Yeah, my wife and I were in the same boat. We have good jobs here in the states, and were not going to settle just to move abroad. We wanted to be picky. We didn't want to go somewhere with a young family where our jobs would be our lives. We turned down jobs in many of the Asian countries, elite and tier 1 schools, because they seemed like work would be our lives. So we are headed to a school and country in the old ME, not a Gulf country with seasons (snow sometimes), moderate weather, and one of the seven wonders of the world! Good luck with your job search.

[quote="gbr1964"]@nkraai
Thx for response and congrats on job...we are still hopeful for Aramco. We applied to a few other schools but nothing so far. Do you mind sharing where you are heading? We are only applying to schools we really want to go to as we are in a position that if we get it great and if we don't we are okay with that as well. Thanks again and best wishes on your next stop.[/quote]

Sorry that I didn't share what happened. We had cold contact from one of the principals and interviewed via Skype. The interview went really well as far as we were concerned. He told us to e-mail with additional questions, which we did. His responses were always professional and honest. Then about a week later, we got an e-mail saying that they were no longer interested. This was all back in late November. So, I don't have any additional information as far as how many hires, openings, etc. I walked away very impressed with the school, the organization, and especially the honesty of the principal on the realities of living in the middle of the desert in SA. We are headed to a fantastic school in the ME and very excited about it.

[quote="gbr1964"]@nkraii
have you heard any more about position at Aramco? Just wondering if anyone else had heard back from them or not. In my interview they stated that they were expecting to hire a large number of people this year so it might be a while before they know how many hires they will make in schools. How about you? Any news?[/quote]

[quote="gbr1964"]sorry nkraii...didn't even come close. Thanks for your input on the forum.[/quote]

Not sure what you are talking about when you say "didn't even come close?"

Good luck with the interviewing!

[quote="kabdurr"]Yeah, I'm waiting to hear some of the good too. All the bad mentioned, why do people work here? I mean aren't there other options or is Kings as good as it'll get in Jordan. Little pay, high taxes, stressful work conditions...hmmm...why not head back home?[/quote]

I've heard many positive things about ACS Amman. Plus there is no income tax and they pay into SS/Medicare for you (if you are American) which most IS schools do not.

Anybody have current info on the housing provided by this school? Where is the school located within Amman and what about the housing? How is the cost of living there compared to the salary? Thanks for any info!

It sounds like a touchy subject for many ... All I was getting at was that if we are still getting asked about interviewing even though we have accepted positions, I am sure this is happening to others, which made me wonder if this was common practice. The schools that have still contacted us are definitely Tier 1 schools with great reputations. To their credit, as soon as we e-mail back stating we have accepted positions elsewhere, they end their pursuit.

My wife and I are happy to have a job without dealing with the fair. We are excited for where we are headed, and those suggesting to keep an open mind about places were spot on. The school we are headed to was never on our radar, but we became more impressed with the school, the staff, and the community, the more we talked with those involved. It seems like a perfect fit for our family.

[quote="Snowbeavers"]This is not a common practice and I would not recommend this as it could jeopardize your professional career. You could be blacklisted from ever signing up with ISS or Search again. Don't do it.[/quote

My wife and I are elated about where we are headed. We have no desire to break our word. However, we still get contacted by other schools, some new, some we had applied for earlier. Do schools poach candidates who have made commitments to other schools?

Is it common for people to sign a contract early in the recruiting season and then find a better school/position as one opens up and take that offer later in the recruiting season? Like before the first school has invested any money in you? What does Search do about this if you are signed up with them?

I was just wondering that because ISS will be in SF around the same time as Search, if that enhances the possibilities available versus going to Search in Boston. I know ISS represents a lot of the same schools, but it also has some schools I would be very interested in that will be at the ISS fair in SF. Kind of wondering if "double dipping" would be more beneficial. I get that the Search BOS is much better than SF.

My wife is an elementary counselor and I am an elementary teacher. We both have our masters and 6+ years teaching in the states. My wife is the one all the schools are after. Yes, we have 3 other offers so far, from 3 solid schools, but we are wondering if we should hold out and be even more picky.

Does having the Search and ISS fairs in SF at the same time make it more attractive to attend the Search SF fair?

Let me explain my predicament. My wife and I are signed up for the Search Boston fair. Last night we e-mailed our dream school, which has a tenative opening for my wife and a tenative opening for myself. Suprisingly, the director e-mailed us back within the hour stating that he would like to speak with us IF these positions actually open up, but he won't most likely know until around February.

He asked if that if they did open up, would we be attending either the Search London or ISS SF fairs. If it gets closer and the possibility is promising, do we still go to Boston or attempt to head to the Search SF fair to speak with him while he is at ISS SF?

@wrldtrvlr123 Thanks for the info. They have positions open for my wife and I. However; we are both Americans and it did seem decidedly British. We've been contacted by HKIS as well, but not sure which would be better.

There isn't much info out there that I have found on these schools. Anybody have experience working with ESF? Do they hire Americans or just England and their commonwealths? How is the comp/benefits package?

[quote="Curitiba"]The base salary for 2013-2014 is a decrease from the first four years.[/quote]

@Curitiba What is the housing like and how much do teachers have to pay in "rent." Is it necessary to have a car? Lastly, what is the make-up of the school, specifically at the elementary level?

@txteach I agree. Two of the schools are in places we would have never considered previously. However; both interviews were fantastic and we definitely will keep the possibility open to accepting positions in one of the places we initially would have declined.

So my wife and I (elementary teacher and elementary counselor) have been contacted by 4 schools so far for interviews. According to the forum, 3 of these schools would be considered tier 1, in locations we are uncertain about. None of them were schools we applied for through any avenue. (we are signed up with Search) Does this happen quite frequently?

I know there is no "right" answer, but how long should we wait to hear from schools that we have applied to? I'm scared of accepting a position with a school so early on if we are competitive enough to be at a better school/location if we were to wait longer. Any thoughts?