Search found 9 matches

by DaZhu
Sat Jan 23, 2021 10:45 pm
Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
Topic: Teaching in Italian International Schools
Replies: 8
Views: 31224

Re: Teaching in Italian International Schools

I'm interested in exploring Italy too--but one thing I noted was that your pay is taxed around 40%!

Which means, regardless of your salary, you won't make much money.

The food will be great though! :D
by DaZhu
Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:55 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Any thoughts on the Search Fair coming up?
Replies: 8
Views: 8849

Re: Any thoughts on the Search Fair coming up?

@PsyGuy

I've never even been to a F2F fair, hopefully soon, but SA said they will have zero face to face this year,---so this SA one was actually my first job fair of any kind.

Yeah, you're right, all the benefits of F2F is gone (character is out of the equation) and decisions are entirely based on the CV. This might be preferable for those who aren't good in face to face interactions, but not for the rest.

Still, I don't understand how this SA 'fair' is any different than any day of the week applying for a school--they're all the same schools that are available before and after the fair, and all the positions that are available during the fair are also posted before the fair on their web sites directly. Am I missing something?

Hoping I can go to a normal fair after stupid COVID becomes less of a concern!
by DaZhu
Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:43 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Masters in Education or Masters in Education with TESOL Concentration?
Replies: 7
Views: 7052

Re: Masters in Education or Masters in Education with TESOL Concentration?

The FSU Masters in International Education, Educational Leadership, Special Education, and TESOL are about $6500.

They fly their professors to China, and around the world so you can have 100% of the lessons in person--which is freaking fantastic. All of the professors had their Phd, EdD, and or an absurd amount of experience an expertise in their field (probably on average 25 years of experience in their craft).

The classes are scheduled during your holidays--so you're looking at 8+ hours per day of classes for 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 and 4 weeks at a time. It's rigorous/intense, but it's also so much fun to be doing it with a bunch of like-minded administrators/teachers from around China, and around the world (we had 12 different countries in my cohort of 24).

They have moved to an online format until COVID isn't such an issue.

I'd say a masters is far more about what a person puts into it than what it is offering directly; you get out what you put in. It's a shock to a lot of undergrads who think their their progress will simply happen to them, as it would in undergrad, and when their results are a reflection of their poor initiative and motivation.

So I had several classmates who put in minimal effort, minimal thought etc. Others were super bright, motivated, and high achievers who paid attention to every details. Those two different groups had very different results in terms of progress.
by DaZhu
Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:30 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How Competitive is my CV? Looking for feedback!
Replies: 9
Views: 8863

Re: How Competitive is my CV? Looking for feedback!

Thanks for the info. Clear and direct.

"No, the rule is no amount of training equals any amount of experience, its not a compensatory metric."

Interesting. I'm sure there is a cutoff somewhere though--do you think if there was a teacher with 15 years of experience applying with one with 20 years--that there would be a big difference in those (presuming all things equal?)--they should both be experts no? On SA, they have two columns in terms of salary,

1. 4 years with an undergraduate
2. 8 years with a masters

And I'm wondering why they chose those two numbers. Do you think 8 years is considered 'very experienced', and that's their standard? (while 4 is considered entry level?)--I saw you wrote "at 8 years you've reached the end of the inflection points where an IT significantly improves their craft."--is this anecdotal, or is this research based?

I didn't think about ego conflicts with the doctorate, interesting note.

"You're more aligned to tier 2"

Yeah, I'm thinking actually that COVID is why I'm getting some interviews at these schools that are among the best in China. I don't mind.

I've actually looked around on how one considers tier 1 or tier 2 etc--how do you classify these schools? I've googled and it seems a bit arbitrary.

Thanks!
by DaZhu
Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:08 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How Competitive is my CV? Looking for feedback!
Replies: 9
Views: 8863

Re: How Competitive is my CV? Looking for feedback!

