The International Schools Review Forum

Hello, I’m new here, but I’ve been lurking around for a while and have loved all the info about the wide-ranging experiences of so many. Thank you!

I’m wondering if there are any people with Australian qualifications out there? My husband and I are considering a stint teaching o/s and not really sure if we have a hope in hell of getting jobs. So here goes:

Hubby has been a High School History/Social Science teacher in NSW for 14 years, and has had the last year off to travel.

I have Design and Technology qualifications (Dip Ed) and did just *one* permanent teaching year loooong ago. Then moved into Tafe and private colleges teaching Graphic Design (which is my B.A) and have a Masters in Fine Art. I run training for businesses and workshops in Photoshop, Illustrator, and design-specific software. So I guess nada that’s interesting to these schools.

Mmmm... what else..... well we have no kids, 42yo, and we could maybe go to the Search Fair in Bangkok next month if we crack an invite, but not registered yet, prob wait til next year. I’ve been travelling to Vietnam for work for 5 years now and I love it, but also interested in all of Asia except China. Been working there too and just couldn’t live there unfortunately.

Any info gratefully received! Cheers!

Reading the boards it looks like Maths/Sci is most sought after then.

So is History/Social Science sought after at all I wonder?

Hi Rosella7. If you would like to email me at my Search Associates email address or call our office on the number provided on the website, I would be happy to chat with you about your options.

Regards,

Nick Kendell
Senior Associate
Search Associates Australia/New Zealand

Thanks Nick shall do!

Whatever position a school needs to fill, is in high demand, doesnt matter if its physics or history. That said its harder for schools generally to fill science/math positions then humanities/literature positions.

Your husband sounds like hed be a competitive teacher. Does he have IGCSE experience or just the NSW curriculum. Australian schools are out there but they are a much smaller niche set compared to "British" and IGCSE schools.
You on the other hand arent really an IT, your very limited experience is very dated, and you need two years of recent experience to be considered entry level in an IS. Design tech can be hard to fill, but waiting for the right offer for you would mean delaying really looking for your husabnd and social science/humanities vacancies are disappearing. This means that either way one of you is waiting for the right vacancy to come around. My advice would be look for a position for hubby now, as hes really the competitive front card for the two of you.

You dont say where you want to go? I ask because when it comes to agencies they are a great convenience if you have a very broad job search, and of the two big ones (Search and ISS) Search is the bigger one (about 650 schools compared to ISS 150).
If you have a really narrow job search, such as you were focused on only one country or a couple of cities, then the databases of the big agencies arent going to be much help, as you can easily bookmark the handful of schools websites yourself and check periodically.

Of course the big agencies also give you access to fairs, but at this stage of the recruiting cycle youve missed all the big fairs and the rest of them including the spring BKK fair are just dump fairs with lower tier schools that you could just as easily get hired with over a Skype interview, especially with your qualifications. The list isnt that impressive:

Bahrain Hawar International School
Bangladesh International School Dhaka
China Beijing Huijia Private School
China Beijing International Bilingual Academy
China EtonHouse International Schools
China China Shanghai Singapore International School
China Western International School of Shanghai
China Xi'an Hi-Tech International School
Germany International School of Dusseldorf
India Oberoi International School
Mumbai Indonesia Bali International School Denpasar
Indonesia Binus International School
Simprug Indonesia Sekolah Ciputra Surabaya
Korea Branksome Hall Asia
Malawi Bishop Mackenzie International School Lilongwe
Myanmar Myanmar International School Yangon (MISY)
Oman Al Batinah International School
Pakistan Karachi American School
Pakistan Lahore American School
Philippines German European School Manila
Qatar Qatar Academy Al-Wakra
Qatar Qatar Academy Qatar Foundation Community
Singapore German European School Singapore
Singapore St. Joseph's Institution International High School
Taiwan Ivy Collegiate Academy
Taichung Taiwan Kaohsiung American School
Thailand British International School, Phuket
Thailand Phuket International Academy Day School
United Arab Emirates Glenelg School of Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates Victoria International School of Sharjah
Vietnam Renaissance International School Saigon

If you are interested in an agency i would recommend one of the smaller agencies as well such as TIE or Joy Jobs (my preference is TIE).

Lastly with 13 years of experience understand that husband will very likely be taking a significant hit on salary at an IS.

Thanks Psyguy that's very helpful!

The biggest worry is reading on the reviews here that there can be dodgy job security due to irrational owners. After packing up and going there - what a nightmare.

'cos for us, if we were lucky enough to land jobs in the same school, and it all heads south, then we truly do have all our eggs in one basket.

So back to the researching...

Yeah there are some horror stories, but they need to be put in perspective. Even some of the worse ISs are still better then a LOT of public/municipal schools. IS complaints can be broken down into two basic groups: 1) Personality Conflicts and 2) Financing.
First, You can find great schools like WAB and ASIJ that have people who complain because they dont "fit in". Theres a complainer for every school, im sure your husband has a few complaints about his current school and even some people he doesnt mesh with. It happens everywhere.
Second, there are schoola, usually new schools or small schools that just really dont have the money to deliver on their promises, or at least deliver on them on time.
The first you cant do much about, the second can be avoided by sticking to reputable well known schools (of which there are plenty).

You forgot management issues

@mathman

Not really, management issues are symptoms of the above two causes, personality conflicts and financing.

I disagree, some will have large budgets but are incapable of actually managing (no concept of time, money and workload management). They don't really conflict with you, but it makes your life miserable over time.

Basically, can't run a business or a school.

If an admin cant effectivley manage time, a budget, or a staffing schedule and they supervise you, then yes, they have a personality conflict with you. Their personality conflicts with their ability to do the job required of them.

Our personality doesnt just conflict with others, but sometimes ourselves.

"If an admin cant effectivley manage time, a budget, or a staffing schedule and they supervise you, then yes, they have a personality conflict with you. Their personality conflicts with their ability to do the job required of them.

Our personality doesnt just conflict with others, but sometimes ourselves."

Not sure what you are gibbering on about here. Inability to manage is not about personality clashes/conflicts.

Agree with mathman, in many international schools, the management is unable to manage in addition to be poorly trained in education.

"Our personality doesnt just conflict with others, but sometimes ourselves.".... are you by chance schizophrenic psy?

Actually, we were looking at Australia as one of our options after 4 good IS's! Unfortunately, I gather that the states are no longer sponsoring teachers directly (or at least WA and NSW aren't) so you have to go through the whole visa process first, then look for jobs. Also, I think I am too old!
Salary-wise, I thing PsyGuy has a point. Pay is so good in Australia, despite taxes and cost of living, that unless you tumbled to a really good school you would take a financial hit. Obviously, money isn't everything, but still....