No IB Experience

greendog · Post by **greendog** » Sat Nov 23, 2013 10:02 pm

Hello,

I was wondering if having no IB experience essentially guarantees a rejection from top schools in Thailand. Has anyone known a teacher to be hired without IB experience? I do realize schools consider many factors, however, I
would appreciate your thoughts nonetheless.

Thank you.

sid · Post by **sid** » Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:25 pm

It happens every year. There are more open posts in IB schools than there are applicants with IB experience. And no one was born with IB experience. Anyone who acts like it's an insurmountable obstacle, needs to remember their own past.

fine dude · Post by **fine dude** » Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:29 pm

In this age of experienced and certified teacher-couples and single ones vying fiercely for these prized locations, zero IB experience may not be your best companion. I'd rather be looking at China, Cambodia, Myanmar, and the middle-east.

However, if you have the right credentials and if those top schools have a late vacancy, say in spring 2014, you might try your luck. Who knows? You might get lucky.

greendog · Post by **greendog** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 10:03 pm

Thank you for the replies. I have my heart set on Thailand at the moment...for the past few years, actually.

inman · Post by **inman** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 11:46 pm

There are only 3 or 4 good IB schools in Bangkok and then a couple of others in Chiang Mai or Phuket. Unless you had your heart set on an IB school I'm not sure why IB experience would make a difference. If your priority is Thailand then there are a lot of different kinds of schools. You might consider starting by looking for schools that use the curriculum you were trained with, and go on from there.

durianfan · Post by **durianfan** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 11:20 am

Without IB experience it's going to be tough to get any of the top schools to look at you. I work at one of the better IB schools in Thailand and everyone on staff has IB experience.

What subject do you teach? What are your quals/exp.? What curriculum do you know?

There are other schools in Thailand that are okay but again, the top ones are IB.

greendog · Post by **greendog** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 6:09 pm

True, inman.

However, the fact that I have children causes me to consider a whole gamut of factors. Plus, I am not looking to move around. I would like to stay somewhere for a while. So, I am trying to find a good fit for everyone...from what I can judge from the outside.

While I know how having dependants may affect my chances, I was curious to what degree having no IB experience mattered.

inman · Post by **inman** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 6:17 pm

Some top schools offer the IB diploma as an option, but other than that there are only 4 schools in Thailand that are full IB schools (NIST, KIS, Concordian and PTIS Chiang Mai) and offer all 3 programmes . I would certainly agree that NIST and PTIS are in the top end, but I'm not sure the other 2 would be in the same bracket. Bangkok Pattana and ISB are the better schools that offer only the Diploma, but there's also Shrewsbury and Harrow that are good schools and only do national curriculum of England.

http://www.ibo.org/school/search/index. ... hools=Find

greendog · Post by **greendog** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 6:51 pm

Durianfan,

Please correct me if I am wrong, but it appears that NIST, CIS, and KIS offer the IB program from primary on up while the others do so only in high school. Could I not fill an elementary or middle school position?

greendog · Post by **greendog** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 7:04 pm

Sorry, inman. I didn't mean to repeat your thoughts. You answered while I was writing (and cooking, doing homework...).

durianfan · Post by **durianfan** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 7:57 pm

^^Yes, you could. But you need to give us your quals/experience so we can better advise you.

Also, not to be cynical, but the fact that you have children (and I assume a trailing spouse) does not make you a competitive candidate, especially in a country like Thailand. The top-tier and second-tier international schools here get hundreds of letters of inquiry and applications each month. Most are thrown away or deleted. Your best bet is to go to a job fair or settle for a school here that doesn't pay as much.

danny514 · Post by **danny514** » Tue Nov 26, 2013 2:46 am

With no IB experience, you might still have a chance at some of the 2nd Tier IB Diploma schools like KIS, Regent's, or Pan-Asia Int'l School. Good luck!