Job Discussion Forums

[kavanluc]

Hi everyone,


After I finish my master's next year, I'm looking for ideas about where to teach abroad. Fortunately, I'm pretty open to suggestions. But you'll need some information to inform your suggestions:

Qualifications:
--About 4 years experience teaching ESL in South Korea, and I currently have an F-6 visa (might need to renew soon), but we're not ready to go back to Korea just yet. This includes kindergarten, elementary, middle, and adult teaching.
--Teaching certificate from Washington DC
--Three years teaching upper elementary in DC public schools (after next year) with good references
--Next year I'll have finished a Master's in Education from Johns Hopkins University. Some of the classes were online.
--Bachelor's in English Literature from a small, private liberal arts college


Caveats:
--Not available to leave DC until July 2018
--I have a wife and a cat, and I'm not interested in going to places where I can't bring them.
--Europe would be nice.
--I'd be interested in places where I could get university experience, so that when we go back to South Korea I can meet the somewhat standard requirement of having two years teaching in a university.
--International schools seem interesting as well. Most recruiting sites for IB schools keep their job postings behind an application / pay wall. Is that always the case? If so, when should I begin seriously looking at international schools?


That's all I can think of for now. I really appreciate and am willing to consider most suggestions. Thanks in advance!

[spiral78]

Yes, Europe is nice, but assuming you are on a US passport, your options here are severely restricted.

Qualifications notwithstanding, you'll be limited to those countries in Central/Eastern Europe where US citizens can legally work. This means Czech Rep, Poland, Slovakia, Baltics (I think still open) and Russia (a different kettle of fish to the Central region in several important respects).

I have worked on the continent since 1998 and 'my' university has partners all over with whom I communicate quite often, so I have a few clues about the wider job market for a US citizen with a teaching cert and a new MA.

Essentially, you've got a great deal of competition. MA holders are pretty ubiquitous these days (the last job opening I advertised garnered interest from 26 related MA holders in addition to numerous lesser-qualified but hopeful candidates). Further, given equivalent quals, employers will logically prefer people who are already local, have local language skills, rep, and contacts.

I can't speak for international schools, except to note that openings in desirable Europe are pretty rare and also usually go to people with local ties.

Entry-level salaries at European universities are not usually enough to support an unemployed spouse unless you are both ready to live quite frugally. Employers in the region don't need to offer up front expenses like airfare and they usually don't do much regarding accommodations, either. It's also rare to get a job sight-unseen. All this implies up-front costs.

Overall, you might find something here but other locations would probably be easier and more likely.

[kavanluc]

Yes, I'm on a US passport. The wife telecommutes and does all her work at home, so no worries about an unemployed spouse.

I'm neither set on Europe, an international school, or a university. But probably at least one of the three. Also, I'm a bit confused, you wrote that you can't speak for international schools, then you proceeded to essentially write them off for me. Anyone actually know about international schools in Europe?

Anyway, thanks for the insights.

[spiral78]

Yes, well, good luck.

[MotherF]

If you are interested in Latin America and interested in continuing to teach in elementary schools then you might want to check out Teachers Latin America.
The only issue would be if you've been accumulating debt while working on your MA... You have the qualifications and experience for a job that will allow you to support the wife and cat in Latin America, but not to change the local pay into dollars to make loan payments.

[spanglish]

[nomad soul]

[spanglish]

[kavanluc]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Sorry to not respond earlier. Right after I posted that I went on a vacation for Spring break and completely forgot about it.

[nomad soul]

[goodEnglishes]

Given you general background as well as your experience teaching mixed-age groups, my two-cents is to go for international schools, which means you will need to be certified in the subject area (usually, or at least certified in something) you will be teaching in. A Master's won't cut it. I majored in English Literature, went into the Peace Corps, got an MA TESOL, and I still cannot teach at most international schools except in poorer countries desperate for teachers (warm bodies) because I'm not certified in anything. As part of my MA TESOL program, I even taught university students in the US majoring in education (and seeking certification)... That still doesn't matter. Get certified. International schools offer by far the best benefits and security. I have asked many colleagues with MA TESOLs if they would have done anything differently, and there is a not overwhelming but existent trend of acknowledging international schools to be the best posts and regretting not getting the proper certifications. I got an MA TESOL to teach university students but then wound up in Latin America teaching students who start university at age 16 and live with their parents throughout their university experience, which is to say that I might as well be teaching high school.

Final thought: Having the right certifications to teach at international schools plus at least a year or two of experience teaching in the US at the K-12 level will make you the most competitive for international schools abroad most of which want to see that you have successful experience with a US curriculum, etc.

[nomad soul]