Homeandaway, are you talking about NIS schools? They seem to have been hiring for "the big expansio"n for a year now.

Well thanks redster and psyguy.

The school sounds very well equiped and Khazak students from all reports are well behaved and motivated. It could be a diamond in the rough.

If they offer the job I'll take it.

Psyguy, I get that. I lived in Afghanistan for one year and I saw positives to it. I'd be happier to spend 2 years in Khazakstan than in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait.

Money though - how much can I save on a US$54,000 net + free housing? And how easy is it to repatriate that money?

I'm seriously considering NIS for the money offered.
Can anyone comment on that?
How easy is it to save money and repatriate money?

Given free housing, how much of a US$54,000 net can be saved by a frugal person?

It seems like an excellent deal, I just wonder if there is a catch.

Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools in Kazakhstan, a group of schools hiring big time and doesn't require certification but does require experience. US$60,000/year a 10% tax rate, housing and travel allowance.

Jobs for the uncertified do exist.

Anybody ever work in Kazakhstan?

I have a Ph.D. in my subject and even with that I have a hard time getting jobs for lack of certification. If I had to do it over, I'd focus on certification. But if you are teaching math and science, you'll always have a job. I usually wait until July and jobs pop up. I've managed to teach in top tier schools in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Portugal without certification but always last minute hires. I get the left overs but the upside is I get to change jobs all the time. Saudi and Kuwait are always well paid options. Still, I'd take 1 step back if I were you and get certified.

As bad as this school may (or may not) be, the worst school in Vietnam is American International School of HCMC. That place is a complete nightmare, except for their excellent students.

[quote]Poor decisions like to cheat? [/quote]

Yes - Their decision to cheat though; nothing to do with the teacher.

Its the wording of it that bothers me, that some poor student might be put in a position of having to cheat because the teacher wasn't watching him closely. It would be like saying that women should avoid dressing provocatively so as not to place men in the position of having to commit sexual assault.

Our VP just gave us these proctoring instructions:

[b]Your active supervision is absolutely important to ensure that students are not placed in a position that they might make a poor decision.[/b]

This reminds me of my inner city experience where responsibility for student behavior somehow landed on the shoulders of teachers.

This is what life is like in Kuwait, spending the weekend on an ISR forum out of sheer boredom. Anyway, the places I have taught SO FAR:

Saudi Arabia - Next year
Kuwait
Vietnam
Egypt
Beijing
Portugal
Hong Kong
Afghanistan
Syria
Shanghai
Nanning
Taiwan
Thailand
Japan
London
Indonesia

I'm working in Kuwait now and the experience ranks way down there with teaching at inner city schools in America. I'd heard as much before I came but the savings potential was too good to turn down. And I have saved a bundle.

So having been forwarned about all the things that I have now experienced, I can see how someone who has never taught in Kuwait but knows people in so called "top tier" Kuwaiti international schools could form an honest opinion about what it must be like to live and teach in Kuwait.

For what its worth, PsyGuy is right about Kuwait: teaching here sucks, living here sucks and the only form of entertainment seems to be food.

Icarda international school of Aleppo, Syria gets you some limited diplomatic privelages. You can drive to Turky in an Icaeda vehicle, buy whatever and not have to clear it with customs.

@calciodirigore Thanks for the information.
The visa is unreal I'm finishing a job in Hong Kong and I have to go back to America for a work visa, which takes 6 weeks. They have a large consulate in Macao but they can't or won't do it for me.
Carlucci has helped me quite a bit with the visa. I'm sure its Portugal bureaucracy.
Thanks again.

I am finishing a 2 year contract in HK on US$ 65,000 per year, including bonus and in two years I managed to save US$50,000. I have a non-teaching wife and 2 kids, which doeasn't really hurt because my total tax burden for 2 years was just HK$ 700.
I'm also frugal and I live on Lamma Island so my rent is roughly 1/2 of what other teachers pay and of course Lamma is a paradise. But my commute time is roughly 3hours per day.
Hong Kong is an excellent city in many ways but polluted and it gets hot, humid. The people are great.

Anyone ever teach at CAISL?
I'm having a difficult time getting my work visa for Portugal. Anyone have a similar experience?