A for profit school is not similar to private schools in Australia - in fact, the non-profit international schools are more like the Australian private schools. Their boards tend to involve parents, local business leaders and in many cases members of embassies that support the school. For profit tend to be run by businesses and keep a % of the revenue (fees). Non-profit international schools tend to invest all the revenue back into the school.

Good luck with your search:)

So many schools are introducing retirement ages of 60. Often, this is due to government regulations. For instance, in Indonesia, 60 is the compulsory retirement age.

It is a problem, as 60 as a retirement makes sense when life expectancy was in the 70s. However, that's not the case any more.

I suspect you need to get into your top school in your early 50s then hang on to retirement age. Then, if you need to keep working, the pool of available schools will be more limited, so the chance of getting a spot in a top school will be lessened.

A shame - possibly the best 2 teachers I have seen in my 10 years in international education were high 50s and both got pushed out of the system once they hit their early 60s.

[quote="higgsboson"][quote = hallier] For the record, I have worked in 3 different schools in China (great one, good one and terrible one). Each got me into the country using the proper work permits etc. [/quote]

I'm curious about the procedure each of these times.
Did the school provide you with a letter of invitation, which was then used to get a Z-Visa, which was then turned into a residence visa, the health check being done in China. That was my experience.

OR did the school require you first get a health check in your home country, send them the health check with appropriate notarizations and then send you a letter of invitation? Thats what the school I'm going to now wants.[/quote]

The second process. But the health check was pretty laid back - there was a form for the doctor to fill out. I know one question was along the lines of "are you mentally ill?" I sent this off with all the other documents, then got the invitation letter etc. It was a pretty easy process. Once in China, I then did another physical with all the other newbies.

I suspect that any school that does not follow the official (legal!) route to getting you into the country to work might be best avoided. If they don't follow these procedures properly, what other procedures/policies might they do poorly?

For the record, I have worked in 3 different schools in China (great one, good one and terrible one). Each got me into the country using the proper work permits etc.

I have experience of a school in China that is owned by the same group.

On that basis, I would be reluctant to work there, as the school admin do not have the autonomy to run the school on purely educational grounds.

Sorry - not much information specifically about this school or the savings potential in Sg.

I'd like to support the earlier posters.

The school is exceptional - in fact, I'd say it is getting better, as there has been a change in senior management and there appears to be far less dissent or instability in the school (compared to 2006-9).

The city of Jakarta - well, it can wear on you.

Single women do find the dating situation frustrating - single men less so!

Having said that, I would certainly recommend the school. It is one of the better ones, IMO.

Some people do say the workload is over the top. The reality, I understand, is that if you want to be a workaholic, you can be. However, the school encourages a pretty good work-life balance and the workload is reasonable.

Gee, I'm not sure about this school.

It is my understanding that the teacher in charge of that field trip is facing the equivalent of manslaughter charges and is facing jail time.

One of the children who died is connected to powerful people in the region (Governor, I think).

The school is either unwilling or more probably unable to do anything to protect this teacher. She is not even allowed to leave the country for fear that she will never return.

That's just not an environment I would want to go into - esp. as the quality of the package, curriculum, staff appears to be at the lower end of the spectrum.

I'd hold out for a better offer - just my opinion.

They have never had a lot of turnover - just a few vacancies per year.

This has gotten much worse over the past few years, as they have needed fewer teachers. So, when teachers resign, they are often not replaced.

I know that in 2011-12, they even made some teachers redundant.

The combination of a stagnant economy and the effects of the earthquake/tsunami have knocked this school around quite a bit.

My understanding is that they have even had to make some changes to the package (for new hires anyway).

I was in a similar position 10 yrs ago.

Decided to have 2 yrs in Europe and break even. Had a great time.

Then used ib experience and good references from the eu school to get a good job in Asia.

Can u afford 2 have 2 years of zero saving? If so, I'd take rhe eu option.

Good luck with your decision:-)

At the risk of slipping into a to and fro with Psyguy, long time readers of this forum will no doubt recall that it was pretty clearly established that PG did not used to work in Denmark (as statements he made about his school simply could not be true).

PG then posted, to paraphrase, that to maintain anonymity, although he had stated Denmark as his location, he was actually in "Northern Europe".

PG provides lots of interesting information about teaching internationally.

But I would take specific advice he provides about schools and their admin (such as folks being "aloof") with a large grain of salt.

I'll jump in here and also endorse AISG. The package is pretty good (not quite as high as Shanghai AS) and it is a well run school.

I'd be nervous about the school in Suzhou simply because, unlike AISG, it is a proprietary school. Although the Head of School is well regarded, I have still heard some negative stories about working there.

For the record, teachers have moved from Suzhou to AISG, but not the other way around.

Usa.

Thx:)

[quote="expatteacher99"]I was in touch with them for about a week or two after my second interview before I was officially offered a job. I have heard from colleagues that it took anywhere from a couple days to a couple months. Aramco is a big company, and it's not as simple as one person just deciding they want to hire you. Things can take a long time. Best of luck to you![/quote]

Hey there:)

Any chance you can send me those details of the package. My email is jakarta200887@yahoo.com.

It used 2 have an appalling reputation 4 pollution. But Guangzhou has got a lot better in recent years. Nothing like Beijing. AISG is a terrific school. Worth investigating.

Concur that WAB is a very good school - but u do need 2 have a substantial work ethic.

This is just my opinion, but I'd be careful about this school.

It is a for-profit school where, sometimes, admin such as Ian Deakin, do not have the control that admin in non-profit operations have.

I wonder whether after 13 years of overseas experience you could maybe do better.

I wish we could do private messages on this forum as I could be more specific about what happened to a friend of mine who dealt with this school.