Peaches - thanks, that's one of the places I have applied to and am waiting to hear back from.

Could you inbox me which company sent you the details. I'm using two well-known agencies at present, but broadening the scope never does any harm.

Thanks,

I think there has been a little miscommunication on my part.

I have applied for any position that came up in ME, including, to date, about 10 ESL vacancies that require little experience or certification. I fully understand that I'm nowhere near as attractive a candidate to decent IS in that region, but to not even receive a response from the ESL applications raises a red flag. Then again, perhaps hiring policies and procedures have become even more brutal with the increase in competition.

Thanks for the replies, all.

Helen - it's re-assuring (for myself, at least) to see that even qualified and experienced teachers are having the same issue. Best of luck with the job search.

After reading about procedures for references, I'm going to leave my old school's details off the reference list and see if this makes any difference.

Thanks for the tips.

I've been applying for everything and anything I can find. I'm fully aware that I wouldn't make top-tier, and so have applied to most positions I find on certain websites. What concerns me is the fact that even ESL positions are not getting back to me. I know that competition has increased in the last few years, but I thought given my experience and quals. I could at least bag an ESL job.

The sabotage is an interesting point. My last school did recently ask me to return, with the promise of a pay rise. I do know that the director, a grievous bureaucrat, has threatened teachers before with not giving references. However I assume references are requested only after an interview or before an offer of contract is made. It would seem rather strange that so many of the places I've applied to would simply receive the application, not acknowledge this, contact the referees, then bin it.

Having a bit of meltdown after applying for almost 20 jobs in ME, some of them ESL, but getting no response. I'm three months from completing a PGCE (with QTS), have a BA (hons) (2:1 grade) in English Lit. and Lang. CELTA certification and over two years' experience of teaching English/Liberal Arts at a bottom-tier international school. I also taught ESL for approx. 3 years.

Would be grateful if anyone could tell me whether this amount of non-responses is the norm or not, so I can thoroughly revise my CV and cover letter if not.

Josh2588,

In the end I bit the bullet and decided to return home, where I'm now midway through a PGCE before heading back to Japan. It was a very tough decision to make, and I absolutely pursued all other avenues beforehand. The overall impression I got was that, when it comes to qualifications, schools are more comfortable hiring someone who has a qualification they know well if that person is unknown to them.

My recommendation is to think about how your current school and experience would be perceived on your CV, and whether it's strong enough to get you were you want to be. My previous school's standing wasn't great and I was severely restricted in terms of curriculum and transferable teaching skills, so I knew I was severely limiting my future options by staying there and pinning my hopes on a certificate that many schools are unsure of. However, if you're teaching IB or any other in-demand curricula and gaining teaching skills you can take to an interview, there's a definite case for going down the online route. As Psyguy said, you're experience tells any future employer far more about your teaching ability than your credential.

Whatever you decide, good luck with it, and if you'd like to know more about the specific schools I contacted and what they said about the qualification, feel free to inbox me.

Hi Josh258,

Last year I was in exactly the same position you are now, so did a lot of research and asking questions of people who had done some of the qualifications.

I emailed someone who had just finished the iPGCE and he confirmed that, whilst it helped him with teaching, it offered little in the way of practical knowledge, and as such he would struggle to teach in a different school or system. As it is not geared to any sort of nationally-recognised curriculum and is purely online, it's less appealing to employers, especially with little experience.

Purely my opinion, but the impression I got was it was essentially a certificate, and not recognition that you are capable of teaching to standards a government would require. That said (or written), they guy I was in correspondence with was lucky to be working as a classroom assistant in a top-tier school in Tokyo before he started the qualification, had a good relationship with the school, and so they made an exception and gave him a teaching position once he'd completed the programme.

All interesting food for thought, so thanks for the info, all.

Could anyone please advise on the likely saving potentials, though, as this would be one of the deal-breakers for me.

Thanks for the information, folk.

Can anyone give me some figures in terms of saving, based on being single and maybe a tipple or two at the weekend?

Thanks for that, HeyTeach.

Can you tell me roughly how much you were able to save each month?

A little about me -

I taught in a bottom-end (although IB accredited) IS in Tokyo for 2.5 years, and returned home in September to complete a PGCE in English in the UK. I'm now midway through the course and intend to head back out of the UK once it's complete in June. I have a BA (hons) in literature and language as well as a CELTA.

Ideally I'd return to Japan, but don't fancy spending another few years at the bottom of the ladder on low pay and no guarantee of progressing. I'm now considering - despite often claiming I'd never consider it - looking for a position in the ME. From what I've read, I'd most like to work somewhere like Bahrain, Oman or Abu Dhabi. In short, somewhere relatively liberal.

So, to cut to the chase... can anyone with experience please advise on:

a) Given my experience and qualifications, what are the chances of me getting an IS position in one of these countries?
b) Which country is likely to suit my lifestyle - like to socialise occasionally (including drinking)?
c) What my salary would likely be
d) Savings based on slim-moderate outgoings.

Many thanks for any help with this

I'm a UK citizen who has lived in Asia for the last five years.

I've been offered a PGCE interview and assessment day, and been told I will need certain documents for the DBS check. I didn't keep a registered address in the UK and all my UK bank details have listed my addresses in Asia for the last five years, not the UK.

Is this likely to be a problem when getting the DBS check?

Thanks in advance or any advice .

Recently I've been looking at gaining teacher accreditation in Australia.

I've seen various Graduate Diploma in Education courses offered by universities there that would lead to being recognized as a teacher within each state.

Can anybody please tell me whether this type of course would be recognised by international schools, particularly in Japan?

I'd be especially keen on hearing from any Australians who know the system.

shadowjack wrote:
> Teach Now out of Washington DC - one year program, 6,000 USD.

Thanks. Do you have any experience with this qualification?

I am British guy who worked in ESL positions in east Asia for 3 years, but for the last two years have been working as an English/Liberal Arts teacher at an IB-certified school in Tokyo, albeit a very low ranking and low paying one.

Because of commitments, I’d like to continue living and working in Tokyo but desperately need an internationally recognized teaching qualification (something like a PGCE or the American equivalent) so that I can gain some valuable knowledge and compete for some of the better schools here.

I really don’t want to leave Tokyo whilst gaining this, and don’t relish the idea of returning back to the UK and forking out a lot of money to live like a student again, if possible. I’m not sure if I will be in Japan more than five more years, but I don’t intend to return to the UK, so would most likely aim to work at IS in Europe.

Can anyone recommend a route to gaining certification that would be recognized by international schools in different countries, but can be studied overseas?

If anyone has experience of doing this, I’d be especially keen on hearing how their course went and what their job prospects were like after.