Hi avoid Fairview with a long barge pole - KL is great but fouth tier schools like this that overwork you and are run by sons of the owner (and guess what they know nothing about education - one is a Principal one is a coordinator) are not fun. The workload is very high and pay low although they do pay upto 12,000 rM per month. The poster above was on another site must have been an Art teacher!

Academic integrity is also an issue. One coordinator told me all EE's must be an A or B and supervisors "had to do what was necessary to achieve that" so I wouldn't work there for sure as that implies going beyond supervising. They have high staff turnover for a reason.

There are far better choices!

[quote="fine dude"]The offer that I was expecting has gone sour. So, for a single guy with certification and over 6 yrs of exp in teaching IB HL math, when do i start planning to get my dream job in asia? Thanks.[/quote]

Oh come on we can't get maths teachers! You will get a job easily for this year

[quote="julie33"]A few questions:
1) What would a simple, furnished apartment cost per month living outside of the city centre?

2) Hypothetically, if airfare, rent, medical, etc. were covered by the school, what is a decent salary expectation if you wanted to save some money?

3) Is the metro really as bad as I'm reading? What exactly is wrong with it? Do you actually need a car?[/quote]

1. 2500 to 3500 rm per month for somewhere half decent
2. 15k per month before tax (depends on you easy to spend that on beer!)
3. Goes hardly anywhere, crowded, lost 2 phones on LRT and no bus network worthy of the name. A car is a must especially with crime rate high - colleagues who walk been mugged a minimum of twice each in a year

[quote="rumour5182"]The EPF is pre-tax. So then what you're left with after that is taxed at the appropriate rate. Malaysia uses a progressive tax rate, though, so it's not a flat 15 percent. If you google Malaysia tax chart, you should be able to find the information you need to calculate how much you'd be taxed based on your income.

I'd be happy to share more specific information with you about the school side of things via e-mail. Send me your address, and I'll contact you.[/quote]

EPF is voluntary as an expat but used by a few schools to pay a bonus as you and them contribute and you get it back when you leave. Interest rate good - hence it isn't a tax. Tax rates vary but best estimate is take 25% as a rule of thumb.

[quote="AnneBar"]There seem to be very few mentions of language teachers on here and I was wondering what the international market is like for qualified teachers of French and Spanish at middle/high school level. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.[/quote]

My school is advertising for a wide range of positions including MFL.

For science maths we have to be flexible. MFL we have nearly a 1000 applications and hundreds look employable. Recruitment method was role a dice to choose those for interview! In maths if you have a pulse you get an interview.

Hi something I noticed "straight out of uni" and posts about over preparing means the op is a new or unqualified teacher? And wants to break contract after a year and go to a top tier school? Lucky to have a job!

Please correct me if wrong but post has unqualified/just got piece of paper qualified all over it and working at a school with either no support or the OP simply isn't listening to feedback to adapt lessons to the needs of the learners.

Personally I never get the "so different with IB" thing. Ok for DP you have to get over the crazy random IA and EE criteria based on potluck with examiner. And the fact it's become a faceless corporate entity run by consultants who think visual art can be assessed with a jpeg upload.

Good teachers know how to teach and the IB learner profile isn't radical. It is embedded in western education systems these days. I found the IB level one course next to useless (had to do it) so did all my colleagues with experience. I can read the info read to me by the "trainer"!

Basically it depends on your understanding ofmodern teaching methods and subject knowledge. What is a problem in general is getting good maths and science teachers. Loads of really bad ones get jobs as no choice. They need training in general and of course lots of non western didactic focused teachers out there in maths and science who need training in general. IB not great at training so I am not surprised schools do it in-house.

What seems to happen is that IB is a "badge of honour" in the international tea hong circuit!

And in case anyone thinks I am anti IB I love the IBDP. I don't like the quality of Ibo delivery at the moment. Also MYP is a mess and wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

After looking at endless cvs recently all I can say is if it has one of the following it gets binned

- spelling and grammar: so many native speakers these days can't construct a sentence. In da bin!

- poor structure: if it takes me more than 15 seconds to work out they are a qualified teacher and where they work now - in da bin!

- grotesque picture: many make me laugh, some are freak shows and some are downright horrible. In da bin! Get a good pic

- same job but looks like 5: make it clear! If not in da bin!

