Search found 258 matches

by sciteach
Sun Feb 25, 2024 4:06 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How realistic are my chances of an IS job?
Replies: 12
Views: 1979

Re: How realistic are my chances of an IS job?

SA stands for Search Associates. This is a rather odd job agency compared to those found outside of teaching. Outside of the UK, it costs $225 USD to join and that's if you qualify. With your current experience (no official teaching experience) - I'd probably say they would not accept you.

What makes SA compared to other professions is they basically run a job board with confidential references (which you can't get since you have not worked at a registered school - or have not in 10+ years) and you contact the schools directly. Sometimes you get a response - but schools mainly ignore you.

The following is not true of all schools - but I find this to generally be true for many schools in the employability of people. This is from top to bottom - with some schools having different expectations.

Teaching Couple (no kids)
Single (no kids)
Teacher (with traveling spouse)
Teaching Couple (with kids)
Single (with kid)
Single teacher (with traveling spouse and kids)

Do note that some schools in asia put a high value on having some students at a school who are not local students. However - I do tend to say that students who are more "Western" in appearance tend to get more leeway.

If you do decide to teach in China - do your due diligence and research what your kids will be learning and experiencing in a mainly Chinese student environment. I would not have felt this way before the changed compulsory education laws in China a few years ago. I personally don't like them and will never teach at a school which has them - but I also believe that a country has a right to choose their own laws (no matter how much I disagree with them).

When it comes to subject employability - I don't know enough about your degree and specialization to accurately comment on that. I will say that Humanities / I & S is often seen as the "dime a dozen" type of teacher, which means there are lots of them and it's harder for good teachers in that field to get a job at a perceived high quality school say compared to someone who teaches math or science.

I'm also aware of some school in Vietnam and Thailand which have lower expectations for qualifications, but I've also heard of horror stories in how some of those schools are run and treat teachers.
by sciteach
Mon Oct 09, 2023 2:22 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How many applications do you receive for a position?
Replies: 5
Views: 21389

Re: How many applications do you receive for a position?

Are you looking for details of now or later in the employment window?

If it's for now (employing for July 2024) - then almost no schools will be deep into their recruitment process. This is especially true for positions such as English or I & S which have a large number of teachers looking for positions. HL Math or Physics is another story though.

This is not directly relevant for you this year - but can give you a snapshot of the different amount of people applying. I was interviewing for a Science job at one of the minor Search Associate fairs early in the window. It was a high quality school which also wanted to interview at Bangkok, London and Cambridge. They told me that they had over 110 people apply for an I & S position but only 8 for the Science position I applied for. That was a couple of years ago prior to covid.
by sciteach
Mon Sep 25, 2023 9:46 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: What you wish you knew before going to China?
Replies: 9
Views: 25355

Re: What you wish you knew before going to China?

Hmmmm.....

I've got a very jaded view on what's happening in China so take this into account with what I write below. Here are some things I think that may be helpful.

(1) Understand your school and clientele.

There are three different kinds of international schools found in China in general. They are:

(A) True international schools - with a almost total expat population (mainly asian).
(B) Quasai International School - with a mixture of international and local students (or local students with odd foreign passports)
(C) Foreign Language Schools - all of the students are Chinese, including the administration.

Note that type A is often seen as the most wanted. I'd say that Type C is probably the one with the most scope - with some of these schools being amazing and others being amazing for how bad they are.

(2) Understand your admin

This sounds almost bigoted - but the more local the admin the more the school will run like a Chinese school - with a much larger culture shock and all that entails.

(3) Get a VPN/(s) on your phone and laptop before you leave. Make sure they are working as well.

(4) Ask questions in the members forum when you know which particular school you might get a job through. The PM function is a location where I will be much more open and honest as well.

(5) Get ready to install DiDi (a better version of Uber) and Wechat (part WhatsApp, part payment system, part Spyware)

(6) Ask how you get paid and potentially how can you move money out of the country.

