I think you might be over-complicating the issue OP. You've got 2 options to not be double-taxed by the USA, either:

1. Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE)
or
2. Foreign Tax Credit (FTC)

Option #1 means you don't pay income tax on income up to $105,900; your income is "excluded" from taxation. However, because this means you effectively have $0 taxable income, you cannot fund either an IRA or a Roth IRA with any of that excluded income. No retirement account for you, you'd just have to use a regular brokerage account to buy/sell stocks, bonds, ETFs or whatever you would have held in the IRA. You also miss out on tax credits & deductions by taking the FEIE. If your income is tax-free, or you don't pay foreign income taxes for whatever reason, then this is probably the best for you.

Option #2 means you *do* allow your foreign income to count as USA-taxable income, but you then get a tax credit equal to the amount of personal income tax you paid to a foreign country. Obviously this only works if you do, in fact, pay income tax to a foreign country and can document this. Taking the FTC makes you eligible to contribute to a IRA/Roth IRA, and eligible for other tax credits as well, some of which are refundable like the Additional Child Tax Credit *because your income has not been excluded from Federal taxes*. That means you would likely not pay any Federal income taxes and might be eligible for a refund depending on your situation.

Option #2 is good if you live/work in a country with higher marginal tax rates than the USA, as your tax liability in that country will always be higher than your USA tax liability. NOTE, taking the FTC means you normally cannot take the FEIE again for 5 years, but there are some exceptions for this like if you got a promotion/raise, or moved to a new country; you have to write a letter explaining this to the IRS though.

More useful info here: https://www.thebalance.com/ira-for-work ... ad-3193218 and here: https://www.taxesforexpats.com/expat-ta ... redit.html. This is just the knowledge that I've gained doing my own taxes; you really should ask a CPA for the best & most accurate advice for your personal financial situation.

@neoeagle

I am not sure how thrifty you are but I would say that those numbers ($30k + $600) should be after tax - especially with a family.

Taxes are high in Vietnam if you earn a Western-style salary - a $30k yearly salary puts you into the 30% (progressive) tax bracket, which would take a good chunk out of your monthly pay. I'd estimate you would take home around $2000/month or less on a $30k gross salary. More info here: https://www.gbs.com.vn/index.php/en/faq ... income-tax

PIT rates

Taxable Income per year (VND) Tax rate

VND 0 - 60,000,000 5%
VND 60,000,000 - 120,000,000 10%
VND 120,000,000 - 216,000,000 15%
VND 216,000,000 - 384,000,000 20%
VND 384,000,000 - 624,000,000 25%
VND 624,000,000 - 960,000,000 30%
Above VND 960,000,000 35%

Could you do it on that much? Of course, Vietnam has a very low cost-of-living - but you would be living more like a local and not like an expat. It all depends on your personal preferences/budget.

Title says it all - Caracas specifically.

I've read the news, so I'm aware of how bad things are. I'm interested in the opinions of people on the ground in Caracas or elsewhere in Venezuela - the good, bad, and ugly. Would you take a job there now, after having firsthand experience?

I'm male, 31, single. The only reason I'm considering this is the school in question has some quite good reviews recently, and the director is at the center of those positive reviews. It seems like it might be a good career move for me, given I will have just 2 years' experience by end of my current contract.

Perhaps a version of the Dilbert Principle: incompetent teachers are promoted to admin to limit the amount of damage they can do to students.

Maybe a little "bike-shed problem" too: people who can't handle the more complex aspects of teaching (designing quality assessments that aren't multiple-choice tests, keeping up with current research, trying out new instructional techniques, etc.) would tend to focus on the -, such as making very detailed & intricate lesson plans which look nice but no actual teacher would use. This attention to detail on meaningless forms looks good to current admin (who got their jobs in the same fashion), and current admin start grooming these teachers to be future admin because of their form-filling wizardry.

Or it's purely Machiavellian: a school's Board/Owner/Superintendent needs a sadist to play bad cop, to be the school's "hatchet man," and generally do the dirty work, so the Board/Owner/Super can keep their hands clean, play good cop and enjoy all the goodwill from teachers for not being the "bad guy," yet still secretly ruling the school with an iron fist. (can you tell I've been re-watching House of Cards?)

In all seriousness though, there are some really fantastic admins out there (and I've met a few), but they really are few and far between, sadly. The rest, it seems, are good enough at playing politics to have gotten & retain their jobs. The truly good teachers, if they move up, become an instructional coach or something still connected to the classroom - maybe that's by choice though, given their dedication to teaching & learning is what makes them good teachers. Incompetent teachers are on the fast track to VP, provided they are good at politics... Then again you have this same problem in any large organization or bureaucracy - corporations, government, etc.