I think I did most things in 2.5 years--doesn't take that long, you just have to commit to it full time (commit to improvement) Soon as I finish one thing, I just start another, that way it just kind of feels like a regular amount of extra work. You'd be surprised how fast 2 years slips by--and it's going to slip by. Might as well accomplish something during those years. Just look at it as a ladder, and you have to focus on the rung above you. That's what I'm still doing--trying to figure out my next step. What's your next step? Now take action to get there.

My Lucky Break
I was teaching in Vietnam at an English Center (a good one) and after 1.5 years left to Thailand for greener pastures. I didn't have any plan at all--was just going to see what popped up, or even just take a break for a while. But it was in early august, so I thought maybe I should throw up my resume on Daves ESL cafe to see what would happen.

All of a sudden, the same day, I had more contacts and interview requests than I could handle. I thought it was bizarre, because I wasn't particularly qualified (other than being a white American). One was in China, and they made me an offer. I counter offered, and they said if I could be there in 2 weeks, then I'm in--- and I never left.

Later I found out they only hired qualified, experienced teachers with IB experience--but they didn't tell me at the time. They had hired some guy who had fake credentials, so that opened the spot. When I arrived, I was kind of looked down on by those with more experience, and asked things like "Why'd they hire you?" etc.

I teach English, Math, IB, Phonics if necessary, and whatever else they need me to teach (Spanish, Science, ECA, or several other things).

But yeah, started off in ESL in Japan and Vietnam, and I had a moment when I was in Vietnam when someone posted in the job forums "hey guys, I'm a teacher with my MA and 5 years of experience with this and that" and I'll be honest, I recall feeling super inferior; that guy would get a job over me any time at a job I would really want; he was this super star of education who could pick and choose, and there was me--a college graduate with a CELTA--I felt very vanilla.

Now I'm in a better place, but man--how does one compete with a genuinely good teacher who has a masters and and 15 years of experience? I can't except for hopefully becoming super qualified to help try and makeup some of that difference, so that's why I'm looking for advice from the wisest of teachers here :)
by DaZhu
Sat Jan 16, 2021 6:32 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How Competitive is my CV? Looking for feedback!
Replies: 9
Views: 8863

How Competitive is my CV? Looking for feedback!

First, cheers to all you hard working teachers who have had to work through this covid situation, deal with job loss, and having to find a new job in a crazy market! Hopefully 2021 will see sunnier skies.

I'm new to these forums and see that feedback has been given by many people for many candidates, so I was hoping some of you might take the time to put me under an honest microscope.

After my 3rd year teaching ESL, I got a break at a good international school, but it was drilled into my head that I 'got lucky' and that I was 'not qualified'. The 'qualified' career teachers (with 20+ years of experience etc) from the US treated me like the step-child, and talked down to me--so over the past 3 years I've worked hard to improve my profile. That experience lit a fire under my butt and I've worked very hard to improve my qualifications ever since.

My questions I'd like feedback on are this

1. How valuable are IB certifications do you think? I think they're super easy to get if you don't mind shelling out the money, so do you think having 4-6 certs would make me more attractive? Or is that an average amount? Or maybe a cert that would learn towards being an IB coordinator? I know there's a diminishing return at some point--but I don't quite know, and I'd like to stand out with my credentials. Any talented IB people who might answer?

2. I know my education and certifications are pretty strong at this point, and I know my weakness is my years of experience. I'm trying to over-qualify myself to help make up for my years of experience. Is there something that might round out my CV? Like..some SEL certification maybe? Any reccomendations?

3.How valuable is a PhD or EdD in terms of improving competitiveness? Again, I know I am lacking the lifetime of experience that career teachers have had, but would a school rather pick someone with their Doctorate in Education and 8 years of experience, or someone with an undergraduate degree with 15+ years of experience? I would think doctorate? Thoughts?

