antitravolta wrote:
> I am in the middle of my first year overseas and not sure how to handle my taxes
> back home. Is that something I can easily do on my own (and if so, how?) or if
> that's not the case, does anybody have a tax expert they recommend in the states
> who is an expert in such matters. Thanks in advance for your help.

I use http://globaltaxonline.net/. They're very thorough and respond quickly. They're services are geared for ex-pats. They also handle any IRS-related inquiries I have during the offseason. I know my taxes aren't too complicated - no properties, etc. yet but the $250 I pay them each year is well-spent since I don't have to worry about messing up the paperwork, which is a bit of a hassle to correct in my current part of the world. They also saved me some $ my first year dealing w/ taxes in my US job - part of that coming from freelance counseling work (1099).

@BlueJay and @chipmunk84 - Congratulations!!! What general geographic area are you both headed?

Reposting mine from the Bangkok Roundup thread:

Making the trek back to my current job and finally have time to think. Compared to my first Search fair in Cambridge a few years ago, I had a much more relaxed approach to the crazy. I arrived in Bangkok on Monday and hit the ground running with seeing the city and not thinking about the fair. Everything was ready to go and all that needed to be done was for my hotel's housekeeping to press my fair clothes. We opted not to stay at the Sheraton, but stayed near the ISS hotel by the. Shangri-La. The place was already buzzing with teachers throwing around the school-speak.

I turned my imaginary earplugs on because, to me, talking about jobs and school-speak isn't very relaxing. My friend mused that we all sound the same in that "on" mode. LOL. Day 1: couple of rejections (one from a dream school but I moved on mentally fast) and a few "fast pass" notes. Interviewed with a big school in China a day before signups and that was quite a boost. The last 2.5 hours of the day I hit the presentations. One school I'd never heard of, but since I was rejected by "dream" school - I went for it and was pleasantly surprised. More on that later.

Day 2: sign-ups. Being in a specialist position, there were fortunately lots of jobs posted but only a few areas I was interested in. I prioritized the "fast pass" schools and hit the other tables. Not the long lines I was expecting except for the el nido school in Chile. I even said thank you to the recruiters who said "thanks. But no thanks" in my box. They were all very gracious and spoke highly of my references. I then hit "pleasant surprise" school. I embarrassed myself w/ a big faux pax that I can't post here for fear of outing myself, but I got an appointment anyway and walked away completely red. Signed up with a few more schools and off I went.

Day 2: interviews. Interviews went well. All schools wanted to move forward. One school I'd visited before on PD and knew all their staff in my department and their director. Tier 1 school in their region by all accounts. Not in the part of the world I am interested in at the moment, but I had the utmost respect for them and incoming 2014/15 head whom I worked for before. I made them all aware of this right at the beginning and they still wanted me to go to the next phase. I even wrote my old boss just to let him know. Another school was SUPER excited and principal wanted to create position for me, but was unsure. I really like this school and was willing to explore it more. I had another interview at 6 with a school I was interested in and did more schmoozing at the cocktails hour.

Day 3: more interviews. A few more interviews out of the way. Follow-up interview w/ the school I was most familiar with. They found me later on and said their head of school wanted me to meet him Saturday morning. I agreed. Faux pax/pleasant surprise school had all their heads, owner, etc interviewing me. I apologized for my most embarrassing moment and they were very gracious. They asked me at the end if I had any offers and I'd honestly replied that I felt some things may be in the works, but nothing solid yet. They asked me to wait for them. I get a call at 10:30 pm from principal at faux pax school while I'm at Asiatique to speak w/ their head of department in the morning. Whew!

Day 4: D-Day. The head of school in my old boss' soon to be new school makes me an offer Saturday morning. Great package and amazing city. He knows I'm considering other options, so he gives me til end of day. My excitement about the school willing to create a position for me was dashed quickly, but it was largely due to visa questions w/ my being a counselor vs. a teaching position and I appreciated the school's honesty. I spoke with faux pax school's head of department and we got on really well. Then the long wait.

