Hello,
I have not yet started on my international teaching path - and I am a bit lost as to where to begin. The advice of those more experienced than myself would be greatly appreciated.
I am a generalist primary school teacher in Western Australia. We wont be moving for a couple of years - but we would like to choose a destination so we can do some research, perhaps learn the language. **It must be somewhere warm
* Which countries/locations have consistently had high demand for English speaking (Australian) teachers?
* What is the average pay scale for teachers in various countries? (not looking to make a fortune, I just need the living expense/pay level to make sense)
* Would I most likely be employed in an international school as opposed to government?
* Do the inclusions vary greatly between countries? - ie. accommodation, flights, health care, school fees for our teenage son etc.
* Would I need to be familiar with the British or International Baccalaureate curriculum? If so, how would I go about achieving this?
* What additional qualifications would help me to stand out from other applicants? I assume a TEFL course would be a good start.
Thanks for any help you can offer :)
Where in the World to Start?
Re: Where in the World to Start?
So a couple of things first....
You have a teenage son, so you need to think about the timing of doing this. You say in a couple of years - what stage will he be at? Will he be entering at, say, IGCSE (so about 14 or 15) or IBDP (16 or 17)? Like any parent, you want a good education for your son, so I'm assuming this is a priority for you. This does have a bit of a limiting effect, in that the schools you are likely to prefer for him will normally be fairly competitive to get into.
Also, do you have a partner coming with you? Are they a teacher, or a trailing spouse? The reason I ask is if they are the latter, then you will be considered an 'expensive' hire for many schools and some simply won't look at you, experience or not.
In terms of countries, you want it to be somewhere warm - so you're looking at SE Asia or the Middle East. Most of the countries in those areas usually have a good demand for native English speaking teachers. Also much of SE Asia is on the same/close time zone to WA so easy to keep in touch with relatives and friends at home!
You are more likely to want to be in an international / private school, as much for your son's sake as anything else.
The standard benefits you should look for would include a school place, accommodation or accommodation allowance, health insurance for you and your family, and at least one return flight per year for all of you (this is what I mean by being an expensive hire - the more people the school has to cover who are not employed by them, the higher the cost to the school with not much benefit.) Personally, I wouldn't consider a school that didn't offer at least health insurance. They don't vary much - but in China, some of these which have previously been tax free will now be taxed and it's not clear yet how this is going to be implemented.
You don't need to be familiar with either the British / American / IB system, though it will help you if you have an understanding of it. In primary, this is less of a concern than at IGCSE/IBDP level, TBH. You could look at doing the IB PYP Category 1 course - not essential though, as most schools will look at getting you through it anyway. In terms of additional qualifications, as you're in Australia I would look into the TESMC qualification for EAL teaching - it seems to be the 'buzz' qualification just now so if it's available to you in your current role, I'd take it.
Finally, the COVID warning - even though you are looking a couple of years in advance, just be aware of the restrictions in place at present. Hopefully they won't be around - but there's no guarantee of it. Make sure you are all vaccinated and get any boosters which might be needed.
You have a teenage son, so you need to think about the timing of doing this. You say in a couple of years - what stage will he be at? Will he be entering at, say, IGCSE (so about 14 or 15) or IBDP (16 or 17)? Like any parent, you want a good education for your son, so I'm assuming this is a priority for you. This does have a bit of a limiting effect, in that the schools you are likely to prefer for him will normally be fairly competitive to get into.
Also, do you have a partner coming with you? Are they a teacher, or a trailing spouse? The reason I ask is if they are the latter, then you will be considered an 'expensive' hire for many schools and some simply won't look at you, experience or not.
In terms of countries, you want it to be somewhere warm - so you're looking at SE Asia or the Middle East. Most of the countries in those areas usually have a good demand for native English speaking teachers. Also much of SE Asia is on the same/close time zone to WA so easy to keep in touch with relatives and friends at home!
You are more likely to want to be in an international / private school, as much for your son's sake as anything else.
The standard benefits you should look for would include a school place, accommodation or accommodation allowance, health insurance for you and your family, and at least one return flight per year for all of you (this is what I mean by being an expensive hire - the more people the school has to cover who are not employed by them, the higher the cost to the school with not much benefit.) Personally, I wouldn't consider a school that didn't offer at least health insurance. They don't vary much - but in China, some of these which have previously been tax free will now be taxed and it's not clear yet how this is going to be implemented.
You don't need to be familiar with either the British / American / IB system, though it will help you if you have an understanding of it. In primary, this is less of a concern than at IGCSE/IBDP level, TBH. You could look at doing the IB PYP Category 1 course - not essential though, as most schools will look at getting you through it anyway. In terms of additional qualifications, as you're in Australia I would look into the TESMC qualification for EAL teaching - it seems to be the 'buzz' qualification just now so if it's available to you in your current role, I'd take it.
Finally, the COVID warning - even though you are looking a couple of years in advance, just be aware of the restrictions in place at present. Hopefully they won't be around - but there's no guarantee of it. Make sure you are all vaccinated and get any boosters which might be needed.
Re: Where in the World to Start?
Please be aware that only a small subset of international teachers pick a location first. We may all have some list of favorite possibilities, but realistically chances are slim for any one place. Getting a job means fulfilling a magical checklist of improbabilities, starting with the school having open positions for you and spouse, having an appropriate program for son, having an application that interests the recruiter, acing the interviews, beating all the competition, not losing out to some uncontrollable variable such as another candidate being married to the teacher or principal candidate they feel they MUST hire, being in agreement about what is an appropriate salary and benefits package, etc. To find jobs, our sort generally cast wide nets over many countries or even the entire globe. Or try again for as many years as it takes if there is some specific place we insist on going. (Or go to some unappealing school just because it’s in the right place, thereby guaranteeing 40 hours per week of misery and a bad education for son. Don’t do that.)
With your lack of international experience and potentially a trailing spouse, your challenges are a little higher than other candidates. Raise them by applying widely.
With your lack of international experience and potentially a trailing spouse, your challenges are a little higher than other candidates. Raise them by applying widely.
