Agree with TommyPizza. Iowa's UNI fair is great, whether you are new or not. There are a number of excellent schools there, and they seem more interested in hiring than simply collecting resumes. It's smaller and more collegiate; sharing a shuttle with a bunch of admin from the airport, they were giving me all sorts of good advice. I met a number of experienced international teachers there, who actually prefer the UNI fair over the cattle-call Search ones.

I would say, instead of listing the countries/cities you think you want, list the ones you definitely would not go to, and then any other deal breakers (for me: Mongolia, sharing an apartment, living in a dorm with students). If you're paying off debt, you need to consider cost of living vs. your pay as well.

Do not settle for a city or school you don't really want to teach at. And never mind the silly "tiers" some people insist on labeling schools with.

JL, ABA has a good reputation, but I don't personally know either school.

I applied four years ago--just a "cold call" sort of application--and also would've gone in a heartbeat. I taught at a different school in Muscat for two years and it is a great place to live. Loved the lifestyle but in the end couldn't deal with the school I was at.

My first thought as a subject area would be Humanities in an MYP program; there would be more openings in MYP (because there are more grade levels to teach). Second thought, with the degree in philosophy, was Theory of Knowledge in the DP. A smaller school would probably be interested in your being able to teach both subjects.

You would certainly need to get a real teaching certificate to get anywhere on the international circuit. A secondary certificate with an endorsement in social studies/humanities would help. Some schools, including one I taught at, will do their own IB training with new hires. You don't need to settle for lousy schools just to get international experience, and you could very well teach TOK without prior experience (I've seen it happen, and this was at a well-established school).

Well, Sid said a lot of what I was thinking, but I would point out that now you're behaving in a rubbishy manner. What sort of post would you be writing if the situation were reversed--you sign a contract with the school in the country you really want, but then they find out the teacher _they_ really wanted is now available, so they hire her and give you a lame excuse??

You'll find, as Sid mentions, that the Six Degrees of Separation are reduced to about three in international teacher circles.

So can you correct the misspellings on your end? I hate to think of someone researching various schools/countries and not being able to find them because they're misspelled.

It wasn't the fact that she was no longer at the school, but that the name of the COUNTRY was misspelled. It's CAYMAN Islands.

And in the synopsis that just arrived today, there is a school listed in Libreville, GANON. The country is spelled GABON. And there's a school review in UKRAIN--there should be an E on the end.

Guess I should just stop reading these emails.

Just got the latest ISR newsletter, where there's a synopsis of the latest reviews of schools and administrators. For the love of god, one of the admins listed is at "Camen Islands International School."

Actually, she's not there anymore (no matter how one spells it). I did a quick check and she's been at AS Japan since 2013!

MODERATOR'S COMMENTS: DO REALIZE THAT TEACHERS WILL POST ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES YEARS AFTER THEY LEAVE A SCHOOL. SINCE THE ADMINISTRATOR IN QUESTION IS NOW IN JAPAN, AND STILL ON THE CIRCUIT, IT WOULD WELL SERVE TEACHERS CONSIDERING A JOB AT THE JAPAN SCHOOL TO KNOW THE HISTORY AND BEHAVIOR OF SAID ADMINISTRATOR. CLICKING THE "ADMIN REPORTS" LINK IN THE MEMBER AREA WILL BRING UP AN INDEX TO SCHOOL ADMIN. THUS TEACHERS CAN SEE HOW A SPECIFIC PERSON HAS BEEN REVIEWED AT THEIR CURRENT AND PREVIOUS SCHOOLS. IF NO INFO YET EXISTS FOR THEIR CURRENT SCHOOL, PREVIOUS PERFORMANCE SHOULD BE A GOOD INDICATOR OF WHAT TO EXPECT. FOR THIS REASON WE POST SUCH REVIEWS EVEN AFTER PERSONNEL HAVE LEFT A SCHOOL.

IN THE FUTURE WHY NOT CONTACT US THROUGH A CONTACT US FORM AND ALERT US TO YOUR CONCERNS SO WE CAN WORK TO MAKE THE SITE THE BEST IT CAN BE.

My Search associate's response when I asked him which fair to go to was, "The one that has the most positions you are qualified for." Of course he was right; there's no point traveling to an expensive destination if there's only a couple of positions for me.

UNI was my first fair, and there were schools from all over, not just South America or Asia. I had a number of interviews, a good handful of offers, and my first overseas contract. It seemed the recruiters were hiring, rather than scanning the field for future reference. It was a very well-organized fair and they do have a database and a forum for candidates.

Congratulations, MizMorton! I'm sure it will have been worth the wait and all the anxiety.

Uh, thanks, Teacher, but It wasn't I who was asking these questions.

Just to clarify, there is no malaria shot nor a vaccine for malaria. The prophylaxis one takes for traveling is for rather short-term visits to infected areas. They cannot be taken indefinitely such as when you live in an infected area.

It is pretty late in the season, for sure, but vacancies do come open for various reasons as people's circumstances change (or, sometimes, they just change their minds). While you don't have a ton of experience, math teachers are often hard to come by so I think your chances are better than even IF you will broaden your horizons beyond Europe. A lot of people want to teach in Europe. You do NOT, as some will suggest, have to set your sights on lousy schools to get your foot in the door. But most of us will tell you it really pays to be open-minded about locations, and that a good school in a city you hadn't considered before might turn out to be a good fit. Figure out first what your absolute no-gos are (Mongolia, say, or Tangier) and then look at some countries that might appeal to you.

Good list from Mathgym. My must-takes were a down pillow (can't stand foam), all my shoes and most of my clothes as I'm tall and thin, and, like MG--stuff for Mexican food. The Old El Paso brand (for beans and some sauces) is one I have found in several countries, but specialty chiles and real tortillas traveled to other continents with me (much to the amusement of my favorite tortilla maker). Also, a supply of any toiletries that you don't want to compromise on (mine is Oil of Olay) until you can locate it locally.

The salary doesn't say it all, in my opinion. The cost of living might allow you to save a substantial amount. I was making a little more than that at my last job, with housing included, and saved about 50% over the two years I was there.

I don't see how vacancies equate with being fifth-rate, either. There is a shortage of qualified math teachers who can teach at that level. If anything, perhaps those schools are more selective than just wanting a warm body in front of the class.