I'm interested to know if new teachers must remain in Malaysia for 2 years before being able to return to their home country. The way that it is worded on their website leads me to wonder if it's not allowed, or simply that the school doesn't pay for it. Anyone there that can clarify for me?

In August I began teaching at a QSI school in central Asia and it has exceeded my expectations on many levels. During the interview there was no mention of religion and I have no idea if our city even has a church. Religion is simply NOT an issue. It never comes up. We live very comfortably and we are able to save tons of money (my entire salary and half of my husband's goes right into savings). 4 of my teacher friends worked at the QSI in Thailand and they loved it. They love it here, too. It's worth looking in to. See about setting up an interview and give it a shot.

Hi world traveler 123! Hope you are well.

Please forgive me if you read my message as condescending. I had absolutely NO intention of being negative in any way. I asked because I thought you were looking for some help and advise and teaching internationally and travelling internationally are two VERY different things. I recently attended my first (Search) job fair in Thailand. I have traveled extensively over 4 different continents and taught in Japan as an ESL teacher. Both of these factors were of little or no use while interviewing for international positions. Again, I apologize.

WEEN, Is your "extensive international experience" in teaching or in traveling? Seems a bit odd if you are an experienced international teacher that you are not finding jobs.

I wonder if this is a better question: "Is working internationally for QSI better than NOT working internationally at all"

2 years of "international teaching" seems to be the minimum needed for the great schools (international ESL doesn't count) so would 2 years with QSI get your foot in the door?

Glad to know that Overhere has had success after QSI. Overhere, did any of your QSI collegues move on as well?

I am very interested in the answer to this question posted above. I'd also be curious to know about the few teachers that are coming up empty handed. Did they go to any job fairs? Do they have Master's degrees? Did they teach prior to QSI? Just wondering.

Koda, any chance you are on your way to Ashgabat?

Just thought it would be good to chime in here to add that I had a 2 hour interview with QSI a few weeks ago and religion and morals never came up once. It was a comfortable, great interview and we accepted a position. Since then, I have been in close contact with 4 teachers at my "new school" and again, religion has never been mentioned. Perhaps the recruiter is aware of which principals are ultra-religious or homophobic and does his best to prevent a catastrophic hiring situation.

[quote="heyteach"][/quote] Personally, I blame SEARCH for their lack of information about the schools' needs at the Bangkok fair. [/quote]

The information that the schools themselves submit to Search's Web site is usually pretty clear about their IB programs, and often the positions listed in the table at the bottom will state they are looking for IB experienced teachers. Another good source is the schools' Web sites. If they tout being an IB school, then I think we can assume they are looking for IB teachers.

My current school, my first international, is an IB World School with all levels, but they actually prefer to train you themselves.[/quote]

What I learned about IB at this fair is that when a school posts that IB experience is preferred, what they really mean is it is REQUIRED. Maybe later in the hiring process they will take candidates without it, but there seems to be no shortage of IB teachers - especially those that are coming from non-US countries. I would love to know which school you are headed to. BTW, Congratulations! Perhaps we rode the elevators together. :)

[quote="sangster2"]There were lots of jobs for me to apply for at this fair which is not usually the case. I went to the fair with 7 others and we all got at least one job offer. One couple got the offer yesterday.[/quote]

Am I correct in assuming that you and your 7 friends are currently teaching in international schools? Do you all have IB experience? What areas do you teach? Also, were all of the offers accepted? By that, I mean, were they good/desirable schools? These are the types of things that people reading this forum need to know. Comparing apples and oranges is senseless.

We arrived home (USA) from the Bangkok fair last night. We are a teaching couple certified in high school econ, SS, history, geography, psychology, sociology and middle school sci, SS, lang arts, gifted. We taught ESL in Japan for 3 years. While our fair experience was good - we learned a great deal - we left without a job offer. We had 4 schools interview us. One school liked us and we had 3 different sessions with them. In the end, we were told repeatedly that we were "great candidates".

When we arrived there were 8 schools (that we were interested in) that had jobs to fit our subject areas. The crazy rush to get an interview proved to be extremely stressful. 5 of the 8 schools just told us that they only would consider IB (MYP) experienced teachers. Of the interviews that we had, things went well and we thought we had a good chance with all of them.

Would I do it again? Not so sure. The cost was extreme and so far I don't see any benefit. Now, if one of those schools that we interviewed with offers us something in the upcoming months, then I would be able to say that it was worth the trip.

Best of luck to everyone!

I'm new at international school searching. I have read numerous times that many schools prefer to hire teaching couples. I am half of a teaching couple and I'm interested in a top tier school in Asia. Can someone suggest how I find out which schools actually WANT teaching couples? So far, I have not seen that published (formally) anywhere. I'd rather not waste my time with CVs and interviews if the school really wants a single teacher. One more question...will more schools be added to the Search Associates list as we get closer to the job fairs? There is a Thai school that I love that so far is not listed at the Cambridge fair. Is the list a work in progress or is it completely set? Any help is greatly appreciated.