For example - some schools will pay you a local wage (often called housing allowance and living away from home allowance) and a base wage which gets sent to an overseas bank account. Other schools will pay only in Yuan. Some school Banks are great for transferring money - some are terrible.

(7) Ask about expectations of extra curriculars

New staff normally start a few days to a week or so before normal staff. This can be anywhere from late July to early August depending on the school.

For legalizing documents - your school should be helping you with a lot of this. It's been a while - but I don't really remember getting much in the way of legalized documents apart from a Police Check from either my home country or current country of residence. I do remember sending scanned photocopies of my university transcripts which then allowed me to get a Z visa (I think) which was mainly done on the Chinese schools back end. Then I got the permission to work letter and I got the work visa at my local Chinese consulate.

Teacher Nomads are a job recruitment agency from memory.
by sciteach
Sun Apr 16, 2023 7:18 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Asia to Europe
Replies: 4
Views: 14939

Re: Asia to Europe

This is a bit of a difficult one.

When I was on Asia, I noticed a definite plateauing if pay and conditions as time passed. I'm aware of the crazy rent inflation in places in Singapore which was over 40% for 1 year.

Schools are not in the most part keeping up with with basic inflation.

Europe has another problem that people outside of Europe don't consider, the millions of Ukrainian refugees which have significantly increased rents along with huge energy and food price increases.

Some countries like Germany have indexing, but most don't which means that wages are significantly going backwards in Europe and it's affecting the ability of some schools to hire quality staff.

A school I know of was lucky due to the exodus of high quality staff that recently left China.

Some schools in eastern Europe allow for more savings, but expect to deal with a much more conservative culture with less compliant parents and kids.

As such, if you see yourself as an activist teacher then eastern Europe may not be for you.

Most schools on Europe seem to be aimed a lot at mostly local students, but I don't know enough to fully confirm this
by sciteach
Mon Mar 20, 2023 2:56 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Search Associates Salary Scale
Replies: 3
Views: 8874

Re: Search Associates Salary Scale

These are also arbitrary numbers put in by the schools - not Search Associates.

As such, you can only take them with a grain of salt.

I've seen some schools include include every possible allowance (including PD????) into the amount which makes it look way better than it is. I've also seen schools use the base salary after tax to weed out teachers who are mainly on the lookout for coin (these schools normally occur in places people want to live and they have no trouble getting applicants).

So what does this mean? The numbers don't mean much really until you get the final contract with pay scale. If it's a school in Mexico or Crete that states 18000 USD a year - I'd notice that....
by sciteach
Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:08 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Planning to arrive in China in Sept. Hit me with your best advice
Replies: 8
Views: 13757

Re: Planning to arrive in China in Sept. Hit me with your best advice

People who live or have lived in Shanghai will get this.

Q) Where is a cheap place to live in Shanghai?

ANS) Kunshan....
by sciteach
Mon Mar 20, 2023 7:55 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Planning to arrive in China in Sept. Hit me with your best advice
Replies: 8
Views: 13757

Re: Planning to arrive in China in Sept. Hit me with your best advice

I was not referring to you working at a language centre. I was stating that your info on people getting paid 25K after tax at those types of locations are not possible as those jobs no longer exist.

Also, 25K in Chengdu is very different than 25K in Shanghai or Beijing. See if housing allowance is included as this can be a real killer.
by sciteach
Sun Mar 19, 2023 2:01 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Planning to arrive in China in Sept. Hit me with your best advice
Replies: 8
Views: 13757

Re: Planning to arrive in China in Sept. Hit me with your best advice

Others can talk more about things on the ground - but the Language centres almost don't exist anymore due to law changes in 2021 banning private tutoring of kids for academic subjects (such as English).

I'd also say that your timing is off - as schools normally start in August with the latest starting in very early September.

