The better paying schools in Latin America tend to be in the more stressful places to live in. The big cities, essentially, and often they are the capitals. So, there you have the traffic to deal with, pollution etc. Sao Paulo, Bogota, Santiago, Caracas, Lima, Mexico City etc etc. So...it's a bit of a mix.

Usually, American schools hire Brits, and British schools hire American teachers. There might not be many, but international schools do tend to have some teachers from various countries.

I'm not sure I'd want to work at a school that only had, say, teachers from the US or Canada or the UK. Kind of defeats the whole idea of being an "International" school. Then again, there are plenty of "International" schools (or so they sell themselves as) that have only local staff, so what do I know?

Most schools in Latin America seem to sell themselves as being bilingual rather than exclusively English-medium, although there are a few that only have Spanish lessons in Spanish. The better IB schools tend to expect their best students to take both English and Spanish as a Group 1 IB subject, for example, and to gain a fully bilingual IB Diploma. There are even some German, French and Canadian schools. For example, there is a Canadian school in Guadalajara and a German school in Barranquilla, Colombia. Search these links for schools, there are loads in the Americas.

http://www.ibo.org/iba/
http://www.lahc.net/home.htm
http://www.aassa.com/

To be truthful, lots of schools in the region have trouble attracting teachers at all, and uncertified teachers have been taken on in the past, including at some of the best schools in the region, although I won't mention names. This was particularly so amongst their local hires (i.e. foreigners hired locally). This seems to be changing as the continent is becoming a more attractive destination it seems. However, there are a lot of low-paying schools around, and beggars can't always be choosers...

On the other hand, some of the top schools have excellent packages, but they are obviously far more difficult to get in.

A PGCE is a Post Graduate Certificate of Education, in other words - UK certification. A PGCE means you are UK certified, so therefore yes obviously with that you could teach at any school in Latin America, including all the American schools, and be able to get a work visa. So yes, you would be fully qualified.

Some schools might have prefer you to have, say, IB experience of experience of teaching internationally, or in the States, or for a certain number of years having taught in England. However, that is experience rather than relating to qualifications which was what was mentioned by the OP.

UK qualified teachers (just like US/Canadian/Australian etc) are present all over Latin America.

Hi,

I was considering trying for a position in Russia, but that was before the whole Ukraine situation became so heated. I was wondering if anybody could answer any of, or all of, these questions -

1. What is the situation in Russia now for expat teachers?
2. What other Eastern European nations could be recommended instead?
3. Does Russian get you by in those other countries, or would you really need to learn the local language? I heard Russian is a good way to communicate in various countries if you wanted to explore travel options in all of Eastern Europe.

Thanks,
Rover

Venezuela is a dangerous country, and Caracas is VERY dangerous. Yes, I know from personal experience and furthermore know plenty of other people that have lived there and left as soon as their contract was over, glad to have saved some money and gotten the hell out.

It's a shame, as it is such a great country in many ways and with so much potential, but it is a dangerous, violent place. That's just a verifiable fact. Check out the murder rates. It's not speculation or hyperbole. However, people move there and live a good life it's true.

Just make sure you are going in there with your eyes open, though.

Hi,

I have been with Search before but was just wondering...is it worth going with BOTH Search AND ISS? It's quite a bit of an outlay. Just wondering if it's really worth it both. Say, if I have 6 years+ international experience?

Thanks,
Rover

Shadowjack was just saying that if, hypothetically, 2 candidates are exactly the same and one had a masters, then they would get the nod.

That's pretty obvious but, in reality, how often are two teachers exactly the same? They might be strong but usually in at least slightly different ways.

Don't get a masters for your career, get it because it is what you personally want to do to push yourself in that way. Lots of people don't have them and do just fine.

There is nothing that the OP has mentioned in their first post that doesn't happen in many, many international schools. However, there are just as many great schools without those concerns. After all, we are talking about thousands of schools across the world in many varying cultures, exhibiting highly differing levels of quality.

If you were to generalise, you might say that for profit schools are likely to be more likely to exhibit symptoms, but then there are some good for profit schools as well. I think, if I was to look for the most common factor then I would look toward the position the schools takes toward the parents. If a parent came in and complained, would the school investigate the matter transparently and do what it saw correct, or would it instead be looking for the first opportunity to appease the parent? Are they, after all, a paying customer and therefore should be kept sweet? It doesn't take much to realise how that could lead them to pressurise the teacher so as to leave the parent happy, and still paying each month...

A new for-profit school can also have all these, but there's no hard and fast rule.

A good international school supports its teachers, does not interfere in grading unless in exceptional circumstances and realises that it is best to concentrate on getting right just a few new initiatives each year, rather than introducing too much all at once and having them all turn out unsatisfactory.

How do you mean grdwdgrrrl? Is it a for profit school?

Hi Briz - so if you had the chance to go to the two BKK fairs again, would you do so or choose just one? Are you saying that you think Search was better for experienced teachers, but how experienced do you mean? 2 years or 5 years+ IB experience?

Thanks,
rover

I'm pretty sure that the average in Lima, Peru and Santiago, Chile is at the very, very least double the $20k mentioned.

Over half the IB schools around the world ONLY offer DP.

As such, it's a no-brainer as to what would be most useful for the old CV. Many schools are as likely to offer IGCSEs as they are the MYP as a prelude to the DP Programme.

If I was you I would literally apply anywhere and just grab whatever chance you have to get those initial IB experience years. Hong Kong...Singapore...don't think you'd have much of a chance there to be blunt, in fact I'd rip up the list you have and just apply everywhere, certainly not just cool places to have fun that already have loads of resident foreigners like most of South East Asia.

In a few years time, with IB experience on the CV, you would be still be young and inexperienced but you would at least get people to look at your resume.

[quote="Mick Travis"]Also, the majority of that majority will be North American teachers. Generally UK teachers don't bother with Masters, at least not in the first stages of a career. The process of teacher training/qualification/hiring does not really give room for doing a Masters. [/quote]

No, but those wishing to move up the ladder tend to already have a masters, or get one in the process of doing so. Masters are overrated, but if they are taken by a good teacher it will help them improve. It will likewise make an idiot a prize idiot rather than just an average one.