Thanks for the advice. It helps to know where I stand.

Are the agencies and job fairs that critical? That is, is it that difficult to gain employment without them? On my current salary, it wouldn't necessarily be a stretch to join an agency, but attending one of the job fairs would be a bit of a burden both financially and in terms of personal leave.

Hi all,

First, let me thank you all for the posts I have been reading over the past few weeks. Your insight is most valuable, and has inspired me to send off my first IS application despite being relatively content with my current position in the US. As I go through this process, I have lots of questions and would appreciate any any advice the community can give.

Here's some background that may be relevant for these answers. I apologize in advance for being somewhat vague, but discretion is important right now.

The Good: I have undergraduate and graduate degrees in a hard science and am certified in the US in two content areas within the hard sciences. I have taught AP level and higher within those content areas. I have also taught in two different nationally ranked K-12 schools for a total of 5 years, and am awaiting the results of this year's round of National Board certifications.

The Bad: I'm picky. I'd like to go to Japan (I would need little convincing) or Western Europe (I would need considerable convincing). Most other places are out for various reasons. I also have a non-teaching spouse and one dependent. My spouse could be useful in an English speaking office/secretarial position within the school, though. Also potentially bad is that neither of my degrees is in education. Because it is likely that my spouse would not be working, I would need to support my family on the package from the school.

So, here are my questions, in no particular order.

1) Given the above vague description, how competitive would I be on the IS market in Japan and Western Europe? I know it's an area that is flooded with applications and the competition is fierce, but I don't have a good bead on where I might fit within that level.

2) What schools would be good to look at in the areas I have mentioned that would result in a high chance of an interview?

3) Am I hamstringing myself by not going with ISS or Search? Is a TIE membership something that would help, or might I be OK going it solo, as it were?

4) How much of a negative is it that I have not taught in an IS before? Does experience teaching highly ethnically diverse student bodies help?

5) What else might I need to consider that I have left out?

Thanks in advance!