The International Schools Review Forum

Hi all,

I'm new to this board and I would like to ask for your opinion regarding my "marketability" at international schools (tier 1, 2, 3). I would sincerely appreciate your feedback.

A few words about my [u]background[/u]:

I'm from Germany and currently 28 years old. I'm a non-native English speaker, though I consider myself to be fairly fluent. I have a BA in Economics and worked for two years as a financial - at an investment firm upon graduation. Approx. two years ago I moved to India and am working as an Economics teacher since then at an international oriented school. It is not a proper international school though. Most students are from India itself. Maybe around 10% are from Singapore, US and UK (also with Indian background). The faculty is very international though. The school is CISCE affiliated. I'm teaching mostly 11th and 12th standard and am preparing them for their board exams.

Right now I'm considering of doing a PGCE in Business and Economics in England and completing the one-year induction period in order to obtain the qualified teacher status. My goal is it to work as an Economics teacher (if necessary also Business/Management studies as second subject) at an IB school preferably. [b]How marketable do you think I will be at the time of completing the PGCE and the induction period?[/b]

Here again my [u]profile summary[/u]:

Nationality: German (fluent in English)
Degree: BA Economics
Certification: PGCE Business and Economics (planned completion in 2015)
Non-teaching work experience: 2 years at investment firm (+ several internships during studies at investment banks, etc. both in Germany and abroad)
Teaching experience: 2.5 years teaching experience at international oriented school + 1 year induction period in England (planned completion in 2016)
Age by the time finishing induction year: 32

I would really appreciate your feedback. Many thanks in advance!

Edit: The word "a.n.a.l.y.s.t" somehow becomes a "-" above. Does anybody have an idea what's the problem there?

Why do the program in England? Takes a long time and costs a pretty penny.

Better option would be getting a US social security number (for school) and doing a online/onsite ACP program that you could complete at your current job.

You could be finished with the program in 8-10 months for only 5-6K usd.

After that go get your feet wet where you can then after 2 years I think you would be fairly marketable.

First, if your going to be an economics teacher, its just assumed you will also be able to teach business studies. At the very large schools like SAS you may be abel to go a semester or so "just" teaching economics but at anything smaller youd need to teach some mixed business studies courses to make a full schedule. Really economics is only a stand alone course (not a hybrid course) in upper secondary (DIP/IGCSE/6th form). At a medium or smaller size school your 11/12 grade class alone might be only 30 people each which is a couple preps and wont fill out a full schedule.

You dont need to do induction and get QTS to teach internationally, unless your looking at a top tier British school, the PGCE by itself is the working credential. You have a couple years before you get to that level, and by then your experience even absent QTS will be very marketable. The reason why i bring it up is that a business/economics position to do induction is not going to be easy to come by. You may find yourself waiting a long time, and thats time you could be working internationally which is going to be more marketable then QTS.

Your current experience isnt going to count as far as step goes, but it has some value an admin and recruiter is going to consider. Youve worked in a bilingual school with local students delivering a local curriculum. Its teaching but its not international teaching
No one cares about your non teaching work experience, especially only 2 years at were basically entry level.

With your plan the way it is, you will be as competitive as any other entry level teacher entering the IS market, except you will have a minor edge having international experience. What would really make a difference is getting some experience at an IB school. I would strongly consider a distance or online program that would allow you to get a qualification while working at an IB school even if at a bottom tier IB school. Having a year or two of DIP economics experience is REALLY going to make a difference in your marketability when your done.

Hi and many thanks to both of you!

@CaliPro:
Sorry, I'm not familiar with the ACP program. Is it possible to do that while working at a school outside the US? And can I get a US social security number as a non-US citizen? What do I need it for?

@PsyGuy:
By distance or online program do you also mean the previously mentioned ACP or are there other similar programs? So you are saying I should try to get into an IB school (bottom tier if necessary) without any certification - based on my current experience - and then get the qualification while teaching there? How would I find the type of schools where I would stand a chance pre-certification?

Regarding the induction period: I've done a bit of research and my impression was that the market for Economics teachers in the UK is not too bad. It was even on the list of shortage subjects last year (based on which bursaries are offered). What makes you think it would be difficult to find a position to do the induction period?

Yes you can do the ACP program abroad. Yes you can get a US SSN as a non US citizen. You need to apply to a consolate or something. Google getting a social security number for school.

also here is a good ACP

TeacherReady.org

@CaliPro:

Just checked out that TeacherReady program. Looks very interesting. Though I found one problem: You need to be an US citizen (which I'm not) in order to get the state certification. If you aren't you get only a 'Statement of Eligibility'.

http://teacherready.org/faqs/154-do-i-n ... tification

[quote="PsyGuy"]No one cares about your non teaching work experience, especially only 2 years at were basically entry level.quote]

I wouldn't have got my new admin. position without my non-teaching experience. Also, I have been offered other interviews based on my non-teaching experience. I think it depends on what it is and how it relates to the job, specifically.

@panta_rhei

Yes you can get a US social security number as a non resident/citizen to apply for a teacher certification, many states department of education and teacher education programs identify you and track you by a social security number. You do not need to go to a consulate. Here is the publication link:

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10096.html

The teach ready program is one of several that you can do while overseas. There are other programs that you can do online such as a PGCE or PGCEi.

I would reccommend trying for a bottom tier IB school, it will be hard, but IB experience is often the turning factor in an IT. Understand without certification at some point, your career will dead-end in the bottom tier schools.

The market for economics teachers in the UK isnt bad, but this is among "average" teachers. Your not an average teacher, you will have no experience and need a school willing to hire you for your induction year. Thats not a strong resume. Schools in the UK dont take NQTs as their first choice and the market in the UK for teachers is saturated, your not going to be on the top of anyones list, your going to be on the bottom, with a lot of other NQTs and some of them are going to have connections and a network to get them "in".

Schools that are still looking, as the summer goes on mainly the ME, will get desperate and if you tell them your currently working on certification they are more likely to hire you to fill a classroom.