shadowjack wrote:
> it depends. If you are looking only at British schools, maybe, maybe not.
> The bottom line is you have to start somewhere. 2 years experience at home
> and stellar references (it helps knowing you are working your fingers to
> the bone to gain those stellar references to launch your international
> career) will definitely help you secure tier 2.
>
> If you are going to teach maths in old blighty, you need to get GCSE
> experience and preferably GCSE AND A levels. They will transfer over nicely
> to international and make you more marketable. Then, the trick is to land
> at a school with IB and get DP and MYP training and you are a well-rounded
> maths teacher.

Well, I am aiming to teach at grammar schools. Will this be helpful to my application to international schools?

PsyGuy wrote:
> The general bar to entry in IE is two years post certification experience.
> Among other reasons, ISs are not the place for an IT to make their bones.
> They arent properly mentored or resourced to supply a new DT/IT during
> those first two years they are learning curriculum delivery and management.
>
>
> There are lower third tier ISs however that simply have to take what they
> can get given the comp they provide and their region.
>
> The chances of an EE IS hiring you are very low. The issue is the entire
> region has maybe 20 ISs on the circuit, nd those are mainly the upper tier
> ISs. You just wouldnt be competitive for those ISs. The rest of the tiers
> are DSs and you arent going to find one that would be interested if you
> dont know the host language. The rest is a very small pool of ISs.
> Your marketability greatly improves after two years but even then the upper
> tier ISs arent hurting for any type of IT, they usually have healthy
> applicant pools. Many ISs will need/want all secondary scheduling and
> without any experience you arent going to get a SLL appointment. Your going
> to have to get those lower secondary classes during those two years at
> KS3/4 and hopefully move up to GCSE and then A*, thats not going to happen
> right away.
>
> I agree with @SJ once you know what your doing the workload greatly
> decreases.

Goddammit, it really does seem like an uphill battle. Will I even be able to get into a tier 2 after two years experience somewhere in China or Thailand?

I don't really want to go to the more competitive places in Eastern Europe like Hungary or Prague. My heart is pretty much set in the former soviet union countries, preferably Russia or Ukraine.

Since you said there are not many schools in these countries, I checked out the schools in Russia and Ukraine. In Russia, BISM and EIS say they take NQTs (although how likely they are to offer an NQT a job in the first place remains to be seen). There was another recently opened school in Russia that didn't even say if they required any experience.

In Ukraine, QIS has no information on their requirements (but then again, since it's an American school, chances of being hired for a Brit are low anyway). There was another school that teaches the Ukraine curriculum in English that seemed to have no requirements. Obviously, I would prefer to teach the British curriculum, but if it means an easier access to Ukraine, I'd take it.

shadowjack wrote:
> You will find crap schools before two years. You will find better schools
> after two years. When you gain experience on how to streamline things,
> workload goes down.
>
> That said, there are schools who have a sudden opening come up due to
> various reasons. There might be an opening late for a KS 3 or 4 maths
> teacher. A level they usually want experience and if they are hiring you
> without any, it would speak shedloads about the school.
Thanks!

How easy is it after 2 years? Is it possible to walk into a comfortable tier 2 job? Ukraine or Russia don't seem like they're popular destination, so reckon it would be easy there?

So I am strongly giving a thought of looking into teaching again. I was set on being a teacher many years ago but as soon as I shadowed a teacher and was told of the workload, I was immediately put off (80-90 hours a week, seriously?!).

I am a maths graduate and I have started my application for the PGCE in September. I have heard maths is an in-demand subject everywhere. What are the chances that any school will take me on as soon as I gain my PGCE? My preferred location would probably be somewhere in Eastern Europe. Would love Ukraine, Russia or even Kazakhstan.

If not, do chances increase greatly after getting the two years?