Search found 129 matches

by National
Tue Jun 07, 2022 5:57 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Native Vnese going back to VN to work
Replies: 14
Views: 28296

Re: Native Vnese going back to VN to work

I work at one of the tier one schools in Vietnam and they would hire you as an international hire and would make no attempt to shift you to a local salary. We also have quite a few Viet Kieu who work at our school. I think the lower tier schools might try to treat you unfairly, but the top few would be ok. While you’re not super competitive, you might get hired by these schools. I’ve seen less experienced teachers than you hired in the top three schools.

As others have said, the lower tier schools in Vietnam are not great and they will likely use your Vietnamese links against you for hiring and pay.
by National
Tue May 17, 2022 6:10 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Healthcare in Retirement
Replies: 14
Views: 36400

Re: Healthcare in Retirement

You can check your eligibility for benefits here: https://secure.ssa.gov/RIL/SiView.action. You are probably quite close if you started working at 14 or 15.
by National
Mon May 16, 2022 6:07 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Healthcare in Retirement
Replies: 14
Views: 36400

Re: Healthcare in Retirement

You only need 40 quarters (10 years) to qualify in the US. That seems like a lot , but if you worked as a teen and in your early 20s in any job, you might find that you’re not far off from getting the required time in. Then maybe you sub for a few years at the end of your career to qualify. This is if you want to settle in the US. I left the US when I was 27 and had my 40 quarters because I started working when I was 16.
by National
Fri Apr 08, 2022 7:21 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Vietnam
Replies: 3
Views: 5466

Re: Vietnam

[quote=star32569 post_id=62924 time=1649414074 user_id=212000]
I know the money is low but hoping to find a couple of schools or university opportunities.
[/quote]

I wouldn’t say the money is low if you’re at one of the big schools with a decent reputation. There are 3-4 good paying schools in Ho Chi Minh City and 1-2 in Hanoi. There are some real crap schools that are low paying.
by National
Mon Nov 15, 2021 5:46 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Is SEARCH worth it this year?
Replies: 11
Views: 17986

Re: Is SEARCH worth it this year?

It’s worth it for the jobs database. There seem to be more jobs this year but I’d say half of them are in China. Still a good number of quality schools from around the world posting positions though. The big Asian schools (outside of China) are posting lots of jobs and hiring already. I did the recent virtual fair. It was a waste of time. The schools attending were low tier and I wasn’t interested in almost any of the schools. I did get multiple interview requests but they were not schools I would work at so I declined.

The benefit of Search is having that daily position email and the searchable database. It also seems as though more schools are using the Search system for applications which makes the process of applying easier.
by National
Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:32 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: It's raining jobs in SE Asia.
Replies: 8
Views: 17863

Re: It's raining jobs in SE Asia.

To further add to Cafare52’s post about why there are so many jobs in Vietnam:

Vietnam is erratic and extreme in how it responds to COVID outbreaks. They lockdown entire cities, close airports, stop all domestic movement (meaning people get stranded away from home), and quarantine people with little to no notice. Your visa is cancelled if you leave the country and your school has to reapply before you can return. We had a brutal 3+ month total, military enforced lockdown here in Ho Chi Minh City that we are just coming out of. It was one of the worlds strictest that I know of and it was miserable and stressful to live through. No leaving your apartment not even for groceries or to walk a dog. Things are starting to slowly normalise now. The biggest problem is that there is no predicting what future actions the government will take in response to new covid situations.

Many schools are limiting travel for staff, some both domestically and internationally.
by National
Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:54 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Advice on what to do next...
Replies: 24
Views: 20793

Re: Advice on what to do next...

I’d keep an eye on international school openings in Vietnam for next year. With its closed borders teachers are resigning late and schools are looking to hire within country when possible. You might be able to land a job this year that you might otherwise not be considered for.
by National
Tue Mar 23, 2021 5:50 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: TV with luggage
Replies: 13
Views: 14860

Re: TV with luggage

In every apartment I’ve rented, a TV came with the place. Maybe check on that before including it in your shipping?
by National
Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:58 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Singapore Salary to Match £60k in China?
Replies: 6
Views: 8496

Re: Singapore Salary to Match £60k in China?

