Job Discussion Forums

[lmace41]

Hello Everyone,
Here is just a little about myself. I have a bachelor's degree in Education with a Reading minor. USA. I am currently working on my Master's degree in TESOL. I will finish October 2 in 2013. I have a husband and 2 sons, 16 and 13. I would like to travel and teach overseas. Any suggestion on where to start, or what would be a good fit for myself and my family. My husband also holds a master's degree in Composition and Theory. He is a pianist. He taught university level for 15 years.

[nomad soul]

Some questions:

- Do you have any teaching experience? If so, teaching what, specifically, and for how long and where?
- As for TEFL, what level or situation do you want to teach? K-12 schools? Adults in a language school? University level?
- What countries or regions are you interested in? Any that you absolutely want to avoid?
- Does your husband expect to continue teaching music, or are his interests also in TEFL?
- By the time you finish your MA, your oldest will be close to his last year of high school. Do you plan for him to stay and graduate in the US, or will he be going with the family overseas and graduating from a foreign school?

[scot47]

1. Education for your own children ? Make sure that provision is made in the form of an education allowance. This is NOT as common as it used to be

2. Have you looked at the possibility of teaching in an international school ?
Do a search on here and do some googling. There are recruitment fairs.

[Glenski]

International schools require a license from the home country and 2 years of experience there (at least for ISs in Japan).

What does your family think of all this? Can your husband speak/read/write any foreign languages?

[lmace41]

Thank you all for your responses. I have about 15 years of experience in teaching. I would like to teach at a university but am flexible. As far as the place, I am not that picky. Somewhere sunny would be nice, though. I am very interested in teaching at an international school. I have a license to teach in two different states, plus a reading endorsement. My dream is Austria, I am not sure about the sunny part though. I think my husband would have some possible opportunities. He has 15 years of teaching at the university level and is a pianist. ISS has a recruitment fair, but they charge a fee. Is that something I should expect? Thanks again for all you help.

[VietCanada]

I typed this into google and there were quite a few hits.

"International schools in Austria"

I'd start there. I would never pay a fee to find a job in this industry. Recruiters get paid by the school. I would line up a couple referees and contact the school directly.

Read their web page, look at the teachers if they are listed on the site. Use Linkedin.

Go for Austria! Why compromise before you even begin looking?

Go to the Austria or general European board on this site. Search for a forum dedicated to Austria or Europe or professional teachers working or seeking work at international schools.

The Internet is your friend.

[spiral78]

I've lived in the European region for the past 15 years. I have to disagree with VietCanada here to some degree, based on my first-hand knowledge of the teaching scene in Europe. Not sure what VC has based his advice upon, but his optimism is in conflict with what I know of employment conditions in this part of the world.

As regards Austria specifically, I have two long-term friends teaching in Austrian universities and 'my' university on the border with Germany partners with several universities in Austria, so we have considerable contact.

There are occasional openings at international schools in Austria, but they are extremely rare. The issue is that there is relatively little turnover in these positions; people who teach in international schools here (as in universities) usually have family ties and are here for the long-term.

Most will want you to have at least basic German language skills, and you will need direct contacts to be considered in most cases.

You'll need to be aware that Austria (as with the rest of Central and Western Europe) will strongly prefer teachers with passports from an EU country. An international school can get exceptional visas for non-EU teachers, but so long as there is an EU member citizen with equivalent skills and qualifications, there is little need for them to go through the expensive and complex legal processes required to do so.

There are lots of highly qualified teachers around; the last position for 'my' university advertised drew well over 25 solid CVs, meaning related MA + relevant experience + EU citizen.

It is by no means impossible that you will find something, and it's worth a search, but it's by no means a given that Europe or Austria will be within easy reach.

[zactherat]

spiral I just want to say that i love 'your' apostrophes.