A friend of mine worked there for a while. Yes it is an island, but you don't get any of the benefits of being on an island. My friend basically told me the water was so polluted no one actually dared to swim, and the "beach" was basically a junkyard... I believe most of China would be somewhat like that in terms of "cleanliness" though...

Bad schools in some countries might not have a problem with you not being certified. In other countries schools may not care, but due to immigration policies they would not be able to provide you with a work visa. Other schools will care, a lot, and will not even consider you without being licensed.

I do have to say though, that I find all of this very ironic. Schools and countries set this requirement thinking that this sets a minimum standard when in fact, as it has just been commented, there's a lot of certified teachers who have a background in pretty much anything other than education, do an online program, study for a test, and just like that, they get certified...

A friend of mine worked for a few years in the Anglo school. She saved quite a bit and I understand she traveled around regularly. She did mention that discipline was quite an issue... According to the Search database, they pay around $50k plus flights, rent, etc...

Thanks for the information. I just saw the thread and it was very enlightening!

There is a second school called Hailebury Almaty that also seems to have a vacancy in my field, but there is only one review on the paid side of ISR. Does anyone know anything about this school?

Hello,

I am looking into two different schools in Kazakhstan (the Intellectual schools which really is a group of local schools and to a lesser degree Hailebury, which seems to be a British school with local students). The paid section of the website has some contradicting information on the former, and just one review on the latter...

Does anyone know anything about these schools, whether the savings potential is as good as they claim, etc? What is life like in Almaty? What is the visa process like?

I appreciate any information you can give me!

Thanks.

Briz, I don't think that is true. A friend of mine who is currently recruiting was told that Associates at Search actually choose which references actually appear on your profile since it would make no sense to see 20 references. The trick though is that since references are confidential, they do not let you choose (or tell you for that matter) which references are actually active on your profile. So, even though when you log in it says that you have 15 references, recruiters will only see a few that were selected by your associate...

I was considering Search when I heard this and it was enough for me to sign up just to TIE and forget about Search. One thing is the use of confidential references (where you trust the people writing them) and another one is trusting a complete stranger to choose which ones to display as a representation of you...

Feeling a bit lonely here... am I the only one who has not yet had a single interview?

Just wondering...

I'm not very experienced in this and I was wondering: do schools hire throughout the holidays? Do they take a break?

I.e.: If I am not able to secure a job in the next two weeks, should I expect there to be absolute silence throughout Christmas and New Year, or do schools keep interviewing and recruiting throughout the holidays?

Any ideas? Has anyone been hired, say, around Christmas Eve or New Year's eve?

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If you get hired, though, you would have to let Search know, and I would not be surprised if they contact the school since they are registered with them. I mean, otherwise, why would a school register with Search if they don't want Search applicants?

Actually according to Search, if you are their candidate and find a job at a school registered with them, the school will have to pay them. That is why they ask you to let them know if you found a job with or without their help. If they were also advertising the position, they will charge the school. In other words, if the school is advertising through Search and TIE, Search will get to them no matter what, so I don't really think it will make a difference for you to just email them directly...

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Thanks Cheery, any info specifically regarding this school by any chance?

I see some reviews on the pay side of this site, but only on the principals and headmaster (but these seemed to be from people who interviewed with them and no actual reviews of the class were found)....

Does anyone know anything about this school? I'm interested in Saudi but I have heard horror stories of some schools taking away teachers' passports and basically holding them hostages in Saudi against their will...

Anyone knows about this particular school?

Sid, I understand your point, but at the same time I don't think that all of the examples you mention are comparable.

Is Nairobi a city where bullets are flying around you and everyone is a criminal? Surely not, but the fact that it has an armed civil conflict which takes place partially in the cities does make it a place where you are more likely to be at risk than say Beijing.

Of course we can look at what we can control, but sometimes there are patterns to what we cannot control. One thing is a random event where a lunatic walks into a movie and shoots people, and another thing is living in a place with a high political unrest and a tracked history of deaths related to its internal conflict...