An MA is an MA, and I wouldn't waste any effort explaining why your MA is different from someone else's. Additional degrees do not absolve us from continuing to learn about new developments in our profession, and in my experience, more letters behind a person's name have nothing whatsoever to do with how good an educator they are, but as paper certificates are what translate into monetary value in our field, I would play the game by their rules, get the salary bump to which you are entitled, and then go about being the lifelong learner than any good educator is.

For what it's worth, the schools I've worked at in Asia didn't seem to care what my Masters was in (not directly in my teaching area, but connected) or where it was from (definitely not a top tier uni). They just ticked the box and I got the increased salary.

Many non-IB schools are accredited with WASC or CIS, and I'd say both are fine. When you say "locally accredited" in China, that sends up red flags for me. As far as I know, there are no international schools which are only locally accredited. I worked for one which was government run, but still had WASC accreditation. I have also worked for locally accredited schools, but these were nowhere near true international schools.

LOL!

Perhaps, for Korean parents, but that's not what EDUCATION is about.

KIS is heavy into IT though I don't know if there are any elementary positions still open.

Seoul Foreign School has an excellent package for long term staff, but you do have to be a Christian.

I would not agree that there is a huge gulf between SFS and other International Schools in Seoul and/or Korea. SFS is the oldest, and has a more international student body because of its location. SIS is also older, but located outside Seoul itself, with somewhat rundown buildings. KIS has a beautiful new well-equipped school, but also located outside the city, so few non-Korean students. YISS located in the city and more non-Koreans. In terms of quality of education, I'd put SFS, SIS, KIS and YISS in the same league. SFS and SIS get more kids into American ivies because of their reputation.

I know a few people who worked there in years past. I would not work there myself.

That was fun! Thanks for the entertainment. Now I'm going to poke the sleeping giant just to see what he does: so IF we agree that there is not GLOBAL blacklist, what about a REGIONAL blacklist? And I'm not sure I agree with you that a blacklist has to be written down somewhere, any more than a constitution has to be written to be real. Heads talking to each other about individuals they would not recommend hiring DOES, for most of us I think, constitute a functional blacklist.

There. Now pass that popcorn please!

You don't say how new the school is, but I would be very wary of a school that is not accredited and which employs credentialed teachers. However, it may be a way to get your foot in the door if you plan to make a career of international education. I would plan to move on if, at the end of your contract these issues have not been addressed.

Wow, Psyguy, you put a lot of time and effort into answering these questions, and on behalf of all of us, I want to say "thank you"! Very impressive, and I think all the information you gave was very accurate and honest.

On the subject of pets, I moved our dog from China to Korea, into school housing, with almost no hassles (other than a glitch with Chinese customs who gave us some incorrect information which meant an extra day to get a particular form stamped). I find having her with us has made life so much more homey for me and my daughter.

Don't sell yourself short! Although I'm a HS teacher, it sounds to me like you are eminently qualified for the Bangkok fair, which is where I was hired for my current position. I also attended the London fair one year and did not get hired, and found the first Bangkok fair was very lively. I got 3 job offers before I accepted one in Korea.

Seoul's pretty good, despite being such a huge city, maybe because of all the greenspace -- no one is allowed to build on the mountains.

Another thing to look at is the school's enrollment vs. capacity -- in some schools, faculty kids are "taking a seat away" from a paying student, while in others, like the small school I used to work at in China, had classes with only 7 or 8 kids. Putting a few more (faculty) kids in a class did not raise the school's cost much at all, while adding to the ethnic diversity of the student population. I was a single parent with two kids, and there were working couples with 4 kids at the school. Yes, larger accommodation cost more, but the school paid a generous housing allowance that allowed staff to trade off space against marble floors and nicer apartment entrances. I was quite happy with the arrangement.