Response
Giving you a full course on IE and becoming an IT is a long post. In direct reply to your questions:
1) Somewhere warm with high demand. Your looking at the ME (Middle East) places like Qatar and Kuwait for example that tend to have a difficult time recruiting and a lot of demand, as they are generally considered hardship locations. Otherwise your looking at SE Asia, China practically drives IE recruiting in the region, theres just so many ISs that demand is high, and China has coin. You have the little tigers SG, HK, TW, JP that are harder to get into or they have peculiarities. HK is difficult to get into for example, theres a major chain IS that is most ITs way in, but beyond that its a few tier 1 ISs and they have low turnover. Lots of ITs and ETs want to go to JP, and theres a lot of transitioning ETs in JP that want to make the move to IE, so JP doesnt have a lot of external demand. TW has huge demand if your looking at ESOL or low third tier, but there arent really that many ISs in TW, that you hit the ceiling pretty low. SG for the size it is has a lot of ISs but they are either very low tier or they are one of the few 1st tier ISs, there just isnt that much of a middle, because the SG regulated DE system is very high quality. Aside from China, Myanmar has pretty high demand, but the overall quality of ISs is pretty low. Vietnam is similar except some of the worst ISs on the circuit are in Vietnam. SK has a similar phenomenon, the IS market is small with a few 1st tier ISs and a small third tier and an almost non-existent middle. TH has a dual work going for it. Theres BKK and outside BKK, actually getting A job in BKK isnt hard, theres plenty of low tier ISs they just arent on the circuit and there OSH packages look more like LH packages, but they are there. That leaves a small group of ISs in BKK that offer comp and packs that are attractive to OS ITs. Outside of BKK thee are plenty of ISs that have difficulty recruiting they just dont offer the best OSH pack. Malaysia tends to ride on accessibility to SG anywhere outside of KL. Theres a small number of ISs on the circuit. Which brings us to Indonesia and the Philippines, which attract a certain type of male IT. Indonesia has Bali going for it, but most of the ISs on circuit are in Jakarta and Jakarta is no Bali. The Philippines is about the same but less of a language barrier. That leaves Cambodia and Laos, which have a small IE presence, but the comp and packs arent on par with what you can get in China or even Myanmar. Really thats what SE Asia comes down to, China has such high demand and its comp and packs are so gilded its not hard for an entry class IT to easily beat the Global IE average for salary (currently 32K). A degree, a credential and two-three years experience can get you USD$40K and a full OSH package in China you can get that elsewhere in Asia, not everywhere, but you need to be on the upper side of IE in Asia, and those ISs are very competitive.
Being AUS doesnt matter much. There are a lot of AUS ITs around and in general ISs whether US or UK tend not to think one way or the other about AUS ITs.
2) How long have you been teaching in DE in AUS. You may be taking a cut. The global average is 32K, which seems low but theres a lot of lower third tier ISs that pull it down. It also depends where you are. In the WE (EU) while there are ISs that pay good coin, there are a lot that know there is a long line of IT that will work for pauper coin for a visa to live in a certain region. Take Italy for example, its extremely difficult after two years when taxes kick in to really make it on the couple thousand Euro the majority that arent first tier ISs pay in coin. Likewise you can make 6 figures in Switzerland but that comes with Switzerland costs. Then youve got the LCSA (Latin Central Southern America) theres a couple ISs that pay okay the rest are great only as long as you live on the economy and in the country.
All said China is probably your best option.
Many ISs have a cap on their scale. So you have steps based on years of experience and then bands based on degrees and maybe credentials (though some see a credential as a given or theres a stipend as opposed to a formal band or separate scale). ISs usually have separate scales for LHs (Local Hires) and OSHs (OverSeas Hires). Some will move you from the OSH scale to the LH scale after a certain number of years. The cap is where you have problems if youve been in DE a long time and have a high number of years of experience, as the cap is usually 5 years for lower tier and 10 years for upper tier ISs.The cap is the maximum number of years or steps you can enter an IS at. So if youve been working in DE for 15 years and your moving into a lower tier IS with a 5 year cap, thats the most they will usually place you on the scale.
There are generally two types of scale ISs employ open scales are published, freely available and ISs tend to stick to them. There are some ways around it, but for the most part its X and Y on a grid and thats your salary and theres nothing to wonder about. The other type is a closed scale you find more often in lower tier ISs. A closed scale is essentially secret and unpublished, in this case the recruiter or the leader is trying to gauge how much you will accept and you have to engage in a little bit of bargaining or negotiation. In BKK for example thee are lower tier leaders and recruiters that will try to convince unsuspecting ITs that TH and BKK is still some cheap backpackers haven, and its just not so anymore. Im still surprised at the number of ISs offering barely BT30K and think thats a livable salary. You find ISs in China in the back of the prefecture that offer ¥10K salaries and think they are being generous.
3) It depends. The majority (and its a pretty substantial majority) of ISs are private/independent ISs. This has to be taken with a heaping amount of caution as there are a lot of public/maintained DSs in China that account for a lot of the demand in IE. Usually the DS has a "international" academy, essentially an IS within a DS that pays better coin but not good or great coin. You can also find "trust" ISs which are a hybrid of public and private. The IS gets government funds, the ISs dont charge fees or very small fees, but the IS has more freedom in certain aspects of the ISs operations or curriculum but they still have regulations they have to follow. For example a trust IS offers an immersive English program and may have a wait list (so they are partially selective), and they are able to provide an international curriculum such as IB outside of the countries NC, but they cant dismiss (expel) a student for example. Whereas a private/Independent IS can offer their program in any language (and theres a generally ignored but minority portion of IE that fills specifically this niche), can offer any curriculum they want, even their own in-house curriculum, and can tell parents and their demon span of a child "were not the right place for you". There are owners in China who started ISs so that their child had somewhere to go.
I disagree with @expatscot in part. For example the SG MOE recruits internationally for its regulated DSs the comp and pack arent bad and beat a lot of lower tier ISs in SG.
So you could be working for a publicly funded IS, but in most cases you will want to work in a private/independent IS nd that will be the type of IS you will mostly find.
