Thanks for all the input! Sorry for the delay in response, but here goes...

UK - Canadians can teach in the UK on a holiday maker visa... unfortunately I'm too old to qualify, so the UK wasn't an option.

I was offered two positions, one with a bilingual school in the ME and one at a Canadian IS. I ended up taking the job at the Canadian IS for a few reasons:
- As a woman, I was unable to sponsor my husband for a visa into Kuwait, he'd have to come on a visitor visa and leave every three months to renew. This made me antsy... After all, regardless of how likely it was, all they have to do is say no once, right?
- Both jobs came out about equal as far as take home salary is concerned, but cost of living in China is much lower I would be able to save more there, and since I've got my student loan to pay off, that was important.
- I know a couple of people who work for the Canadian IS and was able to ask them a billion questions. I feel really comfortable with the well rounded picture I have of the school, the information wasn't all amazing or all terrible... I think I have a pretty good idea of what I'm walking in to.
-the Canadian IS has a more flexible contract (two years on their end, but I'm able to leave after one with no repercussions if I discover that this isn't my jam). As this is not only my first IS contract, but my first teaching position, this was important as well.

I'm really excited! I feel well prepared and now if I can only wade through the tonne of bureaucratic paperwork involved, I'll be set! :)

Just a quick question, any help would be greatly appreciated!

It's my understanding that the basic difference between "Bilingual" schools and "International" schools is that the is a much higher percentage of local students at bilingual schools. In my search of these forums, it seems to me that, in general, bilingual schools seem to be viewed as considerably less prestigious.

My question is this. As a newly qualified teacher with no real experience outside of student teaching but who aspires to make IT a lifelong career, is it advantageous to work at a bilingual school for a couple of years to gain experience before trying to move up to a "real" international school?

I know that the BEST option is to gain my experience at home for a couple years first, but teaching jobs in my province are non-existant. The average amount of time a teacher spends on the sub list before getting their own classroom is currently sitting at a really discouraging 10 years. The story isn't too different in the other provinces of Canada, and I figure if I'm going to have to move anyway, might as well make it a big one!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, any help/suggestions/input is greatly appreciated.

I did a search both on the paid side and forums and was unable to find any information about this school. I know it's very new (just finishing up it's first year - opened in Sept 2015), but does anyone know anything?

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I know this isn't a new thread, but I just thought I would pipe in with a little information... Memorial University of Newfoundland (located in St. John's, NL) has two post-degree programs that lead to certification. BEd Primary/Elementary (Which runs 15 mos - May through the following August) and BEd Intermediate/Secondary (which runs 12 mos - September through the following August).

On top of that, MUN is that it has the lowest tuition for a major university in the country at 85$/credit hour for Canadian students and 293$/credit hour for international students. The grade requirements are also very low, which works to the favour of your boyfriend... Last I checked all you needed was a 70% average, which is a little scary tbh. XD

Anyway, just a thought! :)

Thanks for the input guys. :) I don't expect (or want, for that matter) to start at a tier 1 school... I have no problem working in a less desirable location, smaller school or one that's recently starting out... What I want to avoid is putting ourselves in a situation where the only schools making offers are shady, or desperate because they're unable to keep teachers due to poor management or mistreatment. :)

I loved this!!! I know I'm dragging this thread from the depths, but I wanted to say thanks! <3

ShadowJack - Thanks again for the thoughtful post! We're definitely both looking to (at the very least) take some of the Edtech courses as electives... As you said, it certainly can't hurt to have some experience/knowledge of that on our CVs!

PsyGuy - Thanks for the great response! My husband is very tech oriented and has a passion for for both computers and history so would be quite happy to be able to explore either area for 8 hours a day! :) I admit I was wondering about the issues that would surround being a couple with the same (not-exactly-uncommon) teaching area if we were both to do elementary... And the idea of competing against each other kind of defeats the purpose!

I know our pickings are much slimmer because we're inexperienced, but are there particular areas of the world from where experience would be less valuable than others? Are there areas from which other international schools simply don't respect the experienced earned quite as highly? For example, would experience in China be seen as more valuable than experience acquired in the ME? Do you have any advice as to where we might be able to grab some PYP experience with our (soon-to-be) qualifications?

Our first time out, we're just looking to get our foot in the door and get some (valuable) experience. Locationwise we're easy... adaptable and really interested in immersing ourselves. We're least interested in Europe, but other than that pretty open. As for war zones, we'd like to avoid actually being bombed or dragged from our beds... We fully understand that sometimes things fall apart and no country can be deemed 100% safe, at the same time we would probably not accept positions (if they even existed) in Somalia or Syria. ;)

As far as finances go we'll have about 80k in student loans between us to pay off... Ideally we'd like to get rid of those ASAP and the majority of any savings will go toward clearing them out. So obviously, as I'm sure is the case with 90% of people, the more savings the better. I have little to no idea of what to expect as a reasonable salary with the qualifications we have, so not sure how much we might realistically be able to put toward them each month. Anything that would allow us to make non-minimum payments to those (as much as I cherish the idea of paying on my student loans for the next 40 years...) would be golden. :)

You guys have been so much help already! I can't tell you how grateful I am for your taking the time.

I know China is infamous for terrible terrible pollution, but is Cairo that much better (Serious question)?! I've not been to Shanghai but spent a month in Egypt in 2007 and while I LOVED the country (even traveling as a single woman in her mid twenties), I never could get over waking up with the taste of motor oil in my mouth. :(

Shadowjack - Thank you for the quick reply, it was so helpful! I'm so glad to hear that traveling with your kitties hasn't been an issue... We were a little concerned, not so much about their ability to adapt, but that it would be yet another strike against us with regards to being hired!

Unfortunately, the areas in which he can focus are limited by the scope of his first degree, and so that leaves us with a degree in primary/elementary focusing in either history or religious studies, or in the case of intermediate/secondary - focusing either history AND religious studies or history AND technology). With this information, do you still think it's best for him to pursue primary/elementary?

We have looked into the opportunity for an online post-grad diploma in educational technology and there are a few options there which look interesting, so we could always add that on at a later date.

Research is definitely something that I enjoy, so I will certainly be vetting any potential employers and schools. As I said, we don't necessarily need to make tonnes of money, we just want to be able to live somewhere new, teach and still be able to pay off our student loans. :)