That is 90% of CVs sadly

I can't help but agree with psiguy. After 4 years whats the issue? There is no need to lie you resigned. Unless you punched a parent and got a criminal conviction no need to disclose. Loads of teachers are pits to parents, parent is important, makes life difficult for teacher and all for no good reason. If you can hold down a job for 4 years no need to bring up a negative reason for leaving. It isn't lieing! Crikey some on this forum obviously never had a real job in the real world. Teachers should be min 30 yr old before training in my opinion and have held down a regular job for 5 years!

[quote="missy"]musings 28 =

Oman or the UAE.....[/quote]

Depends on your subject! If science easy to get a good job especially if chemistry or physics!

Well from personal experience

Hong Kong: 2009 couldn't see a thing at times due to smog from mainland

Bangkok: Bangkok flu is a well known problem as after 6 months of the pollution you end up having non stop sniffles! Not good for babies. 2007

Jakarta. 10 million people at night 20 million in the day no mass transport. Horrible at least in 2004

KL much greener, less polluted and less crowded 2005

Vientanne: no cars hardly as so poor so no pollution I came across in 2006.

I wouldn't recommend getting a job straight after a PGCE. I did mine with the intention of going overseas - I had worked as a EFL teacher before including a year teaching primary classes in a private school in Thailand. They would have taken me back or similar but for the better money and career you need the NQT year out of the way. I stayed for two years and still not so easy to get a job even though I'm in a shortage subject as so many teachers looking for jobs especially with the middle east problems. I got a good position now and looking forward to a good career now but I think after a PGCE too soon. Also I would say I tried Tefl and I found I loved teaching. To do it just for working overseas is risky as what if you hate teaching!!

[quote="LondonChick"]Expatguy, I thought you were being a little alarmist, but then I thought about what you said a bit more and I think you are right, one is never too cautious. It doesn't cost much to have the basic precautions in place.

I have a couple of good (Thai) contacts in Bangkok, which might help too, as well as very reliable friends in Cambodia.

Thanks for your wise advice.[/quote]

When living in the third world always have an exit plan. Libya was once a sure fire safe bet! Syria, Egypt, bahran....

Emergency money in cash and offshore always handy. Know the alternative exits and with kids I would be more careful. I never felt unsafe in Thailand, but I don't have kids. With kids I would be nervous.

Btw per wiki leaks the king has dementia and the crown prince is HIV positive. Saying such a thing is 30 years in jail. A Swedish man got 75 years for spraying paint on 3 pics of the king. He was pardoned and thrown out as per usual with current king. If the wikeleak guy went to Thailand .....

Hi I also lived in Thailand through the initial military coup, and as long as the current King is alive Thailand will be stable enough. Except for the south where islamic terrorists are fighting for an Islamic state.

If you know Thai people well enough, they will tell you about their worries if the current king passes on. This is generally a no no topic in Thailand as you can be jailed for criticising the royal family, however even though the current King is universally loved and respected the next in line is criticised secretly. He is very anti foreigner and the royal family can exert political power. The current King is very wise and wants a proper democracy. The new king? It is discussed how much the princess is loved and admired but Thai law doesn't recognise female succession. The rumour I was told that when the prince inherits the crown he won't survive long. that could herald a civil war/serious unrest although if the princess is allowed to become queen then srabillity would return. It was suggested gimme by one friend that the prince would have a helicopter "accident" shortly after becoming king. National mourning followed by a change in law so the princess would become queen. In Thailand rumours are in place of politicalmdiscussion in such banned topics!

In reality I would not want to be in Thailand when the King passes on. You will find most expats really mean it when thy say long live the king!

[quote="interteach"]Actually, in the US certification is required only if you want to teach in a public school (and you can get provisional certification and work towards it in many states), whereas private schools have a choice as to whether or not they wish to hire teachers without certification.

If you're from the US and have private school experience without certification, it's possible to qualify for international schools.[/quote]

same in UK you don't need QTS to get a job in a private school! And indeed many "instructors" teaching KS4 (14+) don't have QTS. Private schools often want teacher training of course and some pgce grads never do the induction year as many private schools don't offer that (without that can't teach in state schools long term).

As for earlier question I won't name and shame a school! People always tell me things they shouldn't although when I used to do fraud investigations it was handy lol. It's when dates tell me their innermost secrets I don't like it :0