Singapore was great before covid - but note that it is not a democracy like we are used to in the west. This was more shown in Covid than normal.

For example - it's still illegal (in Singapore) to gather in groups of 3 or more people due to covid restrictions unless you live in the same household.

Singapore is more open to outside travel than HK - which it's still more arduous than other countries but much better than HK which sees opening up to China as more important than opening up to the world.

Singapore has a very low tax rate - which you pay from memory around March from the previous calendar year.

You can work out your tax rate here. Note that if you have multiple kids this will significantly increase you tax burden each year.

https://www.iras.gov.sg/quick-links/calculators

For a single - I used to get around $9K SNG a month before tax with benefits included in this amount. I also got Health Insurance and one flight a year home included. This would be considered a mid-tier pay in general.

Note that the education sector in Singapore is much more financially cutthroat than other international cities. Think of public buses with International School advertisements as an example. This trickles down to how a school runs - where appearance AND finances are concerned.

In Singapore - accommodation can be broken down into 2 different types. Condos (privately owned accom often with nice amenities) and HBD. Although it's technically illegal for us to rent HBD - they are nice enough in general and are much cheaper than condos. Expect rent in a nice condo to cost $1800-$2500 SGD a month and probably $2,500-$4000 a month for a 2-3 bedroom condo.

Living in certain areas (such as Sentosa Island) can add another zero to those numbers.

My knowledge of HK is a bit weaker than Singapore - but note that life is fine for people who get involved in NO POLITICS but HK is moving away from the original one country two systems. I'd not live in HK at the moment and would not live in Singapore during covid (specifically with stronger restrictions). However - they are only my opinions which everyone normally has 1 of.

It really depends on what level and specialization you are discussing.

There seems to be a large need (at least pre-covid) for special needs teachers and they are often considered to be one of the harder positions to find. The main problem is that these positions tend to be an "everything under the sun position" and it's quite rare to specialize.

There are a few specialist schools that cater to international students - but I'm guessing it would only be one in the major international hubs (think Singapore, HK, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul etc). Most positions seem to be more generalist and it can be a hard slog. For example - students who find it difficult to grasp a second language compared to their peers may be placed into "special needs". I've also seen local students in a couple of schools in asia who don't fit into their national schooling go to international schools.

I've also seen very rich Chinese parents send students who may have social/emotional problems under the Chinese system be moved to international schools in HK and Singapore and then come under the wing of 'student services'. Note that some of these schools make tremendous profits through providing these services.

So is there a strong demand for a person who only specializes in autism? No. But there is a great demand for people with multiple skills in this general area. Just do your research carefully. Some student services departments work with students who would not make it into the mainstream 'student services' or special needs due to being on the lower end of needing help (think of students who used to be diagnosed as asphergers) while other schools are much more complex

To be honest - you only have 2 years experience which puts you at the bare minimum needed for most countries when it comes to visas.

I may have missed the boat - but masters degrees or bachelors degrees which include an IB component don't really help you get a job compared to their normal components.

A certificate for IB does not get you a job - but gives you the basic knowledge to be able to teach when you start at an IB school. That's why IB experience is so important - it's knowing how it works which helps you land that job.

In my experience - it's only schools which are truly counting pennies who see you as having finished an IB certificate that saves them $500. Most schools are happy to pay that money to get the right teacher.

If you are willing to stay in China (or even Hong Kong if things continue to degrade) - you may have a fantastic opportunity soon to just up to a strong school in China. That's mainly due to the exodus of qualified staff in China along with the new tax laws which I'm sure you are aware of.

These two problems seem to have also affected other jobs in Asia. In general, there are less jobs available in asia than before the pandemic. This is specifically true to schools with a true international school demographic. Many experienced teachers are also leaving China and are looking to live in countries where they might be able to visit home some time before 2023 which has made jobs in Asia a hot market.

As mentioned, you have 2 years experience in China and it seems as though you are focusing on PYP. This puts you in a subject which is over saturated and many of the better schools often use a PYP position to land that teaching couple with one that is in a hard to find subject. Think HL Maths/Physics and a PYP spouse.

Thailand seems to have stabilized covid wise but some people have had a sour taste of the governments response so there may be a larger churn rate than normal. The big problem is that Thailand is still a really popular destination and the number of highly desirable schools is somewhere in the number of fingers and toes a normal person has.