4) In terms of OSH package they do vary but theres a middle for any given region. Thats to say that comparing for example China to Italy will see a great deal of variation in the OSH pack overall, but within a region the variations even between tiers tends to be minor. In China for example its the norm as part of the relocation allowance to have a flight benefit regardless of tier, but youll find lower tier ISs provide only flights for employees, and at beginning and end of contract, mid tier ISs provide flights for dependents but only at begging and end of contracts and upper tier ISs providing annual flights. Flights are one benefit that goes into the category of relocation allowances which in addition to flights includes such benefits as excess baggage, shipping or shopping allowances, and settling in allowances.
Its the same for the other benefits generally. An upper tier IS may provide a global health coverage package and a lower tier IS provides a local or in country package only, and low enough tier may only cover the employee. In some regions the health care the IS offers is the countries national social health care system.
The WE generally doesnt provide housing. In Asia ISs either provide housing or an allowance. Some will offer both with a scheme such as first year ITs must live in the provided housing and after your first contract you can elect for an allowance. Some ISs may offer an allowance but wont offer guarantee or absorb other costs such as deposits and fees. Some ISs have an HR or a property agent that will do almost all the work for you.
Tuition has changed somewhat recently. Its now become more typical that the IS will provide one place/waiver per employee, with a discount (usually 50%) on the second place/waiver.
I disagree with @expatscott, annual flights are becoming less common (along with unlimited fee/tuition places/waivers), its more likely to find flight benefits only at beginning and end of contract.I do agree though that as a primary IT (a saturated field especially without PYP) having a trailing spouse and child dependents is going to make your hire a logistical difficulty. Youre just too expensive to fill an elementary classroom.
5) Not really. At SLL the big international curriculum are highly congruent. IB especially PYP is very marketable. You cant really train a PYP IT, you need to spend at least a year in the classroom going through and experiencing the process. This is why PYP experience is so valuable, but its still basically letters and numbers. That said there are IB ISs that if you dont have X years of appropriate IB experience wont look at you. The opposite of that coin is that PYP is less popular than DIP so there are a lot of ISs with non-IB primary programs and PYP is much further away from DIP in those ISs that IB isnt really a thing. What youre not going to find a lot of is primary AUS programs or ISs, there are some, but most primary ISs have an American or British ethos, and that may depend entirely on what the majority of the faculty are composed of. There are a lot of ISs that basically buy some texts and workbooks and say this is our curriculum or they advertise that they "provide ITs with creative freedom to explore and develop their own lessons" which means they dont really have anything more than a loose framework of objectives if that. The year 3 ITs classroom looks like an American approach because the year 3 IT is an American IT and the year 4 ITs classroom looks like a British approach because they are a British IT, and the year 6 IT is doing some kind of portfolio approach because they come from an IB background, and you can find ISs with all three or other approaches in one IS. Its not all random, many ISs are accredited by someone, but they often buy materials aligned with a particular curriculum and then based on those materials ITs construct lessons around them so that when their accreditation visit happens it looks aligned to content, scope and sequence.
In an ITs resume you see three categories of components. One, what an IT can do (such as qualifications, degrees, credentials, etc.). Two what an IT has done (experience, exam scores, etc.). Three, special skills (ASPs, niche expertise, coaching, etc.). Of the three experience is king. Have enough of the right experience supported by references and you can make a very successful career for yourself in IE without degrees, credentials, certificates, or anything else. Most of that means that the most marketable aspects of IE are not things you can study, take a course or get some piece of paper. You need to be in a classroom completing the process year after year. You get that experience essentially by working at ISs/DSs that are willing to take the inexperienced because thats the best they can do. You said you have some years before you move overseas, forget about learning the host language, your IS wont care all that much. language proficiency makes your life easier outside the IS. The IS likely delivers its program in English and thats what matters. Youre better off taking a pay cut or transferring or moving to a less desirable DS where you are now if that transition will get you training and experience in a more marketable curriculum. Going into IE with 2 years experience in PYP or KS2 on top of your current experience is more marketable than not having that experience.
6) No not at all. A TESOL certificate or qualification is worth all of zero in IE. There are ETs that use such qualifications to transition into lower tier IE and then work out a plan to get some kind of western credential so they can continue or move up, but no TESOL is not what you want. If you have full registration in an AUS territory thats valuable, thats a credential. I disagree with @expatscot TESMC is just another TESOL certificate. Unless your plan is to go into ESOL its not worth your time or your coin.
Assuming you have AUS registration. With two years to prep before recruiting either do a Masters in edu or expand your experiences. Getting into a PYP program or DS would be next and if not that broadening your grade levels in primary will make you marketable to more positions, especially if you can break across lower primary (1-3) and upper primary (4-6), if youve been teaching only on one side, see if you can move to the other side for a couple years.
I tend to agree with @expatscot that the better upper secondary ISs for your child are likely to be the most competitive to get into. As i wrote above, I also agree that a primary IT with a trailing spouse and dependents is going to have substantial logistical difficulties, as youre going to be a very expensive hire to fill a primary classroom (a saturated field). I also agree that the tax situation in China is a wild card right now. How thats going to play out could greatly effect you. Stability vs risk may be more preferential to you.
I would differ with @expatscot, warm would also include a lot of the LCSA region, though the coin is usually poo.
I disagree with @expatscot, I dont see COVID as being a factor in two years.
I would strongly disagree with in regard to the minimum of annual flights for your family, if thats what your holding out for youre going to be very frustrated. Id look at family flights at beginning and end of the contract or on the lower end an allowance that gets all of you there and back on some kind of super low special fare, you have time for that. A category 1 IB workshop in PYP isnt really going to mean much. It will put you ahead of many ITs without any IB anything, but no one in IB thinks you make a PYP IT after 17 hours of seminar. Its experience thats marketable.
I would agree with @Sid that your probabilities are better the wider your search if your focused on a certain time frame. That doesnt mean you have to cast a global net, even something like major cities in China will produce a lot of opportunities. Your advantage in this regard is that primary is rather generic and in any particular region your likely to find primary grade vacancies.
