I would concur with Nomad68's lifestyle choices. If the school does not provide secured compound housing, you'd want to live where that is provided. Also, if you haven't been there, it's hard to imagine how conspicuous you can feel, even wearing an abaya. Having a compound where you can wear shorts, swim in a swimsuit, and move about without feeling on display is an essential part of expat life there. I would want that even more in Riyadh, because you cant easily get away the way you can to Bahrain if you live in Dhahran.

For in-country terrorism, I think it does matter that there hasn't been an attack since 2007. There are threats and comments against Westerners that we heard about, but the violence there was Shiite vs. Suni or skirmishes on the borders. In terms of being targeted as an individual, I never felt that. In terms of being targeted as a Western teacher at an international school, there were threats that were raised. That's the thing about violence...it's not a problem until it's a problem. That's true if you're mugged in Boston, raped in LA, or attacked in Riyadh. I believe in being careful and taking precautions, but staying out of Saudi is not a guarantee that you are safer than you are in other places from violent crime.

We have always used Search, but we go for jobs ourselves. We have seen jobs listed on Search and had schools tell us they're not available, and seen jobs on school websites that are not on Search. I like the fair access and we use the database a lot (with a grain of salt as to the numbers) but we pursue jobs directly through schools as well. We do always tell them that we are connected with Search as it's an easy place to access confidential recommendations. I'm not sure how I would handle that. I don't think that the cost to register with Search is that big of a deal, considering the decisions that you're making in overseas jobs. We were cold-called by the first school we worked at, used the job fair for the 2nd job, and went independent for the 3rd one.

We were a family of 5 living in Beijing for 5 years on 1 salary. Of course it depends on the school, but housing was covered, utilities were in affordable range, we owned a car, and traveled every Christmas break. Flights home in the summer. My husband got cancer when he was there and the treatment there and in the US (rounds of chemo + a stem cell transplant) was almost nothing out of pocket. In Saudi it was very similar--except there's nothing to spend $$ on so we saved even more. Our annual flight allowance covered the cost of our family flying home twice a year if we wanted it to. Singles in both places managed to travel most of their breaks and continue to save.

We have friends teaching at NIST and ISBangkok and used to be at Taipei and Jakarta and report similar savings.

I would say that you are not in more danger in Riyadh than in Europe or the States right now. Yes, there were bombing of mosques last year and yes, there is some violence there (including violence) and yes, there are skirmishes in areas year the Yemeni border. But whether you're more in danger in your daily lives than random terrorist violence in Riyadh than in a random city in Europe or stacked against a random shooting in the US...I would say no. Of course, anything can happen anywhere, but the Brits and Americans take security pretty seriously!

We lived in Saudi the last 2 years (in Dhahran) and have friends currently in Riyadh who attend the American school there. IF that's the school you're looking at, the compound is plush and very secure. Saudi tends to be a relatively safe place--it's hard to think about breaking the law when the penalties are so harsh! That being said, there's a definite uptick in nervousness right now--when we visited in Riyadh the very large security presence, especially around the diplomatic quarter, was very noticeable.

We lived where we could get away to Bahrain pretty easily on the weekends which was great. Life in Saudi is very restrictive and, with the prayer schedule, restrictions on women (and driving), segregated restaurants, no bars, no movies, etc. it has a big impact on daily life. People who have been there with younger children have found it to be a great place to raise kids--those of us with teens found it much more challenging.

I don't think we'd ever return to Saudi, but more for the restrictive lifestyle than for security reasons.

We lived there for 5 years and really liked it. The pollution is everything that people say that it is, and it really does actively bother some people, but many others, not so much. If you're single you're likely to live closer in to downtown, even if you're at ISB or WAB, which are out near the airport. If you enjoy exercising outdoors or biking, that will def. be compromised and you'll need high-quality air filters in your apartment. ISB has hospital quality air filters in their school, which is great, but others probably don't have that.

Beijing is affordable, esp. on the WAB/ISB salaries (not sure about the others) and you can travel, shop, and have a lot of fun there. China is crowded, polluted and frustrating at times, but also amazingly fascinating. From where we lived near the airport, we could be at the Wall in an hour, and find places to hike easily. I would recommend it!

I would think most schools have had their teachers given notice by now, so postings should be very soon up...unless schools are lax about advertising. I've often seen jobs on school websites that are not on Search, and vice-versa. It's a pain, but I always check both when looking for jobs.

