This is very helpful. Thanks, shad.

Thanks for the info, Shad. I'll reply to various points below:

shadowjack wrote:
> Teach Now or Teacher Ready are good options for you.

Since I still have at least 3 years before I need to get a teaching job, do you think these are the two best options? I like the fact that they are online programs, however I notice that they are not eligible for financial aid from the US government. My preference would be for a program that is eligible.

> However, although you have a strong academic background (which is great),
> do you have a REAL desire to teach, or do you want to do it to spend more
> time with your family?

I actually do very much enjoy teaching.

> The final issue I would address is experience. Yes, you have real life
> experience in business in your chosen field which you hold a PhD in. But if
> you have never taught, while some schools might be willing to hire you,
> other schools might be bound by the two years of experience rule. What does
> that mean to you in practical terms? You might have an offer from a school,
> but it might not be what you consider a 'good school', depending on the
> geographical/country location.

This is something that concerns me. I would not pursue this career if not for my son, and we want to send him to a top school. My alternative is to continue my first career and pay my son's tuition with that salary. I'll ask around at top schools and see whether any would be interested in sponsoring me. Does lecturing experience count as teaching experience?

Have a couple other random questions: (1) Assuming I land a teaching position and enroll my son in the school, how reliable is it that my contract will be renewed if I take the job seriously? It seems that most contracts are short term. I'm not looking to be a tourist, but to stick with a job for 10+ years, perhaps the duration of my son's K-12 education. A lack of job security is particularly unattractive in this case, as it means uprooting my son as well. (2) What kind of work hours are typical? I'm used to pulling 50+ hour weeks, so would love a normal 40-hour job with summers to take my son to see his grandparents in the US.

Hi, I'm new here, and very interested in the possibility of teaching at an international school. I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations on a strategy for my search.

Here are the details: I'm a STEM PhD with a very strong academic background. Most of my colleagues went on to teach at universities, but I wasn't as interested in academic research, so went to the private sector after PhD. Now that I've become a father and have ample savings from my job, I'm looking for a career that lets me spend more time with my son at the cost of a lower salary. We currently live overseas, so teaching at an international school seems like a way to ensure he gets a good education (for free!) while I get a rewarding career and excellent quality of life.

My question is mainly how to approach the search process, given that my son is likely to enroll in school in a few years. Should I obtain any credentials? I've lectured at several universities in the past, but have no teaching-specific credentials. We have a fairly good idea where we'd like to live, so should I reach out to top schools in the area this far in advance? Do athletics and other interests matter? I've done some youth coaching in the past, and was a good athlete in high school--would be happy to get involved in extracurriculars. Any other suggestions would be welcome.