Job Discussion Forums

[Kansas]

Hi all - Apologies in advance for the long post, but you know, it's complicated.
So, I first joined Dave's Cafe in ... 1996?
I have a BA (from 1995) in Political Science, and what was a TEFL Cert from a university - but they've since changed & no longer offer the TEFL Cert, so all I have on paper is something saying a I completed 1 masters level course in teaching EFL.
in 1997 - I got a job teaching in Istanbul, Turkey. I liked it a lot, I married a Turk, and all told I taught K-5 and also did consulting for local schools and private lessons & curriculum development & teacher training for a total of about 8 years.
(The turk and I are disorganized in our life planning, we moved alot, including a couple trans-atlantic moves, but add up all the 2 or 3 year chunks together, and you get 8 years of EFL teaching experience)

Over time, we had 4 kids - they are now between the ages of 10-16. And I got a Masters degree. A masters in public administration, with a certificate in non-profit management. (Note - Nothing in particular to do with education.) Here in America, in the past 5 years, I've worked as a national volunteer trainer, built & implemented strategic plans, and other fancy sounding nonprofit things (capacity building! grassroots fundraising campaigns! donor development!) and (if I do say so myself) have a fairly respectable resume for someone who was kind of disorganized for quite awhile. (see above.) ('')

The Turk works from home doing contract IT stuff, so where we live does not concern him, in particular. But I just turned 40 and am being struck with wanderlust. (again) must.get.overseas.

We dont want to go back to Turkey. We want to see if we could get somewhere new. And probably not the ME, because, you know, geopolitics are hot there right now. But, now with all my strategic planning experience under my belt, I'd like to see if we could do this *strategically*.

So - Hive Mind - what do we think the odds are of me getting a job doing school administration? Or, teaching? (preferably admin?) And - the most important part - what do we think the odds are of me getting a job that will pay relocation & housing costs?
So, ideally, right - I would get a job in the American schools, or International Schools, and they would allow my kids to go to those schools.
Do I need to go back to school to get a M.Ed? Would that help at all? Or be a waste of money?
And that is pretty much my life story so far. Thanks for reading the loooong post thoughts?

[nomad soul]

[suphanburi]

OP:

Home country licensure coupled with your current credentials will probably get you an entry level position in a decent international school.

Getting into admin will often require experience in educational (rather than unrelated) admin positions.

Moving up will be a matter of showing the leadership skills and moving into HOD type positions. AFTER you get that under your belt you are more likely to find admin positions in mainstream international schools.

that said, try looking at places like "Search Associates" for admin positions. Unlike applying for teaching posts, applying for admin jobs does NOT require signing up and pay a fee.

.

[Kansas]

So it sounds like becoming a licensed teacher in the US is a good first step. And, I can teach in the class room for a few years while I get my MA/MEd.....
1) Classroom experience as a licensed teacher in the US is very important?

2) Does the International School system care if I do this through online courses (of an accredited university) or is it better to do brick&mortar classes?

For example - the University of Northern Iowa looks like they have an international school job fair every year, & they have "Master of Arts in Education (MAE) - for teacher leaders in American International Schools" offered entirely online. I live no where near Iowa, so this could be good, but only if online degrees get the same respect.
And, I do live close enough to Iowa that I could be there in person for the annual international job fair, if that's worth anything.

I kind of figured they would hire HOD/admin from people inside the system, I just want to be on a path that will actually get me there IRL, so in 10 years or so I might actually be doing something I really like in a country I really like. #winning.

[Kansas]

AND - we're sure that the focus on English Language Arts makes more sense than say, becoming a licensed high school math teacher?

Because if I want to grow up and teach in the International Schools, they teach all subjects in English, right? So does becoming a licensed teacher in something other than English make me more marketable or less?

[nomad soul]