Not teaching in Seoul anymore, but yes I did live there for 5 years.

Crime would be another point for Korea; while there is crime, it is quite rare (petty crime and violent crime) due to the huge social stigma on criminals. 99% of the time I felt perfectly safe, even walking alone late at night; however, in the ./clubbing areas of Seoul beware of occasional fights & such.

The school not paying for shipping household items is a minus, though anything and everything you could need is available in Seoul. There's Costco, IKEA, electronics stores similar to Best Buy, and online shopping in Korea is a breeze with cheap & quick delivery. You may even inherit some household goods like pots, pans, linens, etc. if you take over a departing teacher's apartment. The apartment itself will likely be somewhat furnished with bed, table/chairs, couch.

Sent you an email as well in case you have something more specific you'd like to ask.

Can only speak to Korea, since I lived there for 5 years.

As far as your one Con, the political climate, realize that most South Koreans regard North Korea as one might a small, noisy chihuahua in a locked car with the windows up; annoying, might even startle you, but ultimately harmless. While that might sound too casual, realize that they are the ones who live next to this annoying neighbor and if they aren't too bothered by the North, you shouldn't be either. The North works on a pattern of provocation, escalation, negotiation, and repeat. The likelihood of an attack on the South is minuscule, despite what American media or Trump might try to tell you.

A few things about your pay package:

Remember (if you're a USA citizen), you can claim all your pension back when you depart Korea at the end of your contract. Since you'll pay only 4.5%/month, and your employer matches that at 4.5%, you'll be getting free money. It works out to roughly 1 month's pay for each year you work - so make sure to factor that into your decision.

You will live quite comfortably, not extravagantly, in Seoul on that salary. If you're outside Seoul, your salary will go even further.

Provided you make sure to use your debit card for all spending (quirk of the Korean tax system), you will be able to claim back a good amount of your income tax each year (I always got money back during tax time).

Yeah, that's basically what I thought myself. Trying to stay as positive as I can given the situation. Thanks again to those of you who offered suggestions on how to be a better teacher - I've already got an ASCD subscription and am reading articles in my spare time, and also trying to reflect on my own practice more. Focusing on my own classes & improving those as best I can, all the while keeping my eyes open for opportunities to move up to a better school, is probably the best possible course of action.

Uniqlo sells business casual clothes made from breathable/dry fabrics (polyester). Definitely breathe better than cotton and very comfortable in tropical humidity & heat. Slacks, shirts, jackets - everything. Haven't noticed any stinkiness and I've worn some of these clothes for over a year, washing once a week.

Pulling a runner - I don't know if it's that bad - I get paid on time & there's no illegal or immoral things happening at the school which would justify cutting and running, despite what I might fantasize about on a bad day. Not only that, but how can I expect to land at a better IS if I'm pulling a runner; either I tell them I am (non-starter), or I say I'm a 1st year teacher (also a non-starter for getting a job at a good school).

As far as just going on autopilot with worksheets & videos, how is that good advice for a 1st year teacher who asked to how to genuinely improve? Isn't actually becoming a good teacher (and being able to convince a recruiter/HOS that I am) better than merely being able to convince a recruiter/HOS that I'm a good teacher?

I can BS with the best of them. I'm asking how I can back up that BS, while in a school that is not supportive of such efforts in its teachers - assuming that is possible at all.

@PsyGuy - absolutely right. The field experience/student teaching workload totally depends on who your mentor is. A more laid-back mentor = an easier field experience, a more hands-on/perfectionist mentor = more lesson planning & etc.

I was commenting on the program assignments from TeacherReady, the assignments everyone does regardless of their mentor. Those were a piece of cake & I'd imagine would be for most people with reasonable academic abilities. Certainly nothing near 20-25 hours a week (unless counting student teaching hours in that figure), and I'd estimate closer to 5-10. There were no lengthy writing or research assignments, for example.

I completed TeacherReady in 2015, so I can answer your questions about that program.

1. You can do the fieldwork for TR as a teacher in your own classroom, and you just need a certified administrator (w/ 3 years experience) or mentor teacher (certified w/ 3 years experience) to supervise the fieldwork assignments and evaluate you during your 1 week of teaching.

2. You can start the program even if you don't have a teaching job; you just won't be able to finish until you have your own classroom or a cooperating school.

