Search found 120 matches

by Lastname_Z
Mon Nov 15, 2021 9:00 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Moving Home Success Stories?
Replies: 16
Views: 25778

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

shadowjack wrote:
> Depending on your teaching area, 10 years prices you out - they can hire
> two new teachers, one of whom will last, for what they pay you. Given
> school based budgets, this can be a concern for some administrators when
> hiring.

Not in the case of public schools in Ontario. The people making hiring decisions are completely separated from budgeting concerns. That's all decided on a Ministry level. People value experience more than how much it will cost them.

Plus, once you are in, you are in because it's a union position.
by Lastname_Z
Sat Nov 13, 2021 3:17 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Moving Home Success Stories?
Replies: 16
Views: 25778

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

TeachHereTeachThere wrote:
> I moved back home too in 2019 to Ontario, Canada. I'm supply teaching,
> there's lots of it. And I'm applying to contracts and long term supply
> which pays at grid salary. No regrets. I'm at the top of the payscale and
> the salary is amazing. The medical benefits are outstanding for teachers in
> Ontario. The pension is also amazing though I won't get enough years in to
> get a nice one. Oh well, no regrets as live abroad was so good. I do miss
> being abroad, the life and school experiences. But there's a lot I don't
> miss: I find gossip and backstabbing in Ontario nowhere near to what it was
> abroad. We also don't get meetinged to death. I was at some good schools
> but the salary was never as good as here. No way the medical benefits were
> as good as here and of course no pension. There's good job security and
> holidays.
> What I would say though is teaching in Canada right out of teachers college
> is a mistake. The salary is crap. My board accepts 10 years of teaching
> abroad experience which put me right at the top of the payscale. My advice
> would be to teach abroad for 10 years and have a blast then move back home
> but make sure you get that experience documented and get it in writing your
> board will accept that experience for the pay grid.

Glad I'm not the only one who had a great adjustment returning home to Ontario. Everything you said about schools abroad is exactly what I don't miss either.
by Lastname_Z
Tue Nov 02, 2021 2:21 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Moving Home Success Stories?
Replies: 16
Views: 25778

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

I moved home just before COVID (summer of 2019). I'm still at home and am pretty happy to be near family and friends, and I'm building a comfortable life here. I was just a substitute at the beginning (by choice, was nice to have a break) and then took on full-time teaching again. Work has been much easier to come by since COVID happened.

This is in Ontario, Canada to give more context.

The thing I do miss about being abroad (travel) would not be accessible during COVID anyway, so I'll be staying put for awhile. I do see myself going abroad once more, but not for awhile. Even if I do go back, I know it will be temporary. I've realized that being abroad is nice as a temporary change in lifestyle (like a gap year of sorts), but it's never going to be a lifestyle in itself.
by Lastname_Z
Sat Jul 10, 2021 1:46 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Big fish in a small (Lower Tier 3) pond vs. small fish in a Big (Tier 1) Pond
Replies: 25
Views: 27740

Big fish in a small (Lower Tier 3) pond vs. small fish in a Big (Tier 1) Pond

In your experiences, what is better when being in the early part of an international career?

To have been in a Tier 3 school in large roles (Department Head, Coordinator, Heading up Committees, etc) and to have gotten experiences that would not be given to newer teacher in a Tier 1.

vs.

To have been a standard teacher at a Tier 1, standard meaning Teaching, Extracurriculars and everything that is normally expected of a teacher at this level but not more.

If you were in a position to choose between two offers that matched the above descriptions, which would you choose?
by Lastname_Z
Wed Jun 23, 2021 9:18 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Local vs. Overseas Hire in the EU
Replies: 19
Views: 22943

Re: Local vs. Overseas Hire in the EU

Thank you Thames and sciteach. I assumed the disparity between local and expat in Europe was pretty minimal but wanted to be sure.

Not having a relocation package is still not a great situation. My EU passport is not my primary passport that I have used for travel and visas. I only have it because of background and I have never lived in that EU country. It's unfortunate that that could be used against me in the hiring process.
by Lastname_Z
Mon Jun 21, 2021 10:54 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Local vs. Overseas Hire in the EU
Replies: 19
Views: 22943

Local vs. Overseas Hire in the EU

I was looking at postings for some international schools in the EU. Some of these schools mentioned that they cannot hire anyone with an EU passport as an overseas hire.

Is this a policy that is specific to certain schools? Or is this common in the EU? Based on your experiences, how significant is the difference between being an overseas hire and local hire in the EU?

Would the difference be that I have to pay for my own flight to get there? Would I still make the same money? There really should be more transparency about what it means to be a local hire.

In this situation, is it also possible to just not use my EU citizenship and therefore use my non-EU passport to work there?

Thanks in advance for the help.
by Lastname_Z
Sat Jun 19, 2021 7:49 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Where in the World to Start?
Replies: 37
Views: 37388

Re: Where in the World to Start?

Just coming in to say that a lot of the comments by scitech about China are uninformed.

