wow, thanks for the good advice everyone! Although I only understood about 20% of those terms (I really am ignorant about the world of finance) it provides me with a good starting point.

Two more possible considerations, I live in France, and have a bank account here, but not in the USA. Would this change or modify any suggestions? Also, I'm pushing 40, and while I have a decent amount of cash, nothing is invested, and well, I'm not getting younger :) should I be considering a different type of investment strategy than the one mentioned in the book? Thanks in advance.

Hi there,
I've been working abroad some years, and don't plan on going back to the US (my home) basically ever. I'm wondering if anyone can help me with any advice, websites, names, companies, whatever, basically looking to create a retirement scheme for myself, as I don't think it's likely that the countries I've worked in will pay me anything for my retirement. And I'm completely ignorant about investing. Can anyone point me in the right direction to begin to plan/learn more for my retirement? Much obliged!

Ok, thanks for the advice.

Hi there, just a quick question, do you think it would be pointless to apply during the Xmas break, as few admins will be there, and when they return, they'll probably have a full inbox of stuff to go through? Should I wait until after the break to apply? Any advice is appreciated.

great, thanks for the advice everyone! Cambridge (and a $2k gamble) it is!

Yeah, I kind of figured I was about at the entry level. However, Cambridge is literally the farthest point on the globe from SEA, so it would be very expensive and time consuming to go there. But I will if that's the best bet for landing work.

I'm also considering the Dubai job fair and/or the London Search Spring Fair. Any thoughts on either of those? I already read the reviews on this site from the '09 Dubai, however, I am not super excited about working in the Middle East.

Hi there,
So, I am just finishing my first two year contract as a high school Social Studies teacher at a privately owned school in Vietnam that follows the IGCSE curriculum. Before that, I've been a substitute for a year in the US (I'm American), and taught ESL in France for a year before I received my teaching license.

I have a Master's in Education, a highly qualified license from the US, two very solid letters of recommendation from my recent supervisors, and this year I was promoted to Head of my department.

However, I would prefer to work anywhere in Europe (east or west), South America second, and anywhere else third. I teach social studies, and I have no official IB training/experience yet (I am signed up for a workshop this spring though and am developing an MYP unit with some teachers at an IB school over here.)

I'm registered with Search and CIS. As the fairs are booking up quickly, which fairs would I be most competitive at? And on that, how competitive would someone with my background be in reality? I ask because due to the expense, I may only be able to choose one fair.
Any/all advice is much appreciated. Thanks,