Thanks again for your responses! You guys were all very helpful :)

@wrldtrvlr123 actually I meant he was my teacher while I was at an intl school as a high schooler! But yes, if you don't remember a recent conversation with me, then you are not him, haha. That's a good point about the local hire thing, if I'm already in the country. One of the best benefits about IS jobs is the paid housing!

The reason I am so insistent on Japan from the beginning is that I have some little kids that I really want to put in Japanese elementary school (they speak the language fluently so it wouldn't be a problem). If I go to another country first and spend a few years here and there, then my oldest would probably nearly be in middle school by the time we get to Japan, and I don't really want my kids in Japanese middle or high school (I'm sure you get that).

@psyguy that's a really interesting point you make about the master's degree. So you'd say the extra qualifications won't negate the low experience factor huh? Do IS teachers get online masters degrees while they work, or is it hard/impossible to get through a program while living abroad? And like I mentioned above, I couldn't go to a hardship IS because my main goal for being in Japan is to give my kids experience of being immersed in the language from a young age. When it comes to language acquisition, time is of the essence, so I wouldn't want to "waste" time going to another country. I know it might seem unreasonable, but that's just a huge factor for me!

My opinion on great adventures is, you can have them anywhere if you're with the right people! I went to an IS in Shanghai for a short time, and it was the best experience of my life! I would love to give my kids that opportunity!

@Jverse Oh darn, I'm half, and my looks lean towards the Japanese side. I guess no extra points there! That being said, I do have some international travel experience, so I suppose that's good!

@wrldtrvlr123 heyyyy, your situation and your written "voice" sound eerily similar to my teacher I was talking about. You aren't him ARE YOU? Well, either way, thank you for your advice, very helpful!

One last question. Would going initially to a smaller/less elite school in Japan in the beginning be a good option if I want to ultimately end up at one of the higher ranked schools? What I mean is, do the schools look at a teacher at another (lesser) int'l school as a good thing, or a bad thing? Would I be better off waiting, working, and staying in America until I can get a dream job, or would getting an IS job in Japan and then a few years later applying to the top tier schools be fine?

I think that's my last question. Thank you all for being so helpful!

@wrldtrvlr123 and @jverse,
@psyguy seems to have a pretty dim view of the situation in Japan. Curious what your experiences have been there. Would you tend to agree with what he has said, or would you say it's not that bad? My former high school teacher who is an IS teacher and currently in Japan actually gave me a very rosy view of things and said that being young, female, and a math teacher meant I'd have a good chance of landing a job. If I get a masters on top of that, it'd basically be in the bag. I came here for some second opinions since I didn't think it would be THAT easy, but @psyguy, you're making it sound like I have no chance :p I'm guessing it's between those two extremes haha.

@psyguy I don't see how they could offer me a local hire job since I'm not local nor am I a Japanese citizen. Or can they? hmm.

Thanks for the replies! I'm not looking for anything in the immediate future, so that doshisha school opportunity, while it sounds great, wouldn't work out for me. Darn. Are the top/tier one schools only in the Tokyo area? Obviously ASIJ is, and I assume Yokohama's is... are the ones in Hiroshima, Nagoya, Sapporo, etc. tier one, or lower grade schools? Are they great to work for anyways?

Also, I am half Japanese and am relatively fluent in the language and am very familiar with the culture. Would that give me bonus points when applying, or do they care about that sort of thing?

thanks for all advice and input!

Hi there.
I am interested in trying to find an international school teaching position in Japan.
My subject is math, and I will have two years of experience when I start applying. I know that stateside, finding a math position would be easy, but my question is... are math teachers in demand for international schools as well?
Does anybody have any insights for Japan specifically? I understand that Japan is one of the harder areas to get a job in because of its popularity and ease of living. Would it be realistic to try and find a (preferably high school) teaching job at a good international school with just two years of experience?
Thanks!