International School of Beijing has full-time Mandarin teachers--several at each division level and includes IB Mandarin as it's taught from the beginning through grade 12. I would assume WAB, Shanghai, Concordia (Shanghai), HKIS and a number of other schools in China would offer full-time Mandarin positions. Singapore also requires its schools to do Mandarin, so the internationals schools there would probably offer Mandarin.

I wouldn't use the word "elite" since that's subjective--unless you are are at such a well known school that everyone knows it's an elite school. If you mentioned it, you would probably want to mention whatever specifics make it so--test scores, etc.

An international school typically is one that doesn't follow the national or state curriculum. It might be an IB school, for example. You could look at Atlanta International School, for example or comparison.

You'd probably be better off referencing your school as a "rigorous college prep school" and stay focused on your own skills and what you've contributed. They're hiring you, not your school's reputation.

It's really hard to quantify--but there is a big factor on "fit." I worked for 5 years at a top tier Asian school. People with outstanding qualifications and experience were hired--but so were teachers with 3 years of experience in the States. One year there was a decision to work to have more male elementary teachers, so that was a focus. One of the qualities that all the teachers I worked with that were hired was the ability to hit the ground running, to fit in and contribute from day 1. There are skills a good school can teach, but there are other skills that really can't be easily taught that teachers are bringing to the table. I don't think "good fit" trumps experience, but given that so many teachers apply with similar experiences--schools have transient populations--the ability to jump in, fit in, start strong, and contribute is important.

We were in Saudi and the money was great. Salary was high, our flight allowance basically covered the cost of 2 flights home, our school had leaving bonuses based on how long you worked there. Housing provided, all utilities paid for (except internet). Because there are no clubs/bars/movies, there's not much to spend money on there. Close to Europe for getting away. The down side, of course, is that life in Saudi is tough, for the very reasons you can save money there. There are an awful lot of people though, that stay on to watch the money pile up.

The actual salary was close to what we were making in China, though--but it was harder to save there because there was so much more to spend money on--travel, furniture, jewelry, entertainment, etc. The perks of the oversized flight allowance, no utilities, and the leaving/resigning bonuses and lack of spending opportunities made us make out better in Saudi (easily living on 1 or less than 1 salary with a family of 4-5).

I lived in Beijing and there were a couple clinicians set up making out very well there working with children from the schools (and probably adults). Some of the big areas don't have therapists with western experience or who speak English really fluently so, assuming you get through whatever hoops there are to doing business there, you could be fine.

For schools, I think it would really depend on the needs of the schools. The pressure of college and managing that process is big and may trump having a great mental health background. At a middle school level (or a big school with multiple high school counselors) a mental health background that including counseling might be desirable. I think it's what the admin perceive they need (which is not always the same as the actual need). If your background was working with children and you are applying for that same age range, you'd have a better chance.

And also know that counseling involves a lot of other things that aren't counseling--counselors I've worked with oversee standardized testing, supervise the admissions process, lead parent coffees, etc. and some have found it hard to carve out the actual time needed to work with children. You would want to know exactly what the job duties entail--and know that counselors get a lot of stuff thrown at them along the way. Good luck!

It's not late, it's just beginning. The top tier schools (esp. in Asia) get a fast jump on things, true, but even they do hiring all through the major part of the season (November through maybe end of February). After that, things may get harder, but the forum is full of stories of people who have been hired all spring.

The tricky part now is that if you are going to register with Search or ISS it takes a certain amount of time to get all the paperwork they require ready before you are officially hooked up with them. Some of the big fairs may be full or almost full soon, too, so you need to take that into consideration with the timing. Good luck!

That's good to know. I thought I would have to recontact my references, after asking them for Search references, and then again and again for each Schrole school and so we avoided Schrole schools in our last search. If Schrole keeps the references and I only have to re-ask references one time (after Search) that would be great.

I am currently in Brazil, coming from the ME. If there's one thing being in the ME taught me was that money is not everything. It was great to see my bank account, but stacking it against professional torpor? Against falling behind what is going on in good schools in other areas of the world? Against watching our own kids receive an education that we know was not what it should be? That all forced us away, much more than the restrictive lifestyle and political climate. We are taking a money hit in Brazil, but hoping that things will get better. Meanwhile, while we tighten our belts a bit, we are loving the energy and enthusiasm of our staff, the feeling of being challenged as a professional, and watching our kids thrive.

Keep in mind that the ME is an area and different countries do have different experiences...we would have stayed in the ME had we been able to move to Qatar, for example, to a school there. And, because we had had 7 years in the ME and China, we had put away the money that will allow us to be here in Brazil. Those are personal choices that you have to decide.