As long as you install a VPN before you go to China, you will have access to all your western platforms. You will likely have faster speeds than you had in Australia as well.

Although China has had the strictest border controls during this pandemic, they have also been one of the most open and Covid. If I wasn't committed to where I am now, I would definitely consider going to China. I am basing this on the experiences of my friends who have been teaching in China throughout this pandemic.
by Lastname_Z
Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:04 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Where in the World to Start?
Replies: 37
Views: 37388

Re: Where in the World to Start?

While flights may not be a dealbreaker, they are a standard part of the contract (in the form of a pre-paid flight or a stipend for flying).
by Lastname_Z
Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:18 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Insurance Over the Summer in US
Replies: 23
Views: 24098

Re: Insurance Over the Summer in US

You will likely have to tough it out and hope nothing happens to you, or "drive to Mexico" as buffalofan mentioned.

Every lifestyle has its pros and cons, and the between-jobs situation is just one of the cons to the IT lifestyle.
by Lastname_Z
Tue Jun 01, 2021 2:04 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Signs it is Time to Move On
Replies: 43
Views: 78034

Re: Signs it is Time to Move On

fine dude wrote:
> It's called breaking the contract. Of course, there are exceptional
> personal situations where a few quit after a year, but the (un)written rule
> is you keep your word. Pile up 2 or 3 breaches on your CV and you can kiss
> goodbye to getting an interview, let alone finding a job at a decent
> school.

What I'm talking about is a line in the contract that you are allowed to leave without penalty after a year. It's not breaking contract in the example I mentioned.

However, you are right that being at an IS for only a year shouldn't be a regular occurrence. It would be tough to find gigs the more you do that.
by Lastname_Z
Tue Jun 01, 2021 8:43 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Signs it is Time to Move On
Replies: 43
Views: 78034

Re: Signs it is Time to Move On

Personally, I've seen something in-between what PsyGuy and others have mentioned.

You are given a two year contract, but there are no consequences to walking away after a year (at worst you aren't paid for the summer). You aren't really forced to commit to the two years.

That's been the experience at most schools that I've been too.
by Lastname_Z
Wed Apr 07, 2021 7:53 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: PE Teachers and schools that only locally hire
Replies: 6
Views: 8127

Re: PE Teachers and schools that only locally hire

dragonguy wrote:
> Over the years the most helpful way for me to find the answer to this
> question was keeping track of which schools on Search Associates or
> ISS/Schrole even post a PE opening. If they do that means they are open to
> hiring international PE teachers, if not, they most likely use local PE
> teachers or don't have a PE program. So I like to keep an active Search
> Account when possible (if not, there's usually a friend in your school who
> has an active account). I could give a list of specific schools but I'm
> currently not in the paid forum.
>
> The whole of Latin America is pretty slim pickens for International PE
> teachers, somewhere around 10 schools in the entire region use Int. PE
> teachers.

I'm pretty sure that posting a list of schools that hire foreign PE teachers is not going against the rules here. You are just stating facts, not leaving a review.

*********************

ISR NOTE: This is correct. Posting a list of schoolS that hire foreign PE teachers is NOT going against the rules of this forum
by Lastname_Z
Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:21 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: List of schools that hire without Schrole-ISS or Search?
Replies: 13
Views: 18269

Re: List of schools that hire without Schrole-ISS or Search?

Thames Pirate wrote:
> Are you talking about major truly international schools ("tier
> 1/2") or IB schools or anything calling itself international? Because
> the list would be impossibly long and ever-changing.
>
> Maybe if you narrowed your request down?

I am looking at the Tier 1/2s. Curriculum doesn't matter too much to me (it's all something that one can learn and way too much emphasis is placed on experience with a specific curriculum imo).

To be honest, I would have to narrow down what I'm interested in myself to be able to adequately answer this question.

I thought that most schools were on SA/Schrole at this point so I didn't think the list would be that long.
by Lastname_Z
Mon Apr 05, 2021 10:52 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: List of schools that hire without Schrole-ISS or Search?
Replies: 13
Views: 18269

List of schools that hire without Schrole-ISS or Search?

Hey everyone,

I am currently back in my home country, but I flirt with the idea of going back internationally. Paying for an account and making profiles for more than a flirtation is not worth it.

I just want to put feelers out, but I'm not seriously considering going back abroad at this time.

I'm curious if there is a list out there of schools that hire teachers without using Schrole-ISS or Search Associates. If not, is it possible to make one using this thread? Is this allowed? I think it should be since I am not asking for reviews. I just want names.
by Lastname_Z
Sat Mar 20, 2021 7:42 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How long is your commute?
Replies: 15
Views: 21625

Re: How long is your commute?

This is such an interesting debate to see.

I'm currently in my home country, but when I was abroad I preferred to be within walking distance to where I work or 5-10 minutes by car/bike.

I now draw the line at 45 minutes by car. Up to an hour by transit. I like having the time to listen to a podcast.

However, a lot of people in my home country are comfortable with driving up to an hour and half to get to work. It's really strange to see this behaviour from the colleagues in my home country.