is terminal and you qualify for the doctoral salary band, assuming the IS has such a band.
The MFA in those cases is the terminal degree, there is no generally accepted doctoral degree above the MFA in certain fields. You can get a doctorate in theater, but can only get an MFA in acting, there is no "Doctorate of Acting". You can get a doctorate in communication, but can only get an MFA in rhetoric and oratory, there is no comparable doctorate level degree in rhetoric and oratory. In these cases the MFA is the terminal degree, its the highest level degree you can obtain in the field. In your case you could get an MFA in creative writing, and while you could get a doctorate in literature, there is no doctoral level degree in creative writing. You can then make the argument that your degree is terminal and you qualify for the doctoral salary band, assuming the IS has such a band.
Re: Reply
PsyGuy wrote:
> @whoami
>
> The MFA in those cases is the terminal degree, there is no generally
> accepted doctoral degree above the MFA in certain fields. You can get a
> doctorate in theater, but can only get an MFA in acting, there is no
> "Doctorate of Acting". You can get a doctorate in communication,
> but can only get an MFA in rhetoric and oratory, there is no comparable
> doctorate level degree in rhetoric and oratory. In these cases the MFA is
> the terminal degree, its the highest level degree you can obtain in the
> field. In your case you could get an MFA in creative writing, and while
> you could get a doctorate in literature, there is no doctoral level degree
> in creative writing. You can then make the argument that your degree is
> terminal and you qualify for the doctoral salary band, assuming the IS has
> such a band.
But the research says.....: http://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languag ... ve-writing
> @whoami
>
> The MFA in those cases is the terminal degree, there is no generally
> accepted doctoral degree above the MFA in certain fields. You can get a
> doctorate in theater, but can only get an MFA in acting, there is no
> "Doctorate of Acting". You can get a doctorate in communication,
> but can only get an MFA in rhetoric and oratory, there is no comparable
> doctorate level degree in rhetoric and oratory. In these cases the MFA is
> the terminal degree, its the highest level degree you can obtain in the
> field. In your case you could get an MFA in creative writing, and while
> you could get a doctorate in literature, there is no doctoral level degree
> in creative writing. You can then make the argument that your degree is
> terminal and you qualify for the doctoral salary band, assuming the IS has
> such a band.
But the research says.....: http://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languag ... ve-writing
Re: MA in History or Master of Education?
joe30 wrote:
> I don't think the MA really matters in terms of content, what matters is
> that the course fees are low and it's delivered online (so you can still
> work while doing it). The opportunity cost of taking a year out to study on
> campus balloons the cost of your degree. Let's say you would have earned
> $35,000, plus $5,000 worth of benefits like accommodation, flights etc.
> Including course fees (which tend to be higher for on campus programs) your
> course could well be costing you around $50,000 which takes a long time to
> earn back by just moving up one salary band. This goes double if you're
> doing an American MA (I understand MA's in America are two year courses,
> not one)
>
> On the other hand there's plenty of distance learning programs out there
> offering an MA for around $7,000. With that you could well make back your
> investment in 3-4 years from moving up a point on the salary band, and from
> then on it's all profit.
>
> Out of the two options I'd do the MA in Education although I agree it seems
> kinda redundant. The main thing really is that it's distance learning and
> the fees are low though, otherwise it makes little sense from an ROI
> perspective.
Agreed! Thanks for your advice!
> I don't think the MA really matters in terms of content, what matters is
> that the course fees are low and it's delivered online (so you can still
> work while doing it). The opportunity cost of taking a year out to study on
> campus balloons the cost of your degree. Let's say you would have earned
> $35,000, plus $5,000 worth of benefits like accommodation, flights etc.
> Including course fees (which tend to be higher for on campus programs) your
> course could well be costing you around $50,000 which takes a long time to
> earn back by just moving up one salary band. This goes double if you're
> doing an American MA (I understand MA's in America are two year courses,
> not one)
>
> On the other hand there's plenty of distance learning programs out there
> offering an MA for around $7,000. With that you could well make back your
> investment in 3-4 years from moving up a point on the salary band, and from
> then on it's all profit.
>
> Out of the two options I'd do the MA in Education although I agree it seems
> kinda redundant. The main thing really is that it's distance learning and
> the fees are low though, otherwise it makes little sense from an ROI
> perspective.
Agreed! Thanks for your advice!
Re: MA in History or Master of Education?
Can anyone recommend the most affordable but still worthwhile distance learning Masters Degrees available? I would be interested in something like Technology Integration or Teaching and Learning. Thanks!
Re: Response
PsyGuy wrote:
> No, its not worth renewing the intern credential.
> A 61% isnt going to impress anyone in IE.
> McGill is the only CAN 'Ivy'.
maybe it's the patriot in me but i'd say u of t, ubc, and u of alberta are all fairly ivy in terms of quality.
> No, its not worth renewing the intern credential.
> A 61% isnt going to impress anyone in IE.
> McGill is the only CAN 'Ivy'.
maybe it's the patriot in me but i'd say u of t, ubc, and u of alberta are all fairly ivy in terms of quality.