1) Somewhere warm with high demand. Your looking at the ME (Middle East) places like Qatar and Kuwait for example that tend to have a difficult time recruiting and a lot of demand, as they are generally considered hardship locations. Otherwise your looking at SE Asia, China practically drives IE recruiting in the region, theres just so many ISs that demand is high, and China has coin. You have the little tigers SG, HK, TW, JP that are harder to get into or they have peculiarities. HK is difficult to get into for example, theres a major chain IS that is most ITs way in, but beyond that its a few tier 1 ISs and they have low turnover. Lots of ITs and ETs want to go to JP, and theres a lot of transitioning ETs in JP that want to make the move to IE, so JP doesnt have a lot of external demand. TW has huge demand if your looking at ESOL or low third tier, but there arent really that many ISs in TW, that you hit the ceiling pretty low. SG for the size it is has a lot of ISs but they are either very low tier or they are one of the few 1st tier ISs, there just isnt that much of a middle, because the SG regulated DE system is very high quality. Aside from China, Myanmar has pretty high demand, but the overall quality of ISs is pretty low. Vietnam is similar except some of the worst ISs on the circuit are in Vietnam. SK has a similar phenomenon, the IS market is small with a few 1st tier ISs and a small third tier and an almost non-existent middle. TH has a dual work going for it. Theres BKK and outside BKK, actually getting A job in BKK isnt hard, theres plenty of low tier ISs they just arent on the circuit and there OSH packages look more like LH packages, but they are there. That leaves a small group of ISs in BKK that offer comp and packs that are attractive to OS ITs. Outside of BKK thee are plenty of ISs that have difficulty recruiting they just dont offer the best OSH pack. Malaysia tends to ride on accessibility to SG anywhere outside of KL. Theres a small number of ISs on the circuit. Which brings us to Indonesia and the Philippines, which attract a certain type of male IT. Indonesia has Bali going for it, but most of the ISs on circuit are in Jakarta and Jakarta is no Bali. The Philippines is about the same but less of a language barrier. That leaves Cambodia and Laos, which have a small IE presence, but the comp and packs arent on par with what you can get in China or even Myanmar. Really thats what SE Asia comes down to, China has such high demand and its comp and packs are so gilded its not hard for an entry class IT to easily beat the Global IE average for salary (currently 32K). A degree, a credential and two-three years experience can get you USD$40K and a full OSH package in China you can get that elsewhere in Asia, not everywhere, but you need to be on the upper side of IE in Asia, and those ISs are very competitive.
Being AUS doesnt matter much. There are a lot of AUS ITs around and in general ISs whether US or UK tend not to think one way or the other about AUS ITs.
2) How long have you been teaching in DE in AUS. You may be taking a cut. The global average is 32K, which seems low but theres a lot of lower third tier ISs that pull it down. It also depends where you are. In the WE (EU) while there are ISs that pay good coin, there are a lot that know there is a long line of IT that will work for pauper coin for a visa to live in a certain region. Take Italy for example, its extremely difficult after two years when taxes kick in to really make it on the couple thousand Euro the majority that arent first tier ISs pay in coin. Likewise you can make 6 figures in Switzerland but that comes with Switzerland costs. Then youve got the LCSA (Latin Central Southern America) theres a couple ISs that pay okay the rest are great only as long as you live on the economy and in the country.
All said China is probably your best option.
Many ISs have a cap on their scale. So you have steps based on years of experience and then bands based on degrees and maybe credentials (though some see a credential as a given or theres a stipend as opposed to a formal band or separate scale). ISs usually have separate scales for LHs (Local Hires) and OSHs (OverSeas Hires). Some will move you from the OSH scale to the LH scale after a certain number of years. The cap is where you have problems if youve been in DE a long time and have a high number of years of experience, as the cap is usually 5 years for lower tier and 10 years for upper tier ISs.The cap is the maximum number of years or steps you can enter an IS at. So if youve been working in DE for 15 years and your moving into a lower tier IS with a 5 year cap, thats the most they will usually place you on the scale.
There are generally two types of scale ISs employ open scales are published, freely available and ISs tend to stick to them. There are some ways around it, but for the most part its X and Y on a grid and thats your salary and theres nothing to wonder about. The other type is a closed scale you find more often in lower tier ISs. A closed scale is essentially secret and unpublished, in this case the recruiter or the leader is trying to gauge how much you will accept and you have to engage in a little bit of bargaining or negotiation. In BKK for example thee are lower tier leaders and recruiters that will try to convince unsuspecting ITs that TH and BKK is still some cheap backpackers haven, and its just not so anymore. Im still surprised at the number of ISs offering barely BT30K and think thats a livable salary. You find ISs in China in the back of the prefecture that offer ¥10K salaries and think they are being generous.
3) It depends. The majority (and its a pretty substantial majority) of ISs are private/independent ISs. This has to be taken with a heaping amount of caution as there are a lot of public/maintained DSs in China that account for a lot of the demand in IE. Usually the DS has a "international" academy, essentially an IS within a DS that pays better coin but not good or great coin. You can also find "trust" ISs which are a hybrid of public and private. The IS gets government funds, the ISs dont charge fees or very small fees, but the IS has more freedom in certain aspects of the ISs operations or curriculum but they still have regulations they have to follow. For example a trust IS offers an immersive English program and may have a wait list (so they are partially selective), and they are able to provide an international curriculum such as IB outside of the countries NC, but they cant dismiss (expel) a student for example. Whereas a private/Independent IS can offer their program in any language (and theres a generally ignored but minority portion of IE that fills specifically this niche), can offer any curriculum they want, even their own in-house curriculum, and can tell parents and their demon span of a child "were not the right place for you". There are owners in China who started ISs so that their child had somewhere to go.
I disagree with @expatscot in part. For example the SG MOE recruits internationally for its regulated DSs the comp and pack arent bad and beat a lot of lower tier ISs in SG.
So you could be working for a publicly funded IS, but in most cases you will want to work in a private/independent IS nd that will be the type of IS you will mostly find.
