I also don’t think that your PGCEi is useless. Unfortunately, people with non-US, UK, Australian, and New Zealand passports are not always an IS’s first choice. After that, EU passports are probably accepted more than other nationalities. I have found that IB schools are more open-minded and embrace more diversity in general, but not all the time. With that said, if you have any IB training and experience, they tend to hire you regardless of your passport depending on the school. However, I have seen more diversity in teachers who teach DP math, chemistry, and physics than other subjects.

To answer your original question, I think you still have a chance to work at international schools around the world. If you don’t work at an IB school, you might want to look into finding schools that are willing to hire you to get an experience. I know lots of international teachers from different countries have worked in China as well, which could also be your next step.

After rereading the original post, it doesn’t look like you have any teaching experience, which could be the biggest reason you’re not getting any interviews. Typically, the minimum requirement is to have at least two years of teaching experience.

I used to like in Tokyo and in the Yokohama area over a decade ago, and your rent will depend a lot on where you want to live. For example, Tokyo is always going to be the most expensive, but if you are going to be in the greater Tokyo area, it should be cheaper. Apartments that are a few train stations away from a major transfer station are usually cheaper than the apartments near the major transfer station. Apartments that are 15 minute walk away from train stations are also cheaper than the ones closer to the stations.

There are plenty of language schools that would probably hire your wife, especially if you are in the country. Check out Gaijinpot.com
https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/job/index/la ... mit=Search]

A lot of my friends with families go to Costco to shop in bulk, which will also help you save money.

Like the other comments, I think you will be fine if you are not looking to save tons of money.

I was waiting for an interview for 20-30 minutes at a fair and found out over half an hour later that they hired someone, because I emailed them and therefore, they were not in their rooms. I was so angry, because I could have had another interview with another school at this time, if I had known.

I also had three interviews with a school and never heard back from them. I messaged them via ISS several times before giving up.

However, last year, I had the first interview and they told me that they will get back to me in a week or two. After a month or so when I had totally forgotten, I heard from them for the second interview and got an offer. Their explanation was COVID and interviews taking longer than planned.

So I guess it all depends on the personality of the recruiters.

I am not answering your post, and I truly apologize for this. I just thought that there might be another way for you to get into the international school system. You might have already explore this option, however, I worked with a South African colleague who did an M. Ed. Online from a university in South Africa. My other South African friend told me that her friend got a job at an international school after finishing her M.Ed.

I hope things will all work out for you.

I am sorry for not answering your question sciteach, but I also have a similar question. I just moved to Japan last summer and am paid fairly well. However, I had a Central European school contact me earlier this week about applying for a position that would be considered a promotion, yet the lay would be lower than what I am getting paid after taxes. I’m not sure whether it’ll be safer to stay for another year, start job search at the end of this year, and hope to land a job or see where this invitation to apply goes and if I get an offer to go. Japan has not contained the . and the cases are increasing, however, it has done a much better job compared to a lot of countries.

I used to work in the Frankfurt area, and our school had a very difficult time finding German Language teachers. So they hired Dutch and Austrian language teachers to teach German classes. So your wife might be able to get a job as a German language teacher at an international school. There are many in the Frankfurt area.

Do you have a reader’s and writer’s workshop background? If I am not mistaken, they do reader’s and writer’s workshop in the PYP or a form of it. Therefore, if you don’t have the background, it might be really hard to get an interview.

I don’t want you to get your hopes up too high. Although getting a PGCE and not having 2 years will experience can get you a job, it is not always easy. It all depends on how many teachers applied to the position, and what the school is looking for. For example, one of the schools that I worked at in Europe had a last minute position at the end of the year around June. All the experienced teachers at that time have probably gotten their jobs, and the teachers who applied to the position did not have a lot of experience. However, the school had to choose one of them. There was an opening during the school year in another school due to medical leave, and again the candidate pool was not as great as if the search was in the fall/winter for the following academic year. I am currently in Japan and am working at a well-paid school. However, the majority of the international schools in Japan that are not top tier schools do not pay as well as the top tier schools. I have worked in Europe for 6 years and Latin America for 8 years, and it was the same situation. Generally top tier schools pay better and hire people who have ample experience.

There are international schools that are not top tier but pay well to support your family without having the 2 year experience with a PGCE. For example, my school is tiny and not well known, but has hired many people who did not have experience in the past and we get paid well. My South African friend was paid well in China, worked in two different schools there and had a PGCE. My current South African colleague worked at the American School in Johannesburg before going international, and they probably pay better than the local schools. However, it is hard to predict how many teachers will be looking for the position you are looking for whenever you start, especially after Covid19 crisis. I think your best bet would be the Middle East or Asia, because most school pay for housing and the salaries would be enough to support your family.

Have you checked the requirements to get the certificate in MA? Usually one of the requirements is to be a resident in the states.

I taught in Japan over a decade ago at a ‘local’ international school(cheaper than the well-known schools such as ASIJ and YIS), and a lot of the students had a Japanese parent and a foreign parent. They were in local Japanese schools and got bullied because of they didn’t look Japanese, which is why their parents paid more to get them into the school where I taught. I don’t know if the culture changed after a decade, however, it might be something you might not want to risk.