On advice - avoid schools with mainly local admin like the plague. Also make sure you have multiple VPN's up an working on your phone and laptops before you get into China. As I think you mentioned that you've worked in asia - don't expect Chinese kids to be well behaved. 25K after tax seems to be the general amount going as a minimum since covid.
by sciteach
Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:06 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Living On Campus
Replies: 14
Views: 28124

Re: Living On Campus

I've got to agree with the general consensus that seems to be being formed.

I'm sure that there are some great school where you can live on campus and it's great - but you don't know until you are there. Here are some questions to ask:

(1) Is it a boarding school? If yes - then how will you segregate your personal life from work life? Is your apartment in the same building as the students?

(2) Do you have any limitations on what you can do in your apartment? For example - can you have family stay over? Can you have friends come over for a dinner . without being judged? Do you have to log in and log out when you leave school?

(3) What is the quality of the accommodation? And do you have to live on campus?

I've seen that some schools and countries use on-campus living as a way of controlling staff, both through who they interact with and what they can do. This is especially true in countries which may not be seen as "democratic", if you get my gist.

If it was one of the supposed highly paid Swiss boarding schools that I've heard about but have never actually met someone who has worked at - then I'd possible consider it.
by sciteach
Mon Nov 07, 2022 3:35 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Any math teachers here?
Replies: 7
Views: 11986

Re: Any math teachers here?

Apologies everyone for the "get off my lawn" moment - I promise that I'll try and not respond to this poster for a couple of months if its about getting a job or which country to work at.

I've noticed that you've made a few comments and I'm probably misinterpreting or forgetting something - but this is what I see

(1) You are a new Graduate teacher who has completed your qualification located in Vietnam (even though location is not that important)

(2) You wish to potentially work in China with some emphasis on saving money - lockdowns and such are not that important to you

(3) You are a new math teacher and want to know about which textbook to use and such.

So first onto becoming a teacher after your qualification. Unless you are a prodigy - don't expect to actually know how to teach well straight off the bat as University Teaching degrees can only teach you so much. So how do you actually become a good teacher? Well - having people around you working as a mentor and giving you support is pivotal. It's not the same as in practicums where there is a teacher in the room with you at all times and you don't really have control of the class. These mentors are there to support you - give you ideas and talk you through difficulties you may have.

Why am I mentioning this? Well - the chance of getting a school which provides you with this in China is almost non-existent at the moment. Parents are paying good money to send their money to "INSERT NAME HERE" school and parents will whine complain and carry on like a pork chop (or lamb chop if they are muslim/jewish). There is a massive shortage of international teachers in China at the moment and it's only getting worse. That means that China's best and brightest foreign teachers are leaving in droves.

In a world where math teachers are becoming as rare as hens teeth - I could not see a worse way of starting your teaching career. Don't forget that unless you have significant friends and family in the Chinese city you are moving to you will not have any family/friend support when things go south - and oh boy do they go south in your first few years of teaching. In my home country - 40% of graduates no longer teach after 5 years. We need as many competent math teachers out there as possible - and I'd prefer you to take a job that I want at a good school in a couple of years than having another competent math teacher bite the dust because of the bullshit and backstabbing that happens at a lot of international schools.

There is a reason why I like the 2 year rule before starting international teaching. You know just enough to teach decently - but still have enough of a learning curve so a new educational system is new and exciting.

And on buying textbooks. I've never purchased math textbooks for Grade 6-10 internationally. Do you want to know why? Well - each school I've ever worked at either (A) uses a different book or (B) has no textbook. The same is not true for DP / A Levels and such - where the content is much more static. There is an argument about which textbook is better though in the upper years - which I'll leave to teachers who enjoy teaching this content.

<<<RANT OVER>>>
by sciteach
Thu Nov 03, 2022 8:40 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Preparing for China next Fall while abroad. Work/Visa docs. Job Hunt
Replies: 13
Views: 16340

Re: Preparing for China next Fall while abroad. Work/Visa docs. Job Hunt

Scooter gave you some important information. Unlike many other countries, foreigner's need to go into the bank and fill in paperwork. This normally needs to happen on a work day which limits your ability to do this.