I was in Singapore 4 years ago. My base salary as a teacher was around S$105,000. I got S$3,000/month for housing. So my total pay without the thirteenth month was over S$140,000. My partner also made the base salary and we were able to save almost an entire salary. We didn’t live the total expat lifestyle (brunches every week, car, helper), but we did eat out and drink a fair amount while traveling internationally every break.
by National
Mon Oct 05, 2020 5:49 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How do you get to work?
Replies: 14
Views: 15583

Re: How do you get to work?

School 1: bicycle 5min
School 2: walked -10 min
School 3: taxi or bus+school shuttle from bus stop -15 min
School 4: motorbike - 5 min

I’ve never owned a car and never felt the need. I bought a motorbike at my current place, but that’s the first time I’ve owned any type of vehicle in 15 years overseas and it’s cheap. The school does offer a staff bus and taxis and grab bikes are cheap, so it’s not a necessity.
by National
Wed Jan 22, 2020 7:46 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: International vs Bilingual school in China
Replies: 12
Views: 20953

Re: International vs Bilingual school in China

One consideration for #1 is that you can transfer within their system. They have schools that teach IB so you might be able to teach a year or two at the current school and then transfer into an IB math position at another one of their schools. They will put teachers with no IB experience into those positions. Then you get your IB experience, boost your resume and move on. The schools don’t do much for your resume but the IB experience does. I started my international career at one of these schools and with the IB experience was able to move to a much better school next hire. Also as other posters say you won’t have problems with pay or getting what’s in your contract. There are definitely annoyances, but it’s a means to an end...
by National
Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:38 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Getting a real job at a real school without experience
Replies: 90
Views: 81200

Re: Getting a real job at a real school without experience

I had the same thing when I apostilled my teaching certificate. Since the document is issued by the state there is no need for a notarization. Essentially the notary tells the state that the document is authentic and the state already knows documents they produce are authentic. So yes, you can send it in directly for apostilling without a notarization (at least I could for my state — it wasn’t. MA).
by National
Mon Feb 04, 2019 5:03 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Does a good IS care what your degree is in?
Replies: 9
Views: 10054

Re: Does a good IS care what your degree is in?

Vietnam does have visa requirements and it can be quite variable how they are applied. If the school has a good relationship with the authorities, they can be less stringently applied.

Basic requirements are at least 3 years teaching experience and teaching certification (although I've seen first year teachers get visas at a school run by connected Vietnamese). They seem to be more concerned about the education degree than the subject degree. If you have a degree that states education, you don't have to include your certification. If you have a subject area degree you have to show your certification as well.

I wouldn't think an engineering degree with teaching certification would create a problem.
by National
Tue May 01, 2018 5:32 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Master's degree options while in Asia
Replies: 16
Views: 21380

Re: Master's degree options while in Asia

I just want to clarify. I’m not trying to pull anything over on anyone. I’ve used this degree in three countries to get my work visa and it’s never come up. I’ve never been asked if my degree was earned through an online program. No country or school asked and none looked into it, and honestly, until this thread, I never thought of it as a possible issue or something I needed to clarify. Additionally, I’ve never needed my masters for the work visa, but have used it because the countries ask for the highest degree. If I needed a traditional degree, I could always use my bachelors. Also, the program I completed could be done in person or online. I suppose someone could call up the university, but nothing in my paperwork denotes online and I’m not sure why a school or country would call up the university, unless they were suspicious and have a rule/law against online degrees. I just feel like there’s a bit of scaremongering going on about online degrees. I can speak from personal experience and from situations from multiple colleagues who’ve all been fine with online masters. Are there degrees and countries where this might come up and be an issue, sure. Is it likely if you choose a reputable university? Probably not. If your option is no masters or a quality online one, I think having a masters is better.
I’m not interested in getting into an argument, just wanted to provide details of my personal experience so there are multiple views to clarify the situation in the real world.