Wow; thanks for the help, everyone.

Shadowjack - I just joined TIEonline; looks interesting. And I've been browsing those school websites also. Very slick, and holy cow, they do have a ton of openings!

Danda - I guess I sounded over-dramatic. I just meant that I "wasn't what QSI wanted" because I don't have the two years' worth of experience they ask for, plus I got the impression from their website, and from comments on the forum, that they're even more set on couples than most. But I'm definitely going to apply anyway---I'm glad you think I might have a shot.

PsyGuy - Thank you for the list of regions to target; I appreciate it very much. I agree that subbing is almost seen as worse than no experience, but as you say, that isn't going to get better if I keep doing it indefinitely. Subbing does have the "advantage" of having made me almost impervious to insult, which is a skill that's very handy when working with teenagers...

sid - Thank you for the heads-up. I'll keep that it mind if that scenario materializes...

danny514 - That's encouraging; thank you!

sevarem - Thanks! I've noticed that Model UN is really popular overseas; it was huge at AUC when I was studying in Cairo. I love coaching Mock Trial, so I'd be really interested in trying MUN too. When I was in high school we tried to do it one year, but the team had to disband before competition. Looked like fun, though.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for everyone's contributions to this amazing forum! I've read a lot of the replies, and I totally understand that I'm not an attractive candidate for the most part, but I'd like to give it a try this year, if only to get a feel for the process in the future.

So...

- Single, female, no dependents, late 20s

- American passport, education, and teaching license

- BA from Notre Dame (not well known overseas, I know)

- MAT from a regional state university, 2010 (Secondary Ed)

- Teacher certification from State of Oregon; endorsements are secondary Social Studies and Middle Level Multiple Subjects (the latter allows me to teach grades 5-9: math, LA, science, SS...the only areas that are proscribed are the specialty areas---art, music, PE, special ed, reading)

- No experience that would count, from what I've read. I'm in my third year of post-certification, public school subbing. I had a long term subbing assignment for about a semester...I taught AP U.S. History, senior economics, and regular sophomore history, and have a nice letter of rec from it. I've coached high school Mock Trial for three years. (If I could get an interview that didn't start with "So...do you coach basketball? Do you coach volleyball? Do you coach soccer? Do you coach bowling?" I think I would die happy, job offer or not!)

- I would be open to working anywhere, except maybe the Gulf. I really, really want to be a full-time teacher; that's my priority. A fun culture and environment would be nice, of course, but I'm used to entertaining myself.

- As far as school type, I'm an academically-oriented person and went to an academically competitive university...but I grew up attending, and currently sub in, pretty mediocre schools. So, in other words, I'm not going to run screaming from an institution that's not a glowing model of academic rigor. Still, I would want it to be a real school, of course --- one that's at least fairly interested in professional development, in whether students are really learning, and so on.

- I studied in Cairo at AUC for a semester in college; that's my only overseas travel experience other than tourism. Took Arabic for a couple of years; don't remember much, but I guess it might be interpreted as a sign of good will? My Spanish is intermediate, but I'm working on improving it. I work in schools with student populations that are about 40% of Mexican descent.

What I'm gathering from the forum is that the places I might possibly have a chance are China, the Middle East, and Latin America. Is that right? If so, in which of those areas do you think I have the best chance, and how should I spin myself specifically for that region, given what I have to work with?

The QSI application looks extremely straightforward, so I'm going to fill that out, even though I'm not really what they want. Do you think anybody would talk to me if I spent the money for UNI? Would I be able to market myself as an intern with a recruitment service, or do I not really fit the profile for that? Any other ideas or strategies for me?

Thank you so much to everyone for your help, or just for reading!

:wink: