The International Schools Review Forum

Long time lurker here, first time posting! My wife and I discussed going international eight years ago but we decided to wait until our kids were of school age. Now that they are we're ready for the next adventure.

Here’s our background. I've taught social studies for 14 years at both public and private schools, including AP European History, AP US History, and almost every other social studies subject except economics and sociology. Technology is important and heavily utilized in my classrooms.

I haven't yet taught internationally but I lived abroad as a kid and in college and really want to get back and share similar experiences with my family... of three dependents (yes, I know... three of them). My wife works in Information Technology and would like to either work in IT or in some capacity at the school I work at if possible. We have two elementary aged children.

Without going into too much more detail about us, here are my questions:

- Am I considered a strong candidate, even in a field like Social Studies/Humanities? What tier schools would be realistic to expect?

- We understand that Europe’s expensive, but we are open to almost anywhere (SE Asia, China/Korea/Japan if it's possible), Middle East). Which areas should I target? All of them? Any others worth looking into? Other than student loans we don't have any debt but living on one salary we'd still need to be able to save something.

- What locations might my wife be able to continue to work in IT? She has 10 years of Technical Anlyst (Developer) experience and an MSCIS degree. Anyone know how hard would it be for her to get a visa and employment? What is the likelihood of her gaining employment (of any kind) at a school? She is open to not working (and maybe volunteering) if I can make enough.

- Although I have extensive AP experience I don't yet have IB experience. I'm currently taking a Diploma level History workshop to get a feel for the IB curriculum. Would it be worth my time to take an MYP Humanities workshop as well?

-Any other suggestions?

We are determined to make this happen. We're pretty flexible and open minded. Any insight you can offer would be appreciated. Thanks!

Places like Bangalore, India have a very strong It industry. My experience in the field is that unless you are managing projects for large multinationals, expect local hire salaries. One of the reasons I couldn't be bother continuing in the field.

Computing is generally taught by a local or trailing spouse. Locals have the advantage of having better support and prices when purchasing equipment. Probably need certification too.

If visas can be processed in the country or nearest oversees mission, you'll be ok to get a job locally then get a visa to work. Some countries force you to go back home which can be a pain. It sometimes depends on your pay scale.

As far as which tier, it all depends on how well you interview and how strongly your references recommend you. To be honest, with dependents, it will be much harder for you.

Thanks for the reply and your insight Mathman.

Getting a position for my wife is really secondary. If she doesn't work, that's okay. She can keep involved by volunteering or something else. As far as getting a position at a school, we weren't thinking about her getting a teaching position, rather something more like clerical work, nursery help, anything that might be an option at the school.

How difficult is it to get interviews at the fairs? I tend to interview well but I'm concerned that lack of international and IB experience may preclude me from getting an interview in the first place. I also know that three dependents is a detriment in the eyes of many schools but will that effectively end my chances?

If your wife isnt picky with what she does at the school its not uncommon for a school to "create" a position for a trailing spouse, when they really want a teacher. Focusing on an IT position would make your job search much more difficult. Generally IT positions either 1) Combine some teaching duties such as at a small school, or 2) Require native language proficiency at a large school, since you have to communicate with local staff at a big school.
If she wants to stay in IT her best bet might be as a consultant or freelance on her own. Many countries wont permit a dependent spouse to work without sponsorship.

IB training isnt the same as IB experience. My experience has been that IB training alone isnt very helpful. Its better then nothing but no amount of training is going to equal any amount of experience. The MYP workshop isnt going to amount to anything more if you have done the DIP workshop.

You really need to be open to anywhere and any tier. Honestly, Humanities/Social Studies isnt a very in demand field, and with 3 dependents you will be a very expensive hire. I think your going to end up being very frustrated in your job search, and will here a lot of 'were waiting', and what there waiting for is one of the other candidates who is going to be a cheaper hire. Its going to be a hard sell, and I dont think your going to be very successful. If the wife gets certified as a teacher in computer/IT that changes everything.

Your really a competitive candidate, your AP experience would be very valuable particularly to the "american" schools. Adding a business studies certificate would compliment your resume, and teaching economics would help as well. You wont have a problem getting interviews at the job fairs. Whats going to happen is when they find out your not a teaching couple and you have a trailing wife and 2 kids that the interviews are going to grind to a halt. You can literally see it happen, when the recruiter stops asking you to expound more on your interview questions, and the interview changes to small talk.

I teach Math and physics and I find it extremely difficult with three dependents. While it's not impossible, expect what psyguy said. Lots of frustration.