3-4 dependents -- is all hope lost?

Toomanykids? · Post by **Toomanykids?** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 9:17 am

Several forum threads address teachers with 1 or 2 dependents, and generally the response is: It's tougher to find a job but still doable. My situation is a bit more extreme.

I am a tech-savvy English teacher with 10 years of experience at a top US high school and excellent references, and I have an elementary-certified spouse, but he has no experience (took an ad exec job instead of getting into teaching). We have three children, ages 3, 6 and 8.

Search Associates politely declined to accept me, essentially saying I have no hope of finding a job at a European school overseas.

Should we bill ourselves as a teaching couple, even though he has no experience? Should we simply give up hope entirely? I am crushed to learn we may need to give up on our dream...

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:13 am

You MUST be a couple, it is your only chance... There are couples out there with 3 and 4 kids, rare but doable....

pikefish · Post by **pikefish** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:54 am

If you are limiting yourself to Europe and Search wouldn't take your money it seems pretty clear what to expect. Maybe you might want to open yourself up to some other areas such as the Middle East and lower tier schools in Asia, spend a few years there, and work your way up through the system. That is how it works for most people, even those without kids.

Overhere · Post by **Overhere** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 11:29 pm

It can be done but as a previous poster said, be open to opportunities from all over the world. We ended up in SE Asia first and then Europe with three kids and wouldn't trade the opportunity for anything.

Toomanykids? · Post by **Toomanykids?** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 11:53 pm

Thanks for the feedback. "Overhere," did both the SE Asian school and the European school pay tuition and other benefits in full, or did you work out a compromise because of the kids? Is your spouse/partner a teacher? Did you have any additional "selling points" that persuaded them to take your family of five? Any specifics you can give me about the best way to make it work I would greatly appreciate!

Overhere · Post by **Overhere** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:49 pm

We had a very general discussion with the school in Asia about us paying for the third but nothing ever came up until our second year there and then we worked out a compromise that I would do work in kind on their reporting system and network. In the end it worked out well for both parties. The school in Europe took on three kids without any question. Both my wife and I are teachers but nothing out of the ordinary in terms of what you see on paper.

QSI schools take up to 4 children, I have heard that HKIS takes more than two and I am sure there are others out there.

jamalhashim · Post by **jamalhashim** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:18 pm

My wife is a certified High School History and English teacher in the Chicago area and I am a Software Developer. We have 4 year old twins and an 18-month old. I work for a technology company and they have agreed to allow me to work remotely from anywhere in the World as long as the place has reliable broadband connection.

Does my wife stand a chance of landing a job in this situation? We do not care too much about the pay because I earn enough money to pay for all the expense while living abroad. I can even volunteer at the school by helping them with their technology projects. Our ideal foreign location would be Middle East or North Africa.

We are registered to attend UNI fair but I was wondering if it is worth going if no school is going to interview her because of the number of dependents.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Jamal