Some schools are great and even have a bank representative come into the school once a month to do this. Some schools will resent you for just taking time off work to do this.

Some banks are helpful with sending money overseas, others not so much.

To put it simply, it depends on your school, city, bank, just along with teller.

I've heard both horror stories along with people moving money with ease in China.
by sciteach
Wed Nov 02, 2022 1:35 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Preparing for China next Fall while abroad. Work/Visa docs. Job Hunt
Replies: 13
Views: 16340

Re: Preparing for China next Fall while abroad. Work/Visa docs. Job Hunt

To be honest, visas and the like are really down to the location and contacts the school has with local governments.

Joining one of the free job agencies (such as Teacher Horizons) is your best bet for a start.

Just don't see them as an honest broker when it comes to schools. They get paid to get you on the plane.

Something that might be interesting is to see if anyone has gotten a job in China as a graduate teacher.

I've got lots of negatives to say about working in China specifically if it's your first job, but sticking to the non profit more well known schools might be a good idea.

Note that sometimes for profit schools with a local clientele and management can be some of the worst work locations in relation to toxicity.

On visas, your school does that and expect them to pay for most of it. Ask specifically about how you will get refunds on flights along with how you can get money out of the country. Note that laws I think have significantly tightened on getting money out of China specifically if you are a foreigner.

Many of the better schools pay a living allowance in RMB and then send the main pay to your overseas bank account. Note that I have warned you about only getting paid in local currency and the difficultly in moving money
by sciteach
Tue Nov 01, 2022 1:10 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Preparing for China next Fall while abroad. Work/Visa docs. Job Hunt
Replies: 13
Views: 16340

Re: Preparing for China next Fall while abroad. Work/Visa docs. Job Hunt

China is in an interesting place right now - both politically and socially.

If you spoke to people 6 months ago about China - they would have told you that there would have been some movement on Covid after the 5 Year conference that just occurred (including myself). That did not seem to happen - even though you need to spend less time in isolation which is a positive thing.

Can I confirm that you'll have 2 years teaching experience as I believe that is the minimum expectation for visa. I'd be happy to be proven otherwise and I do believe that there has been some movement on this.

For finding jobs in China - there is Search Associates, TIE, Teaching Horizons and many more. To put it simple - if you are willing to move to China and have a pulse then there is a job for you there at the moment (with the correct qualifications and experience of course).

Feel free to ignore the following - but here are some things to consider before moving to China.

(1) The number of flights in/out of the country is still really small. This means that flights are expensive and difficult to get due to demand. This does not appear to being significantly improved in the near future.

(2) The Yuan is currently depreciating (currently at a 15 year low from memory). As such - some of the ultra high wages are losing a bit of their shine due to currency fluctuations.

(3) If you don't work for one of the schools which can employ everyone they need and get them in country - then expect to be completing lots of replacement classes on top of your normal teaching allotment.

(4) Once you are IN CHINA - travel in country can be open but can change on a dime. Also - it's challenging to leave for holidays/family emergencies at present. As mentioned before - flight prices are currently astronomical due to demand and support.

(5) If you are after a full international school experience - then the number of expat families living in China has (and will continue) to drop rapidly as it's difficult to get full families in and out. Many have not left the country since March 2020. It's almost 2023! Let that sink in. That means that apart from the best school in a few cities, international student numbers are dropping and the recent change in laws for teaching compulsory education will make this interesting in the next few years.

I've had my time in China and enjoyed it - but would not go back as I felt a change in the country for the worse. Call it my western perspective - but I've seen my Korean kids hassled on the streets in 2017 due to the THAD missiles. With the covid hysteria there at the moment - I'd hate to think what is currently happening.....
by sciteach
Sun Oct 30, 2022 2:20 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: SA Bangkok Fair - Still worth it?
Replies: 23
Views: 73804

Re: SA Bangkok Fair - Still worth it?

As predicted, Psyguys responded...

Sorry - I feel like stirring a pot today .... :-)