[quote="micki0624"]After reading all about fairs in this post and others, my questions is, what is the best way to get schools to want to do a Skype interview? Also, what is the best way to get schools to want to meet up with you the day before the fair?[/quote]

Again, this is my first time at the rodeo, but I think you just put in your cover letter that you're available before the fair for Skype and in-person interviews. If you're corresponding with the school ahead of time, you can just let them know if you'll be there early.

[quote="defygravity"]Ok, so if I want a versatile piece of technology that I can skype on, download lots of books, magazines, apps, and use for internet? Or would I be better off getting a laptop and a kindle?
Thanks, dg[/quote]

You can do all of that on an iPad. If it's magazines you're reading, the iPad's definitely better. I like to travel light so if you're going with that in mind, the iPad's the way to go.

I have an iPad and Kindle and like them both for different reasons. The Kindle is definitely the best for reading, but I have found some exceptions. I buy travel ebooks before I go somewhere and the color maps and pictures on the iPad are nice. If you're reading a novel, the Kindle is the best. If you need it to do a lot of different things, definitely the iPad. My recommendation if you can afford it is both.

I'll say up front that I haven't taught overseas yet and am going to my first fair at Cambridge in February. I think, whereas you make good points about the treatment that we are not the ones in control. The schools are the ones with the power here as they are paying a lot more money and they have the jobs we want. Paying attention to these boards I've learned a lot of the facts you mention here. The takeaway that I've gained is that I'll be at the fair a day early and ready to interview. I'll also pursue Skype interviews before the fair. Best case scenario is I'll have my job locked up before the fair ever starts and I can have a mini-vacation in Boston. Realistically, if you're wanting to compete for the better jobs, this is the route you have to take. The better schools want to meet you face to face and as PsyGuy mentioned, it's much cheaper to meet everybody in one place than to fly all over for various interviews. There is always the alternative of shooting a little lower for schools that don't go to these fairs and are happy to interview by Skype. For me personally, the money going to a fair seems like a reasonable investment in trying to get to a better school. You also mentioned things like the screeners moving people on from lines they're not qualified for. To me, that's a sign that the schools are listening and don't want to waste people's time. I sure don't want to wait through a long line if I'm not going to be considered for a position. I would also say that the schools that are hiring before the fair even begins means that they knew what they wanted and didn't need to wait until the fair. They probably weren't going to be interested in me anyway, so I'd rather focus on the jobs that are actually possibilities. I see more than one way to look at this situation and I'm fine with removing the mirages so I can take in the real possibilities.

Since the parents are okay with you posting the pictures, you could put some kind of disclaimer at the bottom of the page, such as "Pictures posted with permission by the parents of xxxxx". That's a simple way to head off some of the problems with #4.

Didn't see this thread before, but I have some personal experience with the TeacherReady program for anybody interested. The program is as described. It's online and it does get you your certification which is great. One thing that is an advantage with this program over many others is that once you finish the program, University of West Florida will transfer 12 hours into their online Masters program so if you want your certification now and want a Masters later, it's a really good setup. The program itself was pretty easy and did what it was supposed to do for me. No regrets.

Just curious for those of you that are sent to other fairs, what subject do you teach? I'm awaiting my response to my fair request for Cambridge and hoping teaching math will be enough to get me the invite.

[quote="PsyGuy"]Its a very good school, definitely tier one, probably the elite school in the region. Savings however is going to depend on your lifestyle, and you can easily spend a LOT of money in Dubai, very quickly. If you stay home a lot, and just watch DVDs and eat at food stalls or at home, you could save half your salary (understand that those 10K allowances though are only one time allowances, you wont get them your second year). if you want to have any type of night life, or social life, or really eating out, or shopping, you could burn though that money very fast. Understand, there isnt a lot to do in Dubai thats cheap.[/quote]

Regarding the 10k allowances, you're half right. The moving is one time, but the cost of goods and services is continued. That is paid in dirhams and the salary is paid in US dollars.

I'll preface by saying I haven't taught overseas yet, but I think this will always be very personal depending on your situation. I'm unattached and would like to knock out student loan debts so money's a bigger priority for me than it likely will be later. If I can accumulate enough money, I probably wouldn't care what I make in a nice international school in Europe later in my career as long as I'm happy. If I had kids, the surrounding community and school options would be a much bigger priority. If I had a trailing spouse, opportunities for the spouse might be a bigger priority. I'm sure there's some common factors for everybody (good administration, fun community, none of us would turn down extra money, etc.) but I see this as always being very personal.

I'll preface this by saying I haven't yet taught overseas, but your experiences, although a bit more than what I've had in the states, are pretty similar to my experience teaching in a public and a charter school. My mental approach to the school year is that they own me for the time I'm at school and all those days off we have around the year are when I get it back. There's some stretches it's not that bad and I consider that a bonus. I spend a fair amount of time complaining about all the extra commitments myself, but when it gets down to it, most jobs have 3 weeks or so off a year(4 or 5 if you're lucky). Teaching, I have 14 weeks off a year so you know they have to get some of that time out of you during the school year. The other thing I would say is that the extra commitments are usually worse at the beginning of the year and it settles after a while. Good luck!

I wish I could do Bangkok, but can't miss that much work. Boston it is. For future reference, is the Bangkok fair the best for getting jobs in Asia? Most of my top locations are in Asia. I assume Boston's a step down, but the best I'll do in Eastern U.S.?

Thanks. I should have mentioned also that I'm single with no dependants and I'm pretty open to where I land. I expect to enjoy teaching overseas and would like to teach in many different regions before I'm done. If there's anything else I should include that I didn't mention, let me know.

Hi all. I have another post checking how my prospects are. I am currently certified in Math (5-9) and I'm about to start my 4th year of teaching. I was a career changer, so neither my BS and MS are in an unrelated field, but I'm fully certified. I plan to get a second masters but won't have it when I apply for the 13-14 school year. So my question is what tiers of schools I'm likely to be competitive for?

One other question pertains to the job fairs. I've been planning to go to the Search Cambridge job fair, but was wondering if the ISS Atlanta fair might be useful? Cambridge will be expensive for me to attend. I could drive to Atlanta and have a place to stay. Of course it also means I need to sign up for another service and I wonder if that fair is too early and maybe not worth it. Thoughts? Thanks in advance for your help.