4) In terms of OSH package they do vary but theres a middle for any given region. Thats to say that comparing for example China to Italy will see a great deal of variation in the OSH pack overall, but within a region the variations even between tiers tends to be minor. In China for example its the norm as part of the relocation allowance to have a flight benefit regardless of tier, but youll find lower tier ISs provide only flights for employees, and at beginning and end of contract, mid tier ISs provide flights for dependents but only at begging and end of contracts and upper tier ISs providing annual flights. Flights are one benefit that goes into the category of relocation allowances which in addition to flights includes such benefits as excess baggage, shipping or shopping allowances, and settling in allowances.
Its the same for the other benefits generally. An upper tier IS may provide a global health coverage package and a lower tier IS provides a local or in country package only, and low enough tier may only cover the employee. In some regions the health care the IS offers is the countries national social health care system.
The WE generally doesnt provide housing. In Asia ISs either provide housing or an allowance. Some will offer both with a scheme such as first year ITs must live in the provided housing and after your first contract you can elect for an allowance. Some ISs may offer an allowance but wont offer guarantee or absorb other costs such as deposits and fees. Some ISs have an HR or a property agent that will do almost all the work for you.
Tuition has changed somewhat recently. Its now become more typical that the IS will provide one place/waiver per employee, with a discount (usually 50%) on the second place/waiver.
I disagree with @expatscott, annual flights are becoming less common (along with unlimited fee/tuition places/waivers), its more likely to find flight benefits only at beginning and end of contract.I do agree though that as a primary IT (a saturated field especially without PYP) having a trailing spouse and child dependents is going to make your hire a logistical difficulty. Youre just too expensive to fill an elementary classroom.
5) Not really. At SLL the big international curriculum are highly congruent. IB especially PYP is very marketable. You cant really train a PYP IT, you need to spend at least a year in the classroom going through and experiencing the process. This is why PYP experience is so valuable, but its still basically letters and numbers. That said there are IB ISs that if you dont have X years of appropriate IB experience wont look at you. The opposite of that coin is that PYP is less popular than DIP so there are a lot of ISs with non-IB primary programs and PYP is much further away from DIP in those ISs that IB isnt really a thing. What youre not going to find a lot of is primary AUS programs or ISs, there are some, but most primary ISs have an American or British ethos, and that may depend entirely on what the majority of the faculty are composed of. There are a lot of ISs that basically buy some texts and workbooks and say this is our curriculum or they advertise that they "provide ITs with creative freedom to explore and develop their own lessons" which means they dont really have anything more than a loose framework of objectives if that. The year 3 ITs classroom looks like an American approach because the year 3 IT is an American IT and the year 4 ITs classroom looks like a British approach because they are a British IT, and the year 6 IT is doing some kind of portfolio approach because they come from an IB background, and you can find ISs with all three or other approaches in one IS. Its not all random, many ISs are accredited by someone, but they often buy materials aligned with a particular curriculum and then based on those materials ITs construct lessons around them so that when their accreditation visit happens it looks aligned to content, scope and sequence.
In an ITs resume you see three categories of components. One, what an IT can do (such as qualifications, degrees, credentials, etc.). Two what an IT has done (experience, exam scores, etc.). Three, special skills (ASPs, niche expertise, coaching, etc.). Of the three experience is king. Have enough of the right experience supported by references and you can make a very successful career for yourself in IE without degrees, credentials, certificates, or anything else. Most of that means that the most marketable aspects of IE are not things you can study, take a course or get some piece of paper. You need to be in a classroom completing the process year after year. You get that experience essentially by working at ISs/DSs that are willing to take the inexperienced because thats the best they can do. You said you have some years before you move overseas, forget about learning the host language, your IS wont care all that much. language proficiency makes your life easier outside the IS. The IS likely delivers its program in English and thats what matters. Youre better off taking a pay cut or transferring or moving to a less desirable DS where you are now if that transition will get you training and experience in a more marketable curriculum. Going into IE with 2 years experience in PYP or KS2 on top of your current experience is more marketable than not having that experience.
6) No not at all. A TESOL certificate or qualification is worth all of zero in IE. There are ETs that use such qualifications to transition into lower tier IE and then work out a plan to get some kind of western credential so they can continue or move up, but no TESOL is not what you want. If you have full registration in an AUS territory thats valuable, thats a credential. I disagree with @expatscot TESMC is just another TESOL certificate. Unless your plan is to go into ESOL its not worth your time or your coin.
Assuming you have AUS registration. With two years to prep before recruiting either do a Masters in edu or expand your experiences. Getting into a PYP program or DS would be next and if not that broadening your grade levels in primary will make you marketable to more positions, especially if you can break across lower primary (1-3) and upper primary (4-6), if youve been teaching only on one side, see if you can move to the other side for a couple years.
I tend to agree with @expatscot that the better upper secondary ISs for your child are likely to be the most competitive to get into. As i wrote above, I also agree that a primary IT with a trailing spouse and dependents is going to have substantial logistical difficulties, as youre going to be a very expensive hire to fill a primary classroom (a saturated field). I also agree that the tax situation in China is a wild card right now. How thats going to play out could greatly effect you. Stability vs risk may be more preferential to you.
I would differ with @expatscot, warm would also include a lot of the LCSA region, though the coin is usually poo.
I disagree with @expatscot, I dont see COVID as being a factor in two years.
I would strongly disagree with in regard to the minimum of annual flights for your family, if thats what your holding out for youre going to be very frustrated. Id look at family flights at beginning and end of the contract or on the lower end an allowance that gets all of you there and back on some kind of super low special fare, you have time for that. A category 1 IB workshop in PYP isnt really going to mean much. It will put you ahead of many ITs without any IB anything, but no one in IB thinks you make a PYP IT after 17 hours of seminar. Its experience thats marketable.
I would agree with @Sid that your probabilities are better the wider your search if your focused on a certain time frame. That doesnt mean you have to cast a global net, even something like major cities in China will produce a lot of opportunities. Your advantage in this regard is that primary is rather generic and in any particular region your likely to find primary grade vacancies.
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Heliotrope
- Posts: 1171
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 1:48 am
Re: Where in the World to Start?
