I am wondering too as the latest review is from 2008. The salary seems a bit low ($44,000 per year at the top end) and the tax high (20%).

It completely depends on the school. My school is probably considered tier 3 but they sent me on a DP course as soon as I arrived.

If you have no IB experience or training, it will be tough to get into a good IB school unless you teach a specialized subject (science, math, art). But there's a reason for this. As soon as I arrived at an IB school I realized that I would not only have to learn all this IB stuff, but teach at the same time. Not easy to do, so I can understand why schools are hesitant to hire teachers without IB experience.

1. Best food....probably Thai food. I'd kill for some Penang Moo right about now.
2. Strangest food - Kopi Lewak coffee and King Cobra in Java, Indonesia.
3. Best beer - American Craft Brews, in particular Lagunitas IPA and Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA.
4. Best festival - Ice Festival in Harbin was pretty cool.
5. Best vacation - I once spent a month on Koh Phangan....that was nice.

You're not employable. I'm at a third-tier school and only 3 of our teachers are not credentialed; 2 of them are getting kicked out at the end of this year; the other when the contract ends next year. You will only get hired by really desperate schools who have no other choice. So places like Kuwait, Saudi, etc.

And I would add that even after you get your credential you probably aren't very employable for another 2 years after you get some teaching experience....post-credential.

To clarify, the EP program of Assumption isn't a language school. I was teaching my subject matter (English), and other teachers were as well (Science, math, health, etc.) and everything is taught in English obviously. There are other parts of Assumption College (the Bell program, for example) that are language-centric. The salary is good (75k baht per month) but it was pretty much just a paycheck for me. I think the fact that I'm a certified teacher with experience worked against me - those who are happiest there have nothing but a degree and maybe a TEFL and have low expectations. I just expected more and grew tired of all of their bullshit lies and illogical educational ideologies.

To the OP - since you are British I would highly recommend the British Council. With a PGCE and a CELTA you'd be making about 60k baht per month. It's a bit late for you to be looking at international schools as most have done their hiring.

I worked there last year. Which branch of Assumption are you looking at? There are several. I worked for the EP program. I can give you a full report if that's the branch you're looking at. In short, it was a complete nightmare. The institution is run by morons and psychopaths. If you are certified teacher, stay away - even a low third tier international school in Africa would be better than working there.

I think your biggest problem is going to be the fact that your partner is uncertified, even though he teaches a high-demand subject. Parents generally don't like their kids being taught by uncertified teachers. Plus in some countries it is illegal to employ uncertified teachers.

there's already a topic a few threads down on the school.

http://internationalschoolsreview.com/v ... php?t=2256

I think there are only 2 that aren't qualified, but yes, all should be qualified.

The school doesn't send teachers to IB seminars in the summer, I believe. And they pay all expenses for the IB workshops anyway.

It's a growing school and it has its problems. But the big ones are the dragon lady and the pay (as well as the horrible city of Changchun). It's a lot better than it was last year and there is hope that it will continue to get better. But most teachers leave once their contract is finished because of the stated reasons above.

^Not really true. I'm currently working there. It is a 3rd tier school in a 3rd tier Chinese city. We have a new head this year and while he is a nice guy, he doesn't really have much power. All the power is in the department manager, a horrible Chinese woman who abuses her power and treats the other Chinese staff like her minions who do her bidding. There is a lot of micro managing mostly caused by endless paperwork and forms that need to be filled out to get anything done.

To the other comments: most of the faculty is qualified. There are a few unqualified teachers but not very many. The PYP coordinator is new and very qualified, as are the other coordinators. The pay - yes, it's lousy for what the job entails. This job is hard work and requires many long hours. The main complaint from teachers (besides the aforementioned department manager) is that the school does not pay you for summer pay until September when you return. This is because they have a problem retaining teachers and they don't trust the teachers not to run after the first year. It's wrong and dishonest, but the school believes in a "punish everyone for the mistakes of a few" philosophy. The school also does not pay you for the summer after your contract expires, effectively stealing 2 months of your salary from you. These are the main reasons why teachers leave.

The city of Changchun - it sucks. There's nothing really positive to say about it. It has no city center, no one speaks English, the population is mostly farmers and peasants who stare at foreigners like we are aliens from outer-space, constant smoking and spitting....and there's nothing much to do here. Oh, and it's freezing cold. -35 C in the winter. The winter lasts for about 6 months, 3 of which have very very cold temperatures. Bring warm clothes and shoes that have good grip - the streets are covered with ice for most of the long winter. But the fact that there's nothing to do means you'll save a lot of money.

The teachers at the school are great, in my opinion. We are a close-knit group for the most part and people will help you, despite the lack of resources in some departments. The professional development is good - they will send you out to IB workshops at least once a year which is very valuable. The students are good for the most part and the classes are small.

If you do come here, then take PsyGuy's advice - keep your head down and don't cause problems. I'm even somewhat hesitant to post this reply lest one of the admins finds out, but I believe the truth should be told about the school - both the good and the bad.

If the school is interviewing you then I don't think you really need the training at this point - online courses are about 8 weeks long and cost 350 pounds. I did one myself just so IB schools would look at me - some did, some didn't. I'm at an IB school now and they sent me on another training course. The training is very helpful; you will benefit from it.

As far as History - in IB it's called Humanities. It combines Geography and History.

This is all very good information. I work at an IB school in China and they only pay for me. They give zero allowance for dependents or spouses. In the contract the language is very specific; it states "The teacher...." for everything. I'm here with my non-teaching spouse and they give her nothing - we even have to pay for the taxi rides to and from immigration to get her visa sorted.

What kind of blacklist are we talking about here? I only know of blacklists in-country. For example, I know that there's a blacklist in the school districts of South Korea, and I believe schools can put a teacher on the blacklist if he/she does a runner or something.

I work at an international school in China. They have had some problems in the past with people running, so the HR person told us during orientation that if someone does a runner, she will put that person's name on the blacklist and he/she will never be able to enter China again. Could have been a bluff, but I doubt it - this is China.

I was interviewed last year with them. I ultimately said no because they could not guarantee that I would be teaching AP/GCSE/A level. Even though they advertise for those positions, the recruiter told me that the teachers who teach those classes have usually been with the program for a few years. They were going to start me with ESL classes for the first year. At least she was honest.

Thanks for the replies. The salary he was offered did surprise me a bit, especially since it's a small school and it's more than I'm making up north at an IB school (which is just shy of 20k gross). Reading about some of the starting salaries in China, I now think that I should have asked for more!