I probably went from sane to crazy to sane in a period of hours. Luckily, friends of mine who were done recruiting were staying in the hotel so I was in their room hanging out. I went down and spoke w/ Michael Williams since my own associate was not there. He was very supportive and empathized with having a "bird in hand" and waiting. It was still a bit early in the afternoon so he advised that I wait a bit longer before calling. My boyfriend who was taking care of our Bangkok shopping list, was also on-call the process.

Finally, I call the principal at faux pax school since I had his number from the night before. He asks to call me back within the hour. We have a great conversation and he states that his HR head will call me now. I asked him if he was making me an offer and he laughs for putting him on the spot, but understands the nature of the beast aka the fair. He said that the HR director will be in touch shortly. She calls me and we discuss a few concerns I had about visas due to my state licensure, etc. and assures me it is not a problem. Then, suddenly, she is making me a verbal offer on the phone. I want to start screaming and I do a few fist pumps in the air. Mind you, I was in the bathroom of the hotel room so to have a bit more privacy. She then informed me she was at the hair salon and will be emailing me my contract and contacting Search later. I call the principal I'd be working with and thank him profusely. I dance into the room, high five my friends, and call the boyfriend who is quite relieved that I was not in the hospital LOL.

I pause and take time to try and reach other school. I could not find them anywhere so I leave a very nice card in their box and send an email. I also email my former boss - who happens to be one of my key references. I arrive back at my hotel, wake up my parents quickly in the US to tell them good news, quickly review the contract just emailed to me, and we head back to Asiatique to enjoy it more.

What a ride. And as they say at Search - never get distracted by the big, shiny schools...sometimes the ones you've never even heard about will offer the greatest opportunity.

[quote="DCgirl"][quote="b12r"]Thanks you guys for the help guys!

My wish is to teach abroad whether it be in an ISS school (preferable) or as an ESL teacher of some type. Does anyone have any advice on avenues I should explore to obtain this for the upcoming school year in August.

Thanks in advance guys![/quote]

I think your best shot would be to go to the UNI fair that starts at the end of the month. The registration is open until Jan. 21, so you would have to move super quickly. There are schools there that would probably give you a chance. I would also register for TIEonline. You also may be able to get into a later Search Associates fair if you register.

There are plenty of Learning Support/Special Ed jobs to go around. It's not as common as it is in the US, but it's being recognized as a growing need. Many schools will use the position to place a teaching partner or an internal candidate-even without special education credentials.

If you want to go the ESL route, I would check Dave's ESL cafe.[/quote]

I agree with signing up for the UNI fair and going if you can and on the flipside, why the rush to just teach TESOL or ESL? With your credentials, you can be making more money as a certified Learning Support/SEN teacher in an international school with all the ex-pat benefits vs. an English program. If you're not prepared to go to UNI or a Search/ISS fair just yet, I'd wait until next year where more opportunities become available and sign up for the Search Cambridge or ISS Boston fairs if you're coming from the States. Getting into teaching abroad is not just a financial investment, but also an investment of time. Taking the time to look at all your options - particularly when you already have a state credential w/ supervisory responsibilities - will be more rewarding in the end, IMHO.

This scenario played out for me during the fair last week. I was very up front and honest w/ the school that made me the Saturday morning offer from my very first interview about the region of the world I was most interested in and they graciously gave me the time to hear back from other schools. When it was time to speak to School B - I was quite clear with them that I had a solid offer from A, but B was my "frontrunner" in terms of what I wanted to do at this point in my career. I think recruiters appreciate honesty and the sometimes the tough scenarios we find ourselves in, particularly when there is a "bird in hand".

Whatever you decide - ALWAYS get back to both schools. I could not find School A in their rooms after I made my decision, but still made it a point to email and leave a card. One member of their team did write me back and I think that professional contact will be maintained.

[quote="shadowjack"]In my job searches, I tend to sign up with Search and use TIEonline as my alternate.

