@Nomad

I lived in Bangladesh for four years and while it is in some ways a hardship posting in others it doesn't come close to what you have to deal with in different hardship postings. I didn't once feel unsafe in Dhaka except for when I tried to ride a bike in rush hour traffic. Certainly I felt more safe than I have in American and British cities at times. $35000 a year after tax and accommodation (a typical salary in BD) is probably along the lines of what you will end up with working in most European schools anyway.

From the sounds of things you may have to compromise on something- pay, location or quality of living or you will restrict yourself to a very small number of schools, which may or may not want to hire you.

I had dental work in South Asia. Get a recommendation for your specific location but apart from that it should be fine. I paid a fraction of the cost it would have been in western countries for wisdom teeth extraction and it was perfectly good. Machinery was a little dated but everything went smoothly and my dentist was western trained. The worst part was trying to tell a rickshaw to take me home afterwards.

Typically you would sign an initial 2 year contract. If you have connected to a school through search or another agency the school has paid a nearly $2000 fee to employ you. Leaving after one year you would typically be liable for that fee plus lose any contract completion bonuses (moving allowance, flights etc.) Some schools would also want you to pay back all or part of any signing bonuses (flights, relocation, settling in etc). That said some schools will be ok with if it is clear to both parties that international living is not for you they may be willing to negotiate with early notice. MY school allowed someone to leave last year after one year (no shipping but no additional penalties). There are no guarantees though.

As well as AISD also check out ISD in Bangladesh - I worked there for a couple of years and was in BD for four. ISD is a good school and I would have stayed longer in a different location. The pay is a bit lower than at AISD but my wife and I easily lived well within one salary and depending on how much you want to travel you could with kids too. One difficulty in Europe whe you eventually move to consider is that alot of EU countries tax benefits (such as tuition) so you will need to check into that before you make a move.

NIdo is also really picky about who they hire. Wouldn't interview me as a physics teacher with IB experience and 4 years internationally - Because "we don't understand your qualification". I have a BSC and a PGCE.....

Theirs was easily the longest line at the Job fair and they didn't seem to offer anyone an interview beforehand.

I think you have kind of nailed it. whit the covering letter make sure you clearly show how you meet the schools philosophy, mission statement and the job description posted. The covering letter should be 2 sides maximum but if you can do a good job of keeping it concise I think it is better to keep it to one page.

The educational philosophy should also be approximately one side or less. Last time I had to write one I was asked to keep it to under 200 words.

Hi Ben

If you are happy to stay in Asia it could be a good plan. I went to the Bangkok search fair last year and felt completely outgunned (almost everyone else had 8+ years of experience compared to my 4) but if you are truly willing to explore any possibility I expect you to be able to at least interview and get some places in the pipeline. Schools are generally more open to less experienced candidates by the time the London and Cambridge fairs come around - it may be worth considering those fairs.

For some schools your 4 years teaching English won't count as it is outside your subject area so don't be surprised when schools say you don't have enough experience.

The thing to make sure of if you get to an interview is be really clear what your strengths are that you bring to the table. Don't try and cover up areas that you know aren't perfect yet but have a plan for how you are going to work on them. Know the school even if you only get to do 30 mins of research on them.

Plan to start sending CVs in october/november. Don't panic if you don't have a job by April. If you are willing to consider anywhere there will be a job for you. Don't take the first offer you get because it is an offer, unless you know you will be happy teaching there.

Unclowdy. My advice is that if the school looks like a fit and the job looks like a fit (and you have done your due dillegence - speaking to staff members etc) and its financially viable (with some potential to save) then take the job. only one caveeat to that which is if you have an interview with a dream school lined up.

the university of bath in the UK has a good PHD programme for educators and can easily be done via distance learning.

I would think it unlikely that many schools would consider hiring you without a formal qualification due to the fact that teaching in a University setting is very different to in a school setting. I am with you in that the priority for universities is that you are doing good research and if you could teach that would be nice. Your best approach might be to talk to a school about distance learning a teaching qualification alongside teaching.

Our School runs a Grade 10 Science/Humanities trip with http://ecofieldtrips.com.sg/. It was personally well worth doing, The most educationally relevant trip I have been on and EFT tailored what we did to our needs.

I think the only international schools that don't take this approach are the ones in Europe which are bound to EU laws that give a maximum notice period of 3 months. The major reason they ask is to give themselves time to recruit the right replacement (especially tricky to find good chemistry, physics and maths teachers). If you are a good teacher with experience then it is normally a matter of when, not if, you get a new job. I think the biggest issue may be how big your family is as to how hard it is to get a job.

Just to put it another way 23 teachers are leaving my current school, 22 of them have jobs for next year and the 23rd doesn't particularly want one.

The one year licensure could be from the UK via a PGCE or via the University of Florida program. You will probably find the schools that you want to work at will require a teaching qualification. (the big ones because they can afford to demand it, the small ones because they will want the flexibility to ask you to teach a class if needed).

There are the most international schools in the middle east and Asia but it is possible to find work in Europe. A lot of European working laws mean that International schools there may have to hire later than the normal recruiting period. When it comes to applying it is worth casting your net wide. Apply to any job going. If they end up offering it to you you can always turn it down.

One of the councilors at the schools in my current city does (a few) private sessions on top of his school duties but the others don't - School counseling is a pretty full time job....

For the areas of the world you most want to work in the Bangkok fair would be best but as you have said it is highly competitive. You probably have enough experience to not need IB experience to be given a chance (especially in a SPED position). If I were you that would be the fair I would look to go to. If when you need to make a final decision on a fair there doesn't seem to be many schools looking for any SEN positions then you could change your mind.

Keep in mind that in many schools Coordinator and HOD jobs are appointed internally after recruitment takes place. some of the SEN teacher jobs might also be worth applying to as once appointed you may then be able to apply for the coordinator role.

It could be couriered to India for you. You probably don't need to be present for it to be checked. Although I recognize you may not want a valuable document in the post.