Job Discussion Forums

[rustbot82]

I'm teaching ESL right now, but I'm considering going back to the US and getting certified to be a science teacher. And then trying to work in the international private school sector. I know science is hot, and there are lots of jobs in general within science education. But I don't know much about international schools. Anyone know what conditions are like in that field?

What are salaries like at international schools? Anyone have real numbers about max/min?

Do they get the summer, and a bit of winter, off to do as they please like conventional teachers?

Thanks everyone

[tttompatz]

[naturegirl321]

Intl schools vary. There are local hires and those hired abroad, locals hires get paid A LOT less, which is ironic, since they are there for the long term. Pay varies by country, but I can tell you that most people in Peru certainly aren't getting 40K a year. I was getting 1500 a month.

look at www.tes.co.uk and www.ibo.org to get a better idea of intl schools.

[Zero]

The tricky thing right now is that international schools generally (not always) require two years of home-country experience. And in the U.S. at the moment, the job market for teachers is horrendous. Science and math teachers have it a little easier, English and social studies teachers much harder, but overall, it's hard to find a job and get those two years of experience.

That said, I still think it's not a bad idea for you. By the time you complete a program, who knows how the job market will be? If necessary you could apply to rural or inner-cities in higher-demand states and tough it out for a couple of years getting experience. Then you would be set for a lifetime of good earnings, secure employment and high adventure as an international-school teacher. The contracts tend to go for two years.

A caveat: International schools have a (usually) unwritten hierarchy of whom they like to hire.

-Teaching couples with no kids are most desirable.

-Families with two teachers are desirable as long as the kid-to-teacher ratio doesn't exceed 1:1. That is, they don't want a single parent with two or more kids. They don't want a teaching couple with three or more kids.

-Single people with no kids can be hired, but will often be passed over in favor of teaching couples. I've heard of an international school having a sign saying "Couples only" at a recruitment fair. Being a science teacher, as opposed to English or social studies, helps.

-Married couples where one spouse is not a teacher and/or the kid-to-teacher ratio exceeds 1:1. Difficult or impossible to find a job. You will likely have to seek out less desirable locations and/or marginal schools. And they may not be willing to enroll all of your kids for free.

[LH123]

My sum total experience of international school teaching is two and a half years at an IB school in South America. I am no expert, but here is what I understand/have inferred about international schools generally, from my experience and from having spoken to others (...and forgive the obvious disclaimer: Exceptions Abound).

1. International Schools pay well, usually far more than language academies in the same location.

2. While they are generally fussy about qualifications and experience (a formally accepted teaching qualification from your home country, or a Masters degree in education, say...), they will sometimes take on less qualified people if they are in a pinch. One person I know got a job as a maths teacher at an international school armed with nothing more than a CELTA.

3. Sometimes they are tucked away far out of town, with the school almost resembling a university campus. I understand that this can feel isolated, lonely, and boring.

4. They will provide you with accommodation (which can vary from nice to ghastly), or subsidise your own.

5. Paid health insurance, visas, and flights to and from at the beginning and end of your contract are normal. There may well be other perks as well.

6. You will most likely be earning 2 to 3 times that of the local teachers, who may resent you for said fact.

7. Some 'international schools' are international, in the sense that the students come from many different countries. Most, however, have students only from that one country - the schools are 'international' in the sense that there are some foreign teachers, teaching at least a partially foreign curriculum.

8. Some of the teachers are 'lifers', but many are transient, just like TEFL.

9. The children will likely be upper-middle class or higher - you won't have to worry about being stabbed, but snobbery, lack of respect, and laziness are real potential problems. This is not a given, though, it will depend on the culture of the country and of the specific school.

10. As with language academies, some are professionally and ethically run, others are not. There are, I understand, plenty of online forums where such things are discussed.

11. Much of the work of a school teacher is bureaucratic. While EFL teachers, for the most part, teach, international school teachers will spend a lot more time (proportionally) planning, marking, attending meetings & workshops, sending and receiving emails, talking to parents, etc... It is complicated and hectic, and frequently quite stressful. Some people (myself not included) thrive in such environments, however.

12. Some schools align themselves with a particular country (so you might find a school which announces itself as being Canadian, say, or British), while others are more generically 'international'. This may involve the partial teaching of a curriculum from said country (a 'British' school might teach iGCSEs, for example...), or it may simply be an exercise in publicity.