Here's my quick bio (USA)
Teaching Years Total: 6
Teaching Years at an international School: 3
Teaching at an authorized IB school: 3 (PYP)
Highest Degree: Masters in Educational Leadership
Highest Degree: Currently pursuing a second masters in TESOL (because I like the subject area)
Teaching License: Will be finished in 2 months@ TeacherReady
IB Certifications: 2 (Cat1+Cat2)
ISTE: In progress
TESOL Cert: CELTA
Other: I was an IT guy for 15 years--so I'm good with technology.

My SA advisor said that my 3 years of non-international school experience doesn't really count as experience in the eyes of an international school. She said staying at my current school for 1 more year would not help my CV, but wouldn't hurt my CV, and that I should try to aim for a Tier 1 international school as my next step. She said my qualifications were good, but I have little international school experience.

I only applied to a handful of schools on SA, and they were all Tier 1 schools in China and Thailand. I got interviews with 2, and declined from several others. Their feedback was really valuable though.

1. One said "We really like your CV but my manager is super strict about teaching licenses, so get that and give us a call."
2. Another said "We have filled the position" (only a few days after I applied, so I think I was late.
3. Another said "We are looking for someone with more PYP experience." And I have 3 years of PYP experience soo...tough market!
4. Another Tier 1 found me out of the blue and gave me an interview, certainly one of the top schools in China, by all measures. So I'm hoping for that one.
5. Got an interview with another Tier 1.

What I Learned
1. get that teaching license
2. Get more IB experience
3. Apply earlier. Start in November.

It was very satisfying to even be considered at these really prestigious T1 schools, so while I didn't land the positions I was looking for, I did see that I was in the running for several of them, but I applied too late for sure.

Any feedback on how I might stand out from the crowd of super talented and qualified teachers, I would appreciate!

Stay safe!
by DaZhu
Sat Jan 16, 2021 5:51 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Masters in Education or Masters in Education with TESOL Concentration?
Replies: 7
Views: 7052

Re: Masters in Education or Masters in Education with TESOL Concentration?

Hi there,

Looks like you're blazing forward!

We have similar paths--I'm an IT guy turned teacher who started in the ESL path, and ended up on the International School Highway.

First, get it through Framingham State University, they're offering an MA in TESOL online during the pandemic, and it's VERY inexpensive. How do I know? Because I'm doing that right now.

I also got my masters in Educational Leadership, and I'm in the middle of teacher ready also..busy busy!

I think for recruiters a Masters in Education will open the most doors, but you'll learn a whole lot more about teaching English in the TESOL program. So after I got my MA in Educational Leadership, while it's nice, it's not super useful on my day to day experience, so that's why I'm getting the second in TESOL--and it's incredibly useful.

But as someone mentioned, you're super short on experience. With your training, it's like you're becoming a professional athlete without ever having played the sport---you absolutely sure that this is the road for you? Because it's a lot of time and money to be invested in before having experience.

The second part, yeah you need experience. I wouldn't wait at all--go find a school in Vietnam. Super easy, (well, pre-covid), and you can get some experience.

You should know also, you need almost zero qualifications to get a job as an ESL teacher--as long as you have your bachelors degree in anything, and an ESL certification (CELTA if you can)--don't wait years to do it, get that experience now, and it will coincide with your education.

Good luck!
by DaZhu
Sat Jan 16, 2021 5:35 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How Competitive?
Replies: 4
Views: 4504

Re: How Competitive?

I just got turned down by a tier 1 in Thailand because "They want someone with more PYP experience"--and I have 3 years of PYP experience. Must be a competitive market!

But yep..IB is the way to go.
by DaZhu
Sat Jan 16, 2021 5:31 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Any thoughts on the Search Fair coming up?
Replies: 8
Views: 8849

Re: Any thoughts on the Search Fair coming up?

Having attended the fair, I don't see the difference between NOT going to the 'fair' or just doing your normal SA searches.

All of the schools are just part of the regular searches, soo.....I don't get it.