3. Unless school was difficult for you or you have poor study habits, 20-25 hours a week for TR is excessive; if you were a good student in school, TR is a breeze. I did the program in exactly 9 months, passed all my exams on the first try, and I certainly did not spend 20-25 hours a week on TR coursework. The field experience/student teaching will take more time, especially when it comes to lesson planning (particularly if your mentor teacher has high standards), but the TR coursework was, frankly, really easy.

4. The exams for TR are the FTCE - the credential exams for the state of Florida. There are 3; general knowledge, professional knowledge, and subject exam (if you're a secondary teacher, the subject you'll be teaching; for primary, a multiple subject exam). You can re-take the exams, but you'll pay a retake fee ($150-$220 depending on the exam), and the exams have to be taken in the USA (any Pearson center in any state), so it may mean another trip back to the USA if you fail one of the exams.

5. No idea about the PGCEi; maybe PsyGuy will be along shortly to tell you more about that.

Hope that helps. The TR staff are really good at answering questions promptly and in detail, I really had only good experiences with their admin before, during, and after the program, so don't be afraid to ask them for more information!

Joe30 - except it's not about teacher's free time; the official company line is, the school grounds are responsibility of the (contracted) security staff after 5pm, and the security staff then require all students off property at that time. Some teachers do stay after 5pm in their classrooms working & haven't been kicked out. 1st semester we ran a student-teacher soccer match, which we were ordered by the company to cancel due to running past 5pm.

It's a bit obnoxious to say I am working at a good school & just don't know it when everything I've said or asked in this thread ought to have lead you to believe you and I are very different people who want very different things from our jobs - and that's fine, we can agree to disagree, unless one of us starts saying the other person's desires are invalid, which is what you have just done. Maybe this is the ideal school for you - but not for me. I mean really, I asked how to grow as a teacher and your response was, basically, don't. Not helpful.

Mamava - yeah, some of those are a bit of a reach - but thanks for taking the time to respond & throw out some good ideas! I also hadn't mentioned yet that I have 7 preps, all secondary (from year 7 to year 10). That limits how much I can do outside of class while still maintaining my sanity. Although the cooking club is an idea I hadn't thought of - I used to be a restaurant cook during & for 2 years after college and I would certainly enjoy running something like that. I also hadn't thought of connecting with an NGO - certainly something else I can look into. Thanks again!

Thanks for the reply mamava! Extracurriculars at this school are a bit of a joke. I do supervise soccer once a week, but there's a company rule that staff and students must leave by 5pm (classes end at 4:15) so that's a significant roadblock to developing it into a good program. I tried to start a speech & debate team too - only had 1 student sign up, and again, 45 minutes once a week is not really enough to have a competitive program. Maybe I'm being too negative though - starting small might be best?

I'll definitely start looking for possible PD in Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong.

sid - good way to break it down. Route C is definitely the way to go, hard work notwithstanding.

Thanks again everyone! Gives me a little glimmer of hope in an otherwise rotten week.

Thanks for the helpful replies everyone.

Presenting at a conference is something I've thought of, but I feel a bit insecure about that though since I'm a 1st year teacher - what expertise do I really have? Same with taking on a leadership role - I'd like to, but 5+ years from now. This school isn't even really organized into PS/MS/HS, let alone departments. I suppose I am de facto department head for secondary social studies, since I'm the only person teaching it. There are several campuses owned by the same company though, if I transferred to another branch, possibly I could make that official.

Admin already know that I try to innovate in the classroom. They don't seem to care either way, although I'm not sure how much I trust them. I've never tried to push something school-wide (I don't talk in staff meetings - I learned quickly no good will come of that here). I try to just keep it to my classes or helping out other teachers any way I can, brainstorming lesson or project ideas, helping them find tech tools. I suppose that's the best I can hope for here.

I am teaching IGCSE Global Perspectives this year, and supposed to teach IGCSE 1st Language English next year as well. The school talked about offering A-levels next year, which I was very excited about, but we are too small right now to justify it. So I've at least got some IGCSE experience out of it. A little bit odd for an American I suppose - do British schools typically view that with suspicion, or is experience the main thing, regardless of what country I'm from? Obviously, all schools are different but if you had to generalize?

Again, thanks for all the replies - there are definitely (many) days where I feel like taking the worksheet route, and ask myself, why am I working so hard for a school that probably doesn't deserve it; but that feels like giving up, and I think that's not right for me - not in my 1st year at least.