13. While in EFL, teachers work (for the most part) autonomously, in international schools departments are viewed as 'teams', and teachers are expected to behave as such. Paradoxically, this can potentially cause greater social discord - social cliques, gossip, drama, paranoia, and Machiavellian scheming kind of go with the territory.

14. Being an international school teacher will, usually, command you more respect, admiration and deference than being a TEFL teacher - rightly or wrongly.

15. Generally, the pecking order of teachers is decided by the age group you teach - the older the students, the more important you are. It shouldn't be like this. Correspondingly, an 11th grade teacher will be viewed as "more important" than a pre-school teacher.

16. Expatriate teachers are sometimes given unfair deference compared to their local colleagues. Depending on the culture of the school, some expats consider themselves superior to the locals by virtue of their 'western-ness'. I understand that sometimes, however, the opposite can be the case.

17. While many EFL curricula are open-ended, in the sense that no-one really cares too much what you teach as long as the students are happy, international schools will usually be far more specific in terms of what you teach when. Strangely, perhaps, I actually quite liked this.

18. International schools can vary wildly in size, some having less than a hundred students, and some (purportedly) having more than ten thousand.

Reading through this now, it sounds like I am being very negative. That's not my intention; lots of people have very positive experiences at international schools! Perhaps this is coloured by the fact that I, personally, did not enjoy my foray into that environment.

Good luck!

[naturegirl321]

[Serious_Fun]

[urdoox]

hmm. interesting.

[1st Sgt Welsh]

[fladude]

1st Sarge, there are always jobs out there and I'm sure you know how to pound on doors. That said, I don't know about England (or even if you are from there), but in the US its pretty easy to become an alternatively certified teacher. So it might be best to go back and get the cert and work a year or two at a school. Remember education is very bureaucratic and some administrators will actually see a PHD in a content area as a liability (unless its in education of course).

I know. I have a Juris Doctorate and a degree in history and I am often criticized by my vice principal for teaching my classes "like college classes." Even though I get good marks for knowing the subject area, I am dinged because I don't use "insert moronic education buzzword of the week" during my lectures. And of course... I lecture... which is looked down on by a lot of the dumber administrators (who did not know enough about their content area to lecture when they were teaching). Overall, if you enjoyed graduate school then you probably won't like teaching at a high school, but the experience is still good experience.

While it is harder to get a job in the US today as an educator it is certainly not impossible. Its only impossible if you are committed to staying in one area and teaching at an EZ mode suburban school. Many people own a house and refuse to move and abandon it so they can't get a job, or they refuse to work at certain schools. That said, jobs in rural areas, jobs in the inner city, jobs on reservations, and that sort of thing are still always turning over staff as people quit (usually while pulling their hair out or having a nervous break down). A guy with a PHD in history would probably enjoy the experience of teaching on a reservation for a year or two anyway (even though you'd hate it while you were there....). Even though the actual day to day experience would be nightmarish and certainly not for the faint of heart, you would still look back on it when you are done and be glad that you did it.

Oh and don't think that teaching on a reservation will be slack. The NCLB cops, religious missionaries, and education zealots flock to these places for some reason. Unless you are a religious nut who believes it is your life goal to enforce the policies of the department of education and to convert the poor dumb heathens on the reservation (and I most certainly am not) then you will hate your co-workers. But like I said, its still a great experience when you are finally done with it.

Anyway, check with your local state to find out how to become a certified teacher through alternative means. It will be cheaper than getting a Masters in Education, and even if you got a Masters you still wouldn't be a certified teacher (as ironic as that sounds). Its all about paperwork in K-12.

[1st Sgt Welsh]

Thanks so much fladude for the informative post. Maybe the PhD won't be such a deal sweetner after all

Not so much interested in teaching in North America, but I would be intrigued by possibilities of working in a good international school in Latin America (mainly Argentina, Brazil, maybe Venezula and Mexico), Africa (Namibia, Botswana, Kenya and possibly Egypt), almost anywhere in Asia (especially the Philippines) and continental Europe. In regards to Europe I don't have an EU passport so there is probably a good chance that this will never happen. I suppose there is always Russia Of course, there are opportunities as an EFL teacher in many of these countries, but it appears that the conditions would be much better in the international schools.

Thanks again fladude. I don't want to hijack the thread, but if anyone else has any further insights as to whether someone of my background could be an "overseas hire" it would be great to hear from you.