If I were you I'd look at good schools in undesirable locations. That way your son will have a good education, you won't suffer at a terrible school, and after a couple of years because of your international experience you might be able to move on to a location you'll enjoy more, although I've seen it happen that a undesirable location grows on people, and they end up staying longer than planned, assuming the school is to their liking.
But even in a less desirable location, a good school will still be competitive to get a job at, especially if the savings potential is good. So look at Bangladesh or Rwanda, rather than Taiwan or Austria.
But even in a less desirable location, a good school will still be competitive to get a job at, especially if the savings potential is good. So look at Bangladesh or Rwanda, rather than Taiwan or Austria.
Discussion
I disagree with @Heliotrope, go where you want to go, in a place you will like to live. You can survive a horrible IS in a location your happy living in. No matter how good the IS is if the location is horrible, at most youll live to work. Even more so for your children and especially if you have a trailing spouse.
Re: Where in the World to Start?
Maybe it hinges on how one defines “undesirable location”. To me, at the easiest level it’s any place that few people grow up wondering about. Places where few people say “I’ve always dreamed of living in…”. So, not Paris, Singapore or New York. This starting list of “undesirable locations” includes much of Asia, Eastern Europe and South America, which includes a huge number of places I’d personally love to live in.
At the bottom level, you’ve got places where your personal safety is constantly at risk and/or where the basics of daily living are hard to come by. I have no interest in living in such a place and I suspect the OP has family considerations that place him in the same boat.
But that top level, and the middle levels, have much that is worth considering.
At the bottom level, you’ve got places where your personal safety is constantly at risk and/or where the basics of daily living are hard to come by. I have no interest in living in such a place and I suspect the OP has family considerations that place him in the same boat.
But that top level, and the middle levels, have much that is worth considering.
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Heliotrope
- Posts: 1171
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 1:48 am
Re: Where in the World to Start?
For some (PsyGuy for example) the location will have the biggest impact on their wellbeing, for others it will be the school they work at. For me, there are few locations that I wouldn't find interesting enough to live in for a few years, except places where, as @sid points out, my personal safety would be a constant concern. I would find living in Azerbaijan more interesting than living in Singapore, but would probably find working at certain schools in Singapore more rewarding professionally.
However, with a son in tow who will most likely attend the school you'll be working at, I would look at the quality of the school first, and picking one in a less desirable location (less desirable for most - almost every country will have its fans) will give you a better chance at getting a job at a decent to good school. I wouldn't want my son to attend the #4 international school in Taipei, however great that city is. I'd rather have him attend the best international school in Ethiopia, and I'd rather work there myself as well.
However, with a son in tow who will most likely attend the school you'll be working at, I would look at the quality of the school first, and picking one in a less desirable location (less desirable for most - almost every country will have its fans) will give you a better chance at getting a job at a decent to good school. I wouldn't want my son to attend the #4 international school in Taipei, however great that city is. I'd rather have him attend the best international school in Ethiopia, and I'd rather work there myself as well.
Discussion
Accepting for the moment that focusing on the IS over the location is in all ways better for the IT, how does that bare any positivity on trailing spouses or non-school age dependents. Great the IT has an awesome super cool IS, whats the trailing spouse to do, they are either stuck in a location that has little to offer, or they find some way to like the IT spend more time at the IS or they end up watching DVDs on their laptop at home.
There are a surprising number of locations that are not nearly interesting enough to last me even a single year.
I would find SG far more appealing in certain social endeavors than Azerbaijan, especially considering the differences in the language barrier.
The #4 Is in Taipei is WAY WAY better an option than the #1 IS in Ethiopia. I would also MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer working in Taipei than Ethiopia.
There are a surprising number of locations that are not nearly interesting enough to last me even a single year.
I would find SG far more appealing in certain social endeavors than Azerbaijan, especially considering the differences in the language barrier.
The #4 Is in Taipei is WAY WAY better an option than the #1 IS in Ethiopia. I would also MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer working in Taipei than Ethiopia.
Re: Where in the World to Start?
Many Thanks for all of the information. It has been very helpful, particularly in regards to further training/education.
Just to clarify - yes, my husband will be joining me, however he won’t be relying on my income. He can do his current job online, or (depending on our location) could possibly find his own employment. He works in finance.
Our plan was always to look into moving overseas once our kids all finished school (3 kids) but, much to our surprise, our youngest has expressed an interest in joining us. This would turn our 4.5 - 5 year plan into a 2.5 year plan. He would be in his second last year of school when we move, and he wants to gain entry into university after high school (so assuming he does join us, a good school for him is important).
Asia would suit us due to ease of travel to Aus to visit family, but included flights in employment package is by no means a deal breaker.
I’ll have about 7-8 years teaching experience by the time we move. Not a lot, but more than a little I suppose. I also have an environmental science degree, however no real experience in that field of work.
In regards to learning the language - I realise that won’t affect employability and lot - it would be more for personal benefit.
Our early research has been leading us towards KL as a good option. Ease of transition, and possibly beneficial for all of us. I’d love to know more about how competitive the job market is there.
A few comments have led me to believe some places prefer to hire male teachers. This is the case in Australia too. Is this typical in many locations??
Just to clarify - yes, my husband will be joining me, however he won’t be relying on my income. He can do his current job online, or (depending on our location) could possibly find his own employment. He works in finance.
Our plan was always to look into moving overseas once our kids all finished school (3 kids) but, much to our surprise, our youngest has expressed an interest in joining us. This would turn our 4.5 - 5 year plan into a 2.5 year plan. He would be in his second last year of school when we move, and he wants to gain entry into university after high school (so assuming he does join us, a good school for him is important).
Asia would suit us due to ease of travel to Aus to visit family, but included flights in employment package is by no means a deal breaker.
I’ll have about 7-8 years teaching experience by the time we move. Not a lot, but more than a little I suppose. I also have an environmental science degree, however no real experience in that field of work.
In regards to learning the language - I realise that won’t affect employability and lot - it would be more for personal benefit.
Our early research has been leading us towards KL as a good option. Ease of transition, and possibly beneficial for all of us. I’d love to know more about how competitive the job market is there.
A few comments have led me to believe some places prefer to hire male teachers. This is the case in Australia too. Is this typical in many locations??
