Job Discussion Forums

[Pan Alexander]

Hello Everybody,

This is my first post in this forum (I am so glad to have found it), and I am here to ask you for advice on teaching internationally. I have considered some options, but I am still not sure which path to set foot at.

I will be soon finishing graduate school at a US state university that is among the top-25, and I would like to teach. Doing so at college is unlikely to be an option, since I "only" have a Master's degree (in Mathematics / Statistics). Almost all four-year colleges require PhD's, and competition for jobs in academia is very fierce right now.

I need to state that teaching at an international high school sounds like a lucrative option, but I have no teaching license nor teaching experience at high school level. The only experiences I have are two-year college math teaching experience as a TA and three-year tutoring experience. Why am I interested in teaching internationally first place? Well, I am fluent in English, German and Russian, I have lived in countries where these languages are spoken, and I think that the language skills and the cultural experiences during my lives in these countries give me a competitive edge. Keep in mind that I am not a native English speaker. Most teaching jobs at international schools require the candidates to be native English speakers, but I think that this problem is not as weighting as the lack of teaching license. (Someone who has learned English the "hard way" may even better relate to internatinonal students than a native English speaker).

Teaching at a community college in the US would be an adequate fit, since a Master's degree is sufficient for most available positions, but the biggest obstacle is the paperwork. I am a citizen of a EU country, and the community college would have to sponsor a work visa for me. Given the glut of university graduates with Masters and PhD degrees, I am rather skeptical that a community college would favor me over a US citizen who doesn't require any additional paperwork to be completed. I will give it a try, but this is not something to have much hope for.

So do you know if there exist US community college equivalents overseas? I have conducted some research and found that there are American universities in Asia and the Middle East, but they are 4-year college equivalents, not community college equivalents that are content with the candidate having a Master's degree.

Also, I was wondering if there is a way to establish a full-time tutoring job in an international expat community overseas. Not only will I have four-year tutoring experience with a stellar record by the time of my graduation, but I could tutor Math, Physics, Statistics and other subjects in the three languages mentioned above (oh yes, I could tutor languages, too). I think there should be demand for flexible multilingual tutors, but I have no experience to give a definite judgement. Maybe some of you do?

I would be glad if someone could give me an advice or a hint. Your answers are greatly appreciated!

[spiral78]

I think that you are really speaking of something of a niche, rather than a generally widely available job type.
I would guess that your best bet would be to focus on places where you have a legal right to work already (EU, I assume). Niche jobs are usually not advertised internationally, and usually go to someone with local contacts and reputation. I think that if you zero in on a city, go there and apply for jobs starting in early September (I am thinking EU here - most contracts are Sept-June), that you are likely to find something entry-level. If you then pay some dues, you should eventually be able to land something better.
Of course, you might get lucky somewhere meanwhile, but the only relatively sure way I know of to get a niche position is described above, and requires some investment of time, energy, and money up front.
Speaking from 15+ years of personal experience

[Pan Alexander]

Thank you for your reply!

I would obviously prefer a less risky and more predictable job search option. Nearly all EU citizens are allowed to work anywhere within the European Union, but how do you know which city to settle in if you don't know where the local demand is - but then you can't figure out the latter if you don't move to the specific city.

I was wondering if there is really no way that you could teach at a secondary level in high school without a teaching certificate, even if you have accumulated some teaching experience. I have read that some private high schools do hire unlicensed teachers as long as they possess the academic qualifications...

And maybe someone has another suggestion on which path to choose that I haven't thought of yet.

[MotherF]

You should look into English medium universities (not "American" universities) in the Middle East. They have a foundation year where students improve their English and basic math skills before taking specialized courses for their major. You can find jobs like that on these three websites:

http://www.mathjobs.org/jobs?joblist-----40

http://www.higheredjobs.com/default.cfm

http://chronicle.com/section/Jobs/61/

For example this job from higher ed jobs
http://www.higheredjobs.com/international/details.cfm?JobCode=175740359&Title=Instructor%20in%20Mathematics%20-%20Foundation%20Skills%20Program



Good luck,

Mother

[Big Worm]

Interested in China?

[scot47]

Unis in Saudi Arabia do this but my experience was that the the Maths jobs are held by Arabs and Asians.

[coledavis]

I believe that there is a shortage of mathematics teachers in the UK (they call it maths there, by the way, not math). I think for shortage teachers, they can offer on the job teacher training.

http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/teacher-training-options/itt-routes/~/link.aspx?_id=5FD3DD39F1674EBDA25BBF30971A0D23&_z=z

[Pan Alexander]

@ MotherF

Thank you for your information. The links you provided seem to be a good fit for my profile. Too bad that these jobs are not as plentiful as teaching positions at international schools, but I will continue looking out for uni positions.

As far as being interested in China - that obviously depends on the position and salary. I am generally not opposed to working there, but I would need to know the specifics before making a decision.

[nomad soul]

[Pan Alexander]

[coledavis]

Well even easier then, as an EU citizen you should get onto the UK teacher training system. Look up the url I gave you and have a chat with them.

[nomad soul]

[Pan Alexander]

[Pan Alexander]

One more question about the UK teacher training program:

Upon its completion, the participant is awarded the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) according to the website. I wonder whether that award is an equivalent of a teacher certification already, which would be recognized by international schools, or whether I need to complete some follow-up training leading to an internationally recognized certificate. I have not been able to find precise information on that in the web so far.

[nomad soul]