I have heard some people emphatically recommend TeachAway, JoyJobs, and other sites/sources, along with, naturally, ISS.

What are your preferred job search sources? Do you go solo and do it all yourself? Do you use Search only? Network via friends and to heck with the rest?

Looking forward to responses and learning about new resources![/quote]

I used a combo of Search, TIE, friends, and Facebook groups for international school teachers. One of my really good friends at my current school got her job via joyjobs. She said it was okay, but will probably apply at Search for next run.

[quote="Bellarex"]Sounds like an awesome experience, except for the whoops-that-shall-not-be-named. Glad you found what you were looking for![/quote]

Thanks for reading and for the congrats! It was cathartic to write about and I'm still somewhat in a shock that I got to where I wanted to be considering how stiff competition was. They said this was, by far, the most competitive fair for counselors they've seen.

Making the trek back to my current job and finally have time to think. Compared to my first Search fair in Cambridge a few years ago, I had a much more relaxed approach to the crazy. I arrived in Bangkok on Monday and hit the ground running with seeing the city and not thinking about the fair. Everything was ready to go and all that needed to be done was for my hotel's housekeeping to press my fair clothes. We opted not to stay at the Sheraton, but stayed near the ISS hotel by the. Shangri-La. The place was already buzzing with teachers throwing around the school-speak.

I turned my imaginary earplugs on because, to me, talking about jobs and school-speak isn't very relaxing. My friend mused that we all sound the same in that "on" mode. LOL. Day 1: couple of rejections (one from a dream school but I moved on mentally fast) and a few "fast pass" notes. Interviewed with a big school in China a day before signups and that was quite a boost. The last 2.5 hours of the day I hit the presentations. One school I'd never heard of, but since I was rejected by "dream" school - I went for it and was pleasantly surprised. More on that later.

Day 2: sign-ups. Being in a specialist position, there were fortunately lots of jobs posted but only a few areas I was interested in. I prioritized the "fast pass" schools and hit the other tables. Not the long lines I was expecting except for the el nido school in Chile. I even said thank you to the recruiters who said "thanks. But no thanks" in my box. They were all very gracious and spoke highly of my references. I then hit "pleasant surprise" school. I embarrassed myself w/ a big faux pax that I can't post here for fear of outing myself, but I got an appointment anyway and walked away completely red. Signed up with a few more schools and off I went.

Day 2: interviews. Interviews went well. All schools wanted to move forward. One school I'd visited before on PD and knew all their staff in my department and their director. Tier 1 school in their region by all accounts. Not in the part of the world I am interested in at the moment, but I had the utmost respect for them and incoming 2014/15 head whom I worked for before. I made them all aware of this right at the beginning and they still wanted me to go to the next phase. I even wrote my old boss just to let him know. Another school was SUPER excited and principal wanted to create position for me, but was unsure. I really like this school and was willing to explore it more. I had another interview at 6 with a school I was interested in and did more schmoozing at the cocktails hour.

Day 3: more interviews. A few more interviews out of the way. Follow-up interview w/ the school I was most familiar with. They found me later on and said their head of school wanted me to meet him Saturday morning. I agreed. Faux pax/pleasant surprise school had all their heads, owner, etc interviewing me. I apologized for my most embarrassing moment and they were very gracious. They asked me at the end if I had any offers and I'd honestly replied that I felt some things may be in the works, but nothing solid yet. They asked me to wait for them. I get a call at 10:30 pm from principal at faux pax school while I'm at Asiatique to speak w/ their head of department in the morning. Whew!

Day 4: D-Day. The head of school in my old boss' soon to be new school makes me an offer Saturday morning. Great package and amazing city. He knows I'm considering other options, so he gives me til end of day. My excitement about the school willing to create a position for me was dashed quickly, but it was largely due to visa questions w/ my being a counselor vs. a teaching position and I appreciated the school's honesty. I spoke with faux pax school's head of department and we got on really well. Then the long wait.