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Lastname_Z
- Posts: 120
- Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 12:17 pm
Re: Where in the World to Start?
While flights may not be a dealbreaker, they are a standard part of the contract (in the form of a pre-paid flight or a stipend for flying).
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Heliotrope
- Posts: 1171
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 1:48 am
Re: Discussion
PsyGuy wrote:
> Accepting for the moment that focusing on the IS over the location is in
> all ways better for the IT, how does that bare any positivity on trailing
> spouses or non-school age dependents. Great the IT has an awesome super
> cool IS, whats the trailing spouse to do, they are either stuck in a
> location that has little to offer, or they find some way to like the IT
> spend more time at the IS or they end up watching DVDs on their laptop at
> home.
I assume any trailing spouse would want the best school for their kid, and also the best possible school for their teaching spouse.
There are hardly any locations that have nothing to offer, in some you just have to look harder. Maybe you have to miss out on racketball games, but I haven't been in any city where the trailing spouses were unable to have a jolly good time if they wanted to.
> There are a surprising number of locations that are not nearly interesting
> enough to last me even a single year.
I would say that that says more about you than about the average person.
> The #4 Is in Taipei is WAY WAY better an option than the #1 IS in Ethiopia.
> I would also MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer working in Taipei than Ethiopia.
Nope.
The #1 school in Ethiopia is a pretty good school.
Not as good as the #1 and #2 in Taipei, but lots better than #4 in Taipei.
Even the #2 in Ethiopia is better than #4 in Taipei.
The #1 in Addis Ababa has a much more international student population that any IS in Taiwan (including the #1 and #2), and academically the #1 in Addis Ababa is way better than #3 in Taipei (going by which universities they end up in), and the same is true for the #2 in Addis Ababa.
> Accepting for the moment that focusing on the IS over the location is in
> all ways better for the IT, how does that bare any positivity on trailing
> spouses or non-school age dependents. Great the IT has an awesome super
> cool IS, whats the trailing spouse to do, they are either stuck in a
> location that has little to offer, or they find some way to like the IT
> spend more time at the IS or they end up watching DVDs on their laptop at
> home.
I assume any trailing spouse would want the best school for their kid, and also the best possible school for their teaching spouse.
There are hardly any locations that have nothing to offer, in some you just have to look harder. Maybe you have to miss out on racketball games, but I haven't been in any city where the trailing spouses were unable to have a jolly good time if they wanted to.
> There are a surprising number of locations that are not nearly interesting
> enough to last me even a single year.
I would say that that says more about you than about the average person.
> The #4 Is in Taipei is WAY WAY better an option than the #1 IS in Ethiopia.
> I would also MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer working in Taipei than Ethiopia.
Nope.
The #1 school in Ethiopia is a pretty good school.
Not as good as the #1 and #2 in Taipei, but lots better than #4 in Taipei.
Even the #2 in Ethiopia is better than #4 in Taipei.
The #1 in Addis Ababa has a much more international student population that any IS in Taiwan (including the #1 and #2), and academically the #1 in Addis Ababa is way better than #3 in Taipei (going by which universities they end up in), and the same is true for the #2 in Addis Ababa.
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Heliotrope
- Posts: 1171
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 1:48 am
Re: Where in the World to Start?
Lastname_Z wrote:
> While flights may not be a dealbreaker, they are a standard part of the
> contract (in the form of a pre-paid flight or a stipend for flying).
I agree with @Lastname_Z, and it also tells something about the school if they don't include this. Typically, the kind of schools that don't aren't the schools you want to work at, regardless of whether or not you care about the money you'd be missing out on.
> While flights may not be a dealbreaker, they are a standard part of the
> contract (in the form of a pre-paid flight or a stipend for flying).
I agree with @Lastname_Z, and it also tells something about the school if they don't include this. Typically, the kind of schools that don't aren't the schools you want to work at, regardless of whether or not you care about the money you'd be missing out on.
Re: Where in the World to Start?
The issues with a trailing spouse are less about whether he needs to rely on your income, and more about whether he will be happy, and whether the school considers you valuable enough to merit the expense.
Why do schools care about his happiness? Because unhappy or bored spouses convince their teaching spouses to leave sooner rather than later. It sounds like you have a plan to keep him occupied and busy, so that’s a good start.
And the expense piece? Decent schools provide housing, flights, medical insurance and tuition for family members. With one teacher and two dependents, that’s a bigger house, triple the flights, triple the insurance, etc. It’ll cost them in the range of 15,000 annually or more to bring your family. Plus however much they lose in income by giving a space to your son. In some schools that’s 0, and in others they’re turning away a student paying $20,000 annually. This is a real thing.
Why do schools care about his happiness? Because unhappy or bored spouses convince their teaching spouses to leave sooner rather than later. It sounds like you have a plan to keep him occupied and busy, so that’s a good start.
And the expense piece? Decent schools provide housing, flights, medical insurance and tuition for family members. With one teacher and two dependents, that’s a bigger house, triple the flights, triple the insurance, etc. It’ll cost them in the range of 15,000 annually or more to bring your family. Plus however much they lose in income by giving a space to your son. In some schools that’s 0, and in others they’re turning away a student paying $20,000 annually. This is a real thing.
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Thames Pirate
- Posts: 1188
- Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:06 am
Re: Where in the World to Start?
I think (correct me if I am wrong) what Heliotrope means is avoiding the high-demand areas in favour of lesser ones. Everyone wants a place like Bangkok or Taiwan, but far fewer people want Cambodia. Yet my friends who taught there LOVED it. They also taught in the Kurdish region of Iraq, and it was their favourite posting. In both cases they said the school was excellent, and both had the IBDP. Central America might also be a great option. Many of these schools will provide IB PYP or ICP training. That said, you also want to live a bit more immersed and learn the local language. Central America would give you Spanish, but Cambodia would be the far less accessible or useful Khmer. Flights home would be cheaper from Cambodia, though.