Vietnams response to covid was interesting. At first life was meant to be fantastic compared with the rest of the world - then they had (from what I've heard) one of the most draconian lockdowns in Asia. There might be a bigger exodus from there - but the number of jobs available is still very much up in the air. Let's just say that my knowledge on Vietnam on the ground less less than Thailand and others will know more.

If I were you - I'd hope for the best but come in with realistic expectations. Some schools will see you as having no experience until you are fully certified. You did not mention if you actually had a teaching degree - which will also make a big difference.

Some of the bigger schools can also be very judgemental. For example - your EAL and International kindergarten experience will be looked on as a liability.

My last sum up is not to be disheartened by anything I've said - as I'm good at finding weaknesses and pitfalls. Others will be better at painting a postive way forward than I.....

Since the post I started has been kind of dead - I should say what's happened to me.

In the 2019/20 school year (prior to covid), I decided to go back home for a couple of years after living in mainly asia for around a decade at the end of the school year.

When I went home (an English speaking country), lockdowns were in place which basically stopped schools being open and there was little or no need for replacement teachers. Thankfully the government gave some money for living expenses to people who were affected by the lockdown.

I tried working a public school in a rural area and hated it - I thought I wanted a tree change. I've learnt that in my home country - getting jobs happens much later than internationally. For example - I was also offered an ongoing position in my nations capital the day after I accepted that job.

Fast forward a couple of months with replacement teaching - I applied for 2 jobs through an agency who specialized in private schools. I was offered an interview with both, with the first one which is an IB school interviewing me first. I accepted this position - and a few months later they offered me an ongoing position.

My current position is not a dream position but in the long term - it's better for me financially. The facilities make the better international schools look like second rate schools but some of the parents make god look poor. It is however nice to have 2 week breaks between terms with a slightly shorter summer vacation.

It will also make me rethink ever taking a job at one of the Third Tier low wage schools - when I can save in a month what they pay in a month if I'm frugal in my home country.....

At the moment - it seems as though there has been plenty of comments about problems with getting visas, getting flights and being able to do stuff in different countries all over the world.

Has anyone had much luck with moving home and been happy with the choice - specifically looking on the job front?

I'm not being mean with this question, but why do you want to live in Europe?

The reason I ask is that Europe has lots of teachers who want to move there. Savings potential is low and taxes are high. Simple supply and demand.

Most IB schools require either a teaching degree and/or teaching certification. Some schools might not see your 2 years IB experience as experience as you were not officially qualified at that time.

If I were you, get some type of teaching qualification or certification. Others on the forum with more European experience can tell you what to do in more detail.

I'm general, a university degree may be important for your first job but it's really about experience and references. Teaching maths will mean that more doors can potentially open once you are seen as qualified with 2+ years experience.

What may be your biggest problem will be getting a work visa. That's why getting certification is so important.

The only one which I think is totally acceptable before an interview is getting permission to contact your references.

Any schools which asks for an expected pay amount of a big red flag for me. It really depends on the country and what amenities are offered.

Sending ALL OF THE OTHERS seems as a great way to steal information that makes up a lot of your identity

Also confirming that none of the schools which have contacted me seem like good schools. I also agree with the general statements about Linkedin being a place for job related self flagellation.

I will slightly push back on it not being at all relevant. Keeping your general info up there (such as what you teach and when you've worked at a particular place) I think is very helpful. It only takes a 5 minute update each year.

LinkedIn is a strange one. I've found that some of the better schools look you up before they contact you - which was the case from a few schools I've interviewed with. However - they all came through search associates. I have had schools contact me out of the blue for interviews on LinkedIn - but that's mainly for countries like China, Vietnam (unknown school) and the middle east.

So to put it simple. Have people got jobs from Linkedin - I think so. But it's just another tool - not THE tool

I have major reservations about the authenticity of this post (it's a sohu thread - think twitter on steroids!), but to be honest China is an authoritarian government so anything is possible.

To know if it's real - we'll start to see things in the China centric English press a couple of months before. Something similar happened when China introduced the A/B/C foreign visa scheme in 2017/18 from memory.

I'm probably wrong but I've noticed the following with major crackdowns in China. It often goes in the following direction.

(1) Major articles start to appear in Xinhua and to a lesser degree the Global Times about a specific vice that is affecting Chinese society.

(2) Some time and major tea leaf reading normally occurs with Chinese and the foreign press/expats trying to work out what is going on.

