AASSA Fair Review Atlanta for Single w/dependent

[PsychBean]

Hello again all,

I was thinking about going to the ISS fair in ATL and realized the AASSA fair will happen just before. I am wondering how people faired at these fairs and how did people with dependents fair. I am a SP and will be traveling with 1 dependent.

Of course I will see prior to the fair if they have positions for me in which I am interested in... However some jobs that ARE available are not posted. This was the case when I went to my last and first fair. A school contacted me prior to the fair for a position that was not posted.

Any feedback is welcome.

[DCgirl]

The AASSA fair only deals with some schools in South/Central America and the Caribbean (ex:Jamaica). It's a smaller fair. I attended 2 hiring seasons ago. I think that you could find a position with one dependant-but nothing more than that. Some of these schools tend to pay a little lower. I've had a couple of friends find good jobs at this fair. You'll find more local teachers and a lot of people new to international teaching. I also noted a good deal of EAL/ESOL teachers at this one. Because it's so regionalized, it's the one that I would drop if I had interests outside of this area. I also think it might be very limited in terms of the position that you are interested in. Good luck.

[PsychBean]

[quote="DCgirl"]The AASSA fair only deals with some schools in South/Central America and the Caribbean (ex:Jamaica). It's a smaller fair. I attended 2 hiring seasons ago. I think that you could find a position with one dependant-but nothing more than that. Some of these schools tend to pay a little lower. I've had a couple of friends find good jobs at this fair. You'll find more local teachers and a lot of people new to international teaching. I also noted a good deal of EAL/ESOL teachers at this one. Because it's so regionalized, it's the one that I would drop if I had interests outside of this area. I also think it might be very limited in terms of the position that you are interested in. Good luck.[/quote]

Thanks for your reply DCgirl. I am a School Psychologist. I have applied for SP/Counselor spots and SP spots. I wouldn't mind going to that region at all and yes it is just the one dependent child I would be going with. I was intending on going to the ISS fair then realized AASSA overlaps so perhaps I should plan to do both, or wait and see what jobs are available that I would qualify for... Then again some schools register at the last minute and all positions are not necessarily posted online before the fair.

[PsyGuy]

I would normally agree, but given as how you have said you are planing on attending other fairs, and more importantly the Boston fair, I think you would be better off attending the AASSA fair. The issue is that December is still early, and the Atlanta fair is a small fair. Your going to see the same schools at the Atlanta fair as you will at the later fairs, and those schools are going to have a better understanding off who they really need. I think if you go to the Atlanta fair, giving your and SP your going to hear a lot of "talk to us later", meaning either they dont know or they dont need a SP. If you go to the AASSA fair your going to see schools you wont see at any of the other fairs.

For you this is a numbers game, you need to see as many different schools as you can.
I would visit these schools websites though and see if they have a SP/Counselor already, and if they dont ask yourself why they need one or want one now.

[PsychBean]

[quote="PsyGuy"]I would normally agree, but given as how you have said you are planing on attending other fairs, and more importantly the Boston fair, I think you would be better off attending the AASSA fair. The issue is that December is still early, and the Atlanta fair is a small fair. Your going to see the same schools at the Atlanta fair as you will at the later fairs, and those schools are going to have a better understanding off who they really need. I think if you go to the Atlanta fair, giving your and SP your going to hear a lot of "talk to us later", meaning either they dont know or they dont need a SP. If you go to the AASSA fair your going to see schools you wont see at any of the other fairs.

For you this is a numbers game, you need to see as many different schools as you can.
I would visit these schools websites though and see if they have a SP/Counselor already, and if they dont ask yourself why they need one or want one now.[/quote]

Dave Psyguy
I hope they get this block feature soon. DO NOT RESPOND TO MY POSTS. I am not interested in your rhetoric!

[heyteach]

Psychbean, the schools at AAASA tend to hire on the spot or very quickly; they're not there trolling for applicants to consider later after meeting candidates at other fairs. There are some excellent schools that attend. The pay will seem low, but so is the cost of living. I lived quite comfortably on $19000+ (including paying a stateside mortgage), but saved almost nothing--which was not a big concern for me personally. This was at an excellent school; another top school in the same city paid much better.

[PsychBean]

[quote="heyteach"]Psychbean, the schools at AAASA tend to hire on the spot or very quickly; they're not there trolling for applicants to consider later after meeting candidates at other fairs. There are some excellent schools that attend. The pay will seem low, but so is the cost of living. I lived quite comfortably on $19000+ (including paying a stateside mortgage), but saved almost nothing--which was not a big concern for me personally. This was at an excellent school; another top school in the same city paid much better.[/quote]

Thank you heyteach your advice is appreciated and welcome. However, while I won't have much debt left in the states I would like to be able to save. Saving while overseas is very important to me not just living an international lifestyle. So it's definitely something to think about. Thank you again for your input.