While there are a lot of teachers who want to go to Bangkok, there are also a lot of schools. You might have better luck getting in at the "lower" end of the spectrum for a first posting. What I mean by that is that schools vary in quality. Here you will often hear them called Tier 1-3. There is no hard and fast definition, but typically the "Tier 1" schools are the older, more established international schools. These are often the ones recommended by, for example, the US State Dept and often have the children of diplomats. They are highly international in terms of both staff and students and tend to have the best pay and benefits. They typically offer IB or AP or both and have established programs and reputations. It's harder to get in as a teacher, though I wouldn't rule it out, either--applying never hurt anyone. Tier 2 schools are often very good as well; sometimes they are simply the second school in a city. These, depending on the city, might also be quite competitive. Tier 3 schools range wildly, from for-profit diploma mills to up and coming but small schools to ones with a specialised vision to ones that are great but serve an almost entirely local population. Some of them can be really fantastic places to work, though the package may not be as generous. Some of them are dumps in which you would be miserable. Some are great for kids but not teachers and vice versa. Caution is advised. Remember that tier classifications are entirely subjective and based on reputation, hearsay, and factors that may or may not be important to any given person. Use the descriptions as a guide only.
A place like Cambodia is likely to have only one main school, but because the destination isn't at the top of most people's list and the school is not out of this world, it generally isn't considered a Tier 1. AIS Dhaka often makes the list of top schools in terms of places to work or be a student, but the living conditions are not ideal, so people might not want to go. Both of these are worth a look, but both might be competitive. For a first posting, a great many people end up at a "lower tier" school, where they get IB trained, get into the international teaching world, and sometimes fall in love and stay. Do not let anyone tell you that a "lower tier" is not as good simply because of some imagined prestige; if it is a place you enjoy teaching and allows you a life you love, what more do you need?
To answer the rest of your post more specifically:
--High demand places: China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and some other SE Asia are probably the highest and places like Mongolia are probably lowest. But of course there is a simple supply / demand equation at work. At the moment, nobody wants to go to Turkmenistan, so the demand is high ;) The better question is "where are there jobs available that I could see myself accepting?"
--Pay varies wildly. Some schools pay peanuts but provide housing. Some pay well and provide nothing. Some pay well and provide housing. Do your homework on things like local tax rate, local housing, average cost of things like transportation, and whether flights home or relocation allowances are included.
--Most schools are private, though many receive funding--sometimes from a specific government (Turkey has schools in many places, for example), sometimes from host governments--and this money may or may not come with strings. But the US has Department of Defence schools, and I'd imagine these exist for other countries. These are often not counted in the "international school" circuit.
--Yes, benefits vary wildly, both by location and individual schools. Some schools have fixed contracts, while others allow you to negotiate.
--Yes and no. It never hurts to get familiar with those things, but I wouldn't pay to get training in the PYP. Wait until a school hires you and let them pay for it.
--TEFL isn't necessarily a huge asset, though of course it doesn't hurt. Just be good at what you do. Extracurriculars, leadership, etc. might also be factors--if the football coach retires, the school might need someone able to fill that role.
At the end of the day it's homework, homework, homework.
Best of luck!
While there are a lot of teachers who want to go to Bangkok, there are also a lot of schools. You might have better luck getting in at the "lower" end of the spectrum for a first posting. What I mean by that is that schools vary in quality. Here you will often hear them called Tier 1-3. There is no hard and fast definition, but typically the "Tier 1" schools are the older, more established international schools. These are often the ones recommended by, for example, the US State Dept and often have the children of diplomats. They are highly international in terms of both staff and students and tend to have the best pay and benefits. They typically offer IB or AP or both and have established programs and reputations. It's harder to get in as a teacher, though I wouldn't rule it out, either--applying never hurt anyone. Tier 2 schools are often very good as well; sometimes they are simply the second school in a city. These, depending on the city, might also be quite competitive. Tier 3 schools range wildly, from for-profit diploma mills to up and coming but small schools to ones with a specialised vision to ones that are great but serve an almost entirely local population. Some of them can be really fantastic places to work, though the package may not be as generous. Some of them are dumps in which you would be miserable. Some are great for kids but not teachers and vice versa. Caution is advised. Remember that tier classifications are entirely subjective and based on reputation, hearsay, and factors that may or may not be important to any given person. Use the descriptions as a guide only.
A place like Cambodia is likely to have only one main school, but because the destination isn't at the top of most people's list and the school is not out of this world, it generally isn't considered a Tier 1. AIS Dhaka often makes the list of top schools in terms of places to work or be a student, but the living conditions are not ideal, so people might not want to go. Both of these are worth a look, but both might be competitive. For a first posting, a great many people end up at a "lower tier" school, where they get IB trained, get into the international teaching world, and sometimes fall in love and stay. Do not let anyone tell you that a "lower tier" is not as good simply because of some imagined prestige; if it is a place you enjoy teaching and allows you a life you love, what more do you need?
To answer the rest of your post more specifically:
--High demand places: China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and some other SE Asia are probably the highest and places like Mongolia are probably lowest. But of course there is a simple supply / demand equation at work. At the moment, nobody wants to go to Turkmenistan, so the demand is high ;) The better question is "where are there jobs available that I could see myself accepting?"
--Pay varies wildly. Some schools pay peanuts but provide housing. Some pay well and provide nothing. Some pay well and provide housing. Do your homework on things like local tax rate, local housing, average cost of things like transportation, and whether flights home or relocation allowances are included.
--Most schools are private, though many receive funding--sometimes from a specific government (Turkey has schools in many places, for example), sometimes from host governments--and this money may or may not come with strings. But the US has Department of Defence schools, and I'd imagine these exist for other countries. These are often not counted in the "international school" circuit.
--Yes, benefits vary wildly, both by location and individual schools. Some schools have fixed contracts, while others allow you to negotiate.
--Yes and no. It never hurts to get familiar with those things, but I wouldn't pay to get training in the PYP. Wait until a school hires you and let them pay for it.
--TEFL isn't necessarily a huge asset, though of course it doesn't hurt. Just be good at what you do. Extracurriculars, leadership, etc. might also be factors--if the football coach retires, the school might need someone able to fill that role.
At the end of the day it's homework, homework, homework.
Best of luck!