i'm pretty sure you're not alone in your ideas about education being negatively affected by the UK state school system! loads of teachers wanting or wishing to leave.

anyways, to answer questions, i never thought of the ME as a hardship location. the hardest thing about it was the oven-like heat for most of the year, but there are about 3 months where it is amazing weather. i was in the UAE so i can't really comment on anywhere else except to say that many people said avoid kuwait. if i was to do it over again, i would look at oman.

and whether or not the UK broke your confidence, you still need to be able to talk about the positives and what you as a teacher want to do and how you approach the kids. use your challenges in the UK as positives and opportunities to develop your professional career...you at least have to know the jargon (wasn't that the point of teacher's college anyways? haha). depending on who you get hired by, what group you teach, and what kind of school you work at, behaviour management can be a lifesaver. as PG and eion said, there are lots of issues - organization, business culture, parents over there, and not necessarily only the locals.

these countries are largely safe, and possibly the safest countries you can find between the tropics (i could be wrong) but the point is i never felt threatened or in danger at any time. my wife felt uncomfortable often, due to staring and such but that's it.

if you're a qualified IT, then you should be making more than an ESL teacher would, unless that ESL teacher was maxed out with experience and maybe working at a university. it's pretty hard to say what offers you would get, the landscape is always changing. but in general, you'll see a lot from china and the middle east.

good luck.

v.

i got into uae into a decent school, without the two years experience, and stayed there for several years. it wasn't the best but far, far from the worst. it was in a city and i found good . scene and everything to make the region not as "hard" as some might think. yeah, it lacked for culture and was fairly vapid in many ways, but i saved money and had lots of fun - and never got ran over by a white suv! yay!

hardship locations are somewhat subjective but the threat of instantaneous widespread violence or domestic terrorism is one factor, also a high level of inflation and unrest usually due to sharp inequality are good indicators. BUT some people can go to some of these places and have no problem whatsoever, while another may go and get mugged 3 times in the same afternoon. what are you looking for? what are your priorities? what is important that you have in your new home - culturally, romantically, financially, etc??? generally, these will determine your "hardship" locations.

when you get your certification, i would suggest joining search associates, and/or TIEonline. the brits have TES but i don't really like that one. but it does have jobs on it, however sketchy!

the main point is there are options out there, but temper your expectations in terms of quality - but again, even though we have a general idea of what a quality school is, other factors will usually affect your overall happiness more.

best of luck!

v.

from what you've said:

- you're on good terms with your leadership, they're "okay" with you leaving - great. if you were hired via search or something like that, get them to send an email to your associate. it is a mutual agreement that you are leaving and there are no negative actions being taken.
- 30 days is what they ask for but many schools will ask intentions earlier, though you're under no obligation to tell them. as psyguy says, it could backfire especially if they have someone in mind to replace you earlier than you expect. BUT if you're on good terms it should be ok....unless there is a board or something and they get wind of it and they don't like it...
- get a good positive reference from your admin if possible. have a response that explains your departure - a good one. and only if they ask.
- the labour laws are there to protect you. the majority of schools will look for ways to not pay you, and either way, the school will end up doing pretty much what it wants anyways. so don't feel bad, this stuff happens.

good luck.

v.

well, it doesn't hurt to try. if you have two years post-cert experience, that is the minimum. i got hired with 0 experience post-cert no problem. you might be in an area considered a 'hardship' location, and you could have behaviour problems there as well, but i would doubt it would be anything like inner london. you'd have rich, entitled kids mixed in with hard-working kids but no real violent kids - just a-holes and jerks. maybe others have seen kids get violent with teachers, but over 4 schools i haven't ever seen that happen. i have seen it back in canada though, and i'm sure you've probably seen some crazy shite in london too!

anyways, i don't think you'd need to get any of those esl qualifications if you're interested in teaching international schools, and you have your teaching qualification. as you say, someone will probably hire you and then you can plug away for a couple years and move somewhere more to your liking.

good luck!

v.

Nomad68 wrote:
> Many schools prefer not to hire ITs with kids. Saudi Arabia has recently
> introduced a 'tax' on expat workers' dependents. If you have a trailing
> spouse and 2 or more kids where can you reasonsbly hope to get hired in the
> current employment climate? QSI seem family friendly but seem to have a bad
> rep. Any suggestions?

the saudi tax, from what i understand, isn't that much compared to what you get paid as a teacher.
an added expense but not an income tax or anything crazy.

i would think qsi would be a good bet but hit or miss it seems re: their rep. my friend in ukraine loves their school in kyiv, but we interviewed for one in vietnam with this curly haired little hobbit guy who told me couldn't smoke, preferred if i didn't drink, and asked me about christ....so...it was a laugh and a see ya later!

good luck!

v.

i don't know much about your situation but it's generally a long and bumpy ride. they have to evaluate your credentials and reference them to what is required for a teacher. you could be looking at several AQs or ABQs simply to get your teachables. as PG says, there is a glut of teachers in ontario right now, and have been for years and will be for years. i left because of this. but, and it looks like you might, if you have french you might not have much of a problem - the problem could be recognizing your degree(s) and all that. you could even find yourself taking the teacher program, which a colleague who was trained in another country had to do, to be qualified to teach in ontario.

best of luck!

v.

did you sign yet? maybe there is a reason they don't offer that?

if you like the culture, the location, and the pay maybe it's somewhat of a trade off that you need to pay those fees? maybe it's something you could bring up as a sticking point, if you want to go down that road. you could also be shooting yourself in the foot.

you'll have to go with your instincts.

good luck!

v.

it is very annoying. i wish there was an agreement of some sort between the big recruitment companies that share one anonymous reference app or something.

if a school uses schrole, thats who you should apply through. search? use search.

good luck!

v.

wow, can't say i've ever heard of a school offering that much outside of switzerland or saudi - if you can, would you say on the paid side?

being an atheist myself, i've worked domestically at christian schools and islamic schools - never long term - and can't really say it was pushed on me. i imagine it would be a bit more difficult internationally, especially if it is a boarding school.

good luck, and congrats!

v.

all except one of our offers came between dec. 12-dec. 31. maybe that's an anomaly.

good luck!

v.

i'll second one part of PsyGuy's comments, but this goes for those in dubai and abu dhabi as well: if you can get a membership to one of the clubs - british club for example, do it! it's worth it - or at least the one in abu dhabi was for us!

v.

depends on what you like in your life...it's the most conservative of the emirates and no alcohol. i think it's got a zoo, but zoos in the UAE are depressing. i hope you received a great package because you should save a lot.

good luck!

v.

20,000 uae is low for a leadership position but probably on par with an entry level admin position. you'll still save a lot, but i would ask what your job description entails and what your responsibilities are.

good luck!

v.

usartteacher wrote:
> Just registered for Search and starting the application processes. It's
> amazing how involved and different each school application is. I thought
> that since the process of registering with Search was so involved, it would
> be fairly simple to start applying.



we thought that too when we started with search...oh how convenient, everything is here - our parent references, admin, leadership, degrees and certs, etc... but then some schools essentially have you do it all over again through schrole or even their own internal system...i remember i think it was SAS (singapore) that had their own gigantic application process. redonkulous.

good luck!

v.

i personally like to apply to schools directly unless requested specifically by the school. some have no issue paying search their fees, and i've found others who would rather not if it can be helped.

my associate told me that, apparently, they can see if you've looked at a school on their site and if a school has looked at your profile. who knows. but all things being equal if i see a vacancy on search, i'll google the school and check their website to see what info is there. if they've got a way to apply directly - and i know a bit about the school such that i know the salary would be decent regardless if i checked it on search - i always do.

good luck!

v.