Reply
@whoami
I have no doubt there will be at some point a doctorate level degree in every field, and Edinburgh is certainly a recognizable and respected Uni. It doesnt change anything, an MFA is still 'a' (as opposed to the 'the') recognized terminal degree in the various fields of the fine and performing arts. If you get an MA in Comp Lit, no one in IE is going to consider that anything more than a Masters, there is a valid argument an MFA should qualify you for doctorate salary band.
@Guero
Fairview in Malaysia has both a Uni and an IS, if you work at their IS, offers an IB T&L certificate and a Masters from Sheffield as part of their comp package (free).
There is a micro-masters (their terminology) offered by eDx through the Uni. of Michigan. in education innovation and improvement. You would get somewhere between 12 and 15 course credits at a cost of about USD$1K for the program. You could then take those credits and find a Uni that would except them towards a masters. USD$1K is a very good price for half a degree.
A number of UK Unis offer distance programs that are about GBP£7-10K. If you are teaching in the UK you can get a bursary that reduces this to zero or very close to it.
A number of EU especially Northern EU countries have marginal or no tuition Uni if you reside and work in the region or have citizenship.
@vandsmith
That is national ego, those arent 'Ivys', UC Berkley is a fine Uni, its not an 'ivy' U Edinburgh is a fine Uni, it is not OxBridge.
I have no doubt there will be at some point a doctorate level degree in every field, and Edinburgh is certainly a recognizable and respected Uni. It doesnt change anything, an MFA is still 'a' (as opposed to the 'the') recognized terminal degree in the various fields of the fine and performing arts. If you get an MA in Comp Lit, no one in IE is going to consider that anything more than a Masters, there is a valid argument an MFA should qualify you for doctorate salary band.
@Guero
Fairview in Malaysia has both a Uni and an IS, if you work at their IS, offers an IB T&L certificate and a Masters from Sheffield as part of their comp package (free).
There is a micro-masters (their terminology) offered by eDx through the Uni. of Michigan. in education innovation and improvement. You would get somewhere between 12 and 15 course credits at a cost of about USD$1K for the program. You could then take those credits and find a Uni that would except them towards a masters. USD$1K is a very good price for half a degree.
A number of UK Unis offer distance programs that are about GBP£7-10K. If you are teaching in the UK you can get a bursary that reduces this to zero or very close to it.
A number of EU especially Northern EU countries have marginal or no tuition Uni if you reside and work in the region or have citizenship.
@vandsmith
That is national ego, those arent 'Ivys', UC Berkley is a fine Uni, its not an 'ivy' U Edinburgh is a fine Uni, it is not OxBridge.
Re: MA in History or Master of Education?
Hell, in the UK you can even make a profit off your MA. The government postgraduate loan is 10,000GBP, a distance learning MA can cost as little as 5,000GBP. That's an extra 5,000GBP straight in your bank account, and if you're truly committed to international teaching and will never return to the UK it's very easy to get out of paying the UK government back for it as the usual deductions made via the UK tax system won't apply if you worked abroad. You'd have to actually tell them you were working overseas then wire them the money each year, and I'd contend only someone extremely stupid would bother to pay them back as they've no way of enforcing repayment if you never return.
And for anyone who is about to whine that it's a moral duty to repay back loans - save your text. Governments, banks, and credit card companies should be screwed as often as is possible.
And for anyone who is about to whine that it's a moral duty to repay back loans - save your text. Governments, banks, and credit card companies should be screwed as often as is possible.
Reply
@joe30
Youre leaving coin on the table. Start out on a liberal arts course in a PGCE, take out your government loan, change to maths (they are desperate enough to take anyone), and apply for the merit bursary, pocket difference in coin, then change from PGCE to school direct and take LEA supplemental, and pocket the difference in coin again.
Youre leaving coin on the table. Start out on a liberal arts course in a PGCE, take out your government loan, change to maths (they are desperate enough to take anyone), and apply for the merit bursary, pocket difference in coin, then change from PGCE to school direct and take LEA supplemental, and pocket the difference in coin again.
Re: MA in History or Master of Education?
Unfortunately those 25k bursaries specifically require a Maths/Physics undergrad degree (rather than just studying for a PGCE in maths).
Re: MA in History or Master of Education?
Not sure it's all that easy to get on one of those Maths PGCE courses without the 'proper' requirements - at the least if they did an A level type standard screening mathematical test first I wouldn't pass it since I'm terrible at higher level Math concepts.
I've got a bunch of credit cards that I'm using 'responsibly' though, slowly increasing my limits in preparation for the big day when I leave the UK, max them all out then cancel the payments. That'll be a nice few grand extra in coin. Then do the process again every 7 years once the defaults have fallen off my credit file.
Might be some potential to do the a similar thing at the end of each IS contract if a working visa was sufficient to obtain credit (providing you're leaving the country afterwards of course).
I've got a bunch of credit cards that I'm using 'responsibly' though, slowly increasing my limits in preparation for the big day when I leave the UK, max them all out then cancel the payments. That'll be a nice few grand extra in coin. Then do the process again every 7 years once the defaults have fallen off my credit file.
Might be some potential to do the a similar thing at the end of each IS contract if a working visa was sufficient to obtain credit (providing you're leaving the country afterwards of course).