(3) 6 months later - a new law or strengthening of an older law occurs.

Something similar was seen with the severe restriction of gaming for kids that started a couple of days ago. Is there a problem in China with kids spending too much time (but the money spent on micro-transactions has probably got a lot to do with it) on computer games? Yes probably - but China makes it's own rules and it does not have the same western ideals of personal liberties.

I understand your pain - but this WILL NOT HAPPEN! (if you want to transfer already written confidential references)

Now that I could research this since I now know the companies name - it looks as though it is a teaching couples side hustle since covid started.

Hi All,

I was just scrolling through Linkedin when I noticed an odd post (apart from the vast majority of self praise or sycophantic posts) which piqued my interest.

It stated that they were looking for 100 international teachers for a new school and they would take a 30% cut of the wage. I unfortunately did not click on the scam to get more info.

Has anyone else come across other recruitment scams such as this?

Sid makes a great point that I think many people should seriously consider. Would it be better to consider saving $20-30K a year, living in a location you want to live in, at a school that you want to work at along with visiting places for holidays that you would like to travel to.

Saving 50K as a single parent with 2 dependent might allow for say - somewhere between 5-20 schools internationally that would allow this. Changing that to a slightly lower amount of 20-30K savings a year significantly would increase the number of schools on your potential radar.

There may be the main outlier school - but forget Western Europe. Taxes are high - but not as high as teacher demand in working here. I mentioned that there are no schools in Japan that would allow you to save 50K a year with 2 kids (Japan taxes tuition) but it's possible at two schools. The same is probably true at 2-4 schools in South Korea and 2 schools in Taiwan. 3-4 schools in Singapore are also probably the same.

One thing to seriously consider is being flexible with the year that you go overseas if you are focusing mainly in theater. There are not a large number of high quality theater teachers (say - compared to English teachers) but the jobs that come up are also less common.

For example - there may be 50-100 jobs that would allow you to save what you want as an English teacher each each - but specialist positions depends on the year. Some years you can count it one your fingers - other years its an embarrassment in riches.

I'm a Science teacher and have been to a number of fairs and Skype interviews. I've been to a fair one year and there were like 5 or so jobs that I was suitable for at a Bangkok fair (130+ schools) that year. Then I've gone to a London and a smaller fair in a secondary location and have ignored more that 5 interview requests. It depends on the year!

Do note that I'm happy that fairs are kind of dead and online fairs are not the future.

Your qualifications, methods and living situation have a lots of pushes and pulls compared to others. I'll try and break them down below but I'm sure others will have different views.

Your methods (English + Theater): English is one of the most common methods and the best schools often look for proven results either in A-Levels, DP etc. Theater is more specialized and is probably your ticket into the better schools as you'll have to sell your ability to put on flashy shows which are a major selling point of the better schools. I have heard of some drama/theater teachers losing jobs after average shows at the end of the school year.

Your Qualifications: Have a PHD from a major university ironically more important for the schools that you won't be working at. So call perceived lower tier schools will often look at the qualifications of a teacher as a selling point to parents. At the better true international schools - they will look at your experience. Not having experience putting on a show at an international school can be seen as a drawback as there are some 'so-called' rockstar theater teachers which bounce between the better schools.

Living Situation: Being a single parent puts further pressure onto that parent. If something happens to one of your kids - your out of class until your kids are back as you are their sole carer. Add on top of that a theater position which has a LOT OF OUT OF WORK HOURS and having two dependents is a major negative. Some schools might employ you for having kids with a foreign face - but they don't often pay what your looking for. In the time of covid - having two kids is taking two paying positions for some schools in for-profit schools

Pay Situation: To be honest - there are only a handful of schools where a single teacher can SAVE $50 K USD a year with two traveling dependents. Many of these schools are not in the best location (think Saudi Arabia) and people often spend lots of money on travel for a reason. I can tell you that NO SCHOOL IN JAPAN allows a single person to save $50K a year with 2 dependents. Don't forget that many countries in asia have tuition as a taxable benefit which significantly cuts down on potential savings. The only thing which may allow you to earn more is if your position gives you a significant pay increase over a normal teacher.

So are you hireable? Yes - but the number of ME and Chinese schools offering you a position paying 30 - 45 K a year before tax will be large. Looking for which schools that would allow you to save your desired amount would be interesting.