I probably went from sane to crazy to sane in a period of hours. Luckily, friends of mine who were done recruiting were staying in the hotel so I was in their room hanging out. I went down and spoke w/ Michael Williams since my own associate was not there. He was very supportive and empathized with having a "bird in hand" and waiting. It was still a bit early in the afternoon so he advised that I wait a bit longer before calling. My boyfriend who was taking care of our Bangkok shopping list, was also on-call the process.

Finally, I call the principal at faux pax school since I had his number from the night before. He asks to call me back within the hour. We have a great conversation and he states that his HR head will call me now. I asked him if he was making me an offer and he laughs for putting him on the spot, but understands the nature of the beast aka the fair. He said that the HR director will be in touch shortly. She calls me and we discuss a few concerns I had about visas due to my state licensure, etc. and assures me it is not a problem. Then, suddenly, she is making me a verbal offer on the phone. I want to start screaming and I do a few fist pumps in the air. Mind you, I was in the bathroom of the hotel room so to have a bit more privacy. She then informed me she was at the hair salon and will be emailing me my contract and contacting Search later. I call the principal I'd be working with and thank him profusely. I dance into the room, high five my friends, and call the boyfriend who is quite relieved that I was not in the hospital LOL.

I pause and take time to try and reach other school. I could not find them anywhere so I leave a very nice card in their box and send an email. I also email my former boss - who happens to be one of my key references. I arrive back at my hotel, wake up my parents quickly in the US to tell them good news, quickly review the contract just emailed to me, and we head back to Asiatique to enjoy it more.

What a ride. And as they say at Search - never get distracted by the big, shiny schools...sometimes the ones you've never even heard about will offer the greatest opportunity.

It's easier in the sense that you will not have as many job postings to compete for, but harder in the sense that it's so specialized that there is more variation across the schools and how each interprets the role. So yes, you'll be much more competitive staying where you are and building your experience vs. ESOL teaching which is not considered "true" pedagogical experience in the schools' eyes.

Hi there - I'm a school counselor who works closely with our Learning Support (SPED) team and quite familiar with this process. Like counselors, you'd be considered a specialist - but in high regard. DO NOT go into TEFL or ESOL teaching, you need to beef up your experience in your specialized field and 1 year of doing that would be good, particularly under your title as head of the department. Familiarity of working with a variety of learning needs is key - dyslexia, dyscalculia, psych referrals, etc.

A lot of schools would call your position Learning Support or Resource. At the secondary level, you could be doing a lot of "push-in" in the classrooms and some pull out - depending on the size and needs of the school.

Whew. Contract emailed last night. Verbally confirmed and accepted and same via email. Sending it back tonight when I return from flight. Great "surprise" school with nice package and, most importantly, a well-thought out approach to teaching and learning.

[quote="newchapter"]What's going on with jobs? Dying to hear![/quote]
Trying to keep it hush, hush for right now until I sign something since you never know who is reading this. I hope everyone else at the fair is doing well!

I am hoping that tomorrow after a last round of interviews, I can finally eat some street food. I've eaten Thai nearly every day - but have stayed away from those glorious carts near my hotel because the last thing I need is to risk feeling ill. Fingers crossed I get somethin' good and try some of those tasty salads and sambal in plastic bags!

Interview sign-ups today. Looks like I will be in a few of the long lines waiting to sign-up. Got some positive notes - but a few schools are in areas I'm not really interested in. I'm in a specialist but "high needs" position - so this will be very interesting. Good luck to everybody!

[quote="ChoirGuy"]Day 1: Well, it's started! Have had 2 e-mails from schools, 1 from a school I approached on the Search e-mail system and one unsolicited - for something I have not considered in terms of even teaching. Maybe you really DID just have to wait until the Fair started. These are my first two pieces of correspondence![/quote]

I've had similar experience. One from a school I've emailed months ago and finally position is "definite" so we're moving forward. And 2 from schools I hadn't contacted, but I'm open to interviewing with. All 3 in "upper tiers"...anxious to see my folder in a bit.