PsyGuy wrote:
> @angelica1981
>
> No its not. Its not about what ISs want or prefer or are used to doing, its
> about governments and the rules (laws) and regulations.
>
> No its not. EU vacancies on SA are a small percentage of their vacancies
> about 15%. Non-EU citizens and those not already in possession of valid
> working papers are at a great disadvantage in obtaining EU positions. There
> are exceptions and Im sure your convinced with your @Thames Pirate tale of
> how easy it is to get employed in the EU, its just not the case and this is
> true for all ISs.

Oh, OK, so I've hallucinated my entire experience and all observations of my current school and dozens of other ISs in the EU. Right.

PsyGuy, I'm willing to bet that I've spent more years in the EU than you have done.

Why is the two syllable word beginning with a 'v', describing a submicroscopic infectious agent of the sort that has caused so much global chaos in the past year, banned from posts? I notice that the word was removed from my previous post. I can't understand what is objectionable about this word, especially since it is so commonplace and discussed so often nowadays.

ISR MODERATOR RESPONSE: This is interesting. It appears that PHPBB forums (the software we are running) has incorporated a spam filter prepopulated with the word v1rus.

Don't do it. Stay safe. I know a former colleague who was suffering from long Covid for many months and just learned she has heart damage from the .. This is a young-ish woman who used to be healthy. It just isn't worth it. If you get the ., you will probably be OK, but then again you might be permanently affected, and no new school is going to support you or pay for health insurance if that happens. This is not a time to take risks.

secondplace wrote:
> @angelica1981 - nope, @psyguy is right on this one.
>
> Schools may wish to continue as though the UK is part of the EU. I might
> wish that.
>
> The reality is that it's not and it's what governments decide, not what
> schools would prefer, that counts here.

I am not an EU citizen and I work at an IS in the EU. It was easy to get this job and the process for obtaining a work visa was smooth and efficient because the school is accustomed to making it happen. The school contacted ME through SEARCH, and they were well aware of my non-EU passport prior to inviting me to interview. I am not a shortage subject teacher. Most of my colleagues here are not EU citizens, either.

And our school is not atypical. I/we know MANY non-EU citizens working at international schools in the EU both in the same city and in the country and countries around us. Sorry, but it just isn't true that these schools are recruiting EU citizens first. I think the bigger, most competitive schools in the EU are primarily concerned with obtaining native English speaking, highly qualified teachers from a range of countries. I can't speak for the tiny, cash-strapped schools for which obtaining visas, etc would be more of a hardship.

I am sure there are many non-EU passport holders on this board who are working at EU ISs.

PsyGuy wrote:
> @angelica1981
>
> Why the UK isnt part of the EU.
>
> No there arent, they comprise a small minority.

It isn't now, but it recently was, and I think schools long accustomed to using it are continuing to do so.

Sorry, but you are wrong on this one. I've been in the EU for a long time and know a lot of people at many schools here. I am sure some of the smaller schools that are struggling the most financially may be reluctant to hire non-EU teachers because of the expense and hassle, but the majority are happy to do so.

PsyGuy wrote:
> @angelica1981
>
> Well they are. While Im sure your experiences are valid, you can easily go
> to a jobs board such as TES, which is free to access, and examine EU
> vacancies and find that quite often the requirements list possession of
> valid working papers or an EU passport as one of the job requirements.

I don't think that the fact schools posting on TES want EU passports means that all or even most schools have that restriction. The TES is a UK site, so it makes sense that schools only wanting EU passport holders post there.

There are plenty of schools in the EU with non-EU passport teachers.

PsyGuy wrote:
> Its pretty common actually. Most EU ISs have some form of union or labor
> regulation that requires equal treatment (coin and benefits) among like
> workers, and they often use the passport as the determining factor not
> physical location in determining LH from OSH.
>
> Its not something you can choose though. Its not the same scenario when
> traveling that you can choose which passport you want to travel on. You
> cant choose which passport your going to work on. If you have an EU
> passport your considered an EU citizen for this purpose regardless of if
> you have another passport thats not an EU passport.
>
> The EU generally doesnt provide housing, your healthcare is whatever the
> national plan is and in the vast majority of cases the salaries are the
> same. The only real difference is a flight benefit and more importantly
> your tax situation.
>
> If you want to teach in the Eu having an EU passport is like having a
> golden ticket. Many ISs will not or can not hire someone without valid
> working papers for the country or an EU passport.

Interesting. My school in the EU has no problems with non-EU passports. Almost half of our teachers are non-EU. This has been the case in the other EU schools where I've worked too, so I don't think that it is true that non-EU passport holders are at a significant disadvantage in all EU countries.

shadowjack wrote:
> Most of my schools the load has been 3/4 daily, or 75% overall at
> secondary. My present schoo is 5/8. My very first post awhile in the past
> was 4/8.

Sorry, does 3/4 daily mean three or four periods per day, or does it mean three fourths of the available class periods per day? So, for example, 6 out of 8 daily class periods?

Rhysboy wrote:
> Does this apply to all international schools in Switzerland or just
> boarding schools?

I don't know about the non-boarding international schools, but I would suggest that if you are considering one, you look into the cost of living in relation to salary and taxes in the area. You won't have a housing allowance and Switzerland is super expensive.

If you are secondary, how many class periods per week do you teach? Are you upper school or primary?

What do you consider an acceptable number of contact periods with students per week?

fine dude wrote:
> Don't forget that moving on for just the sake of it could hurt you in the
> long term. You may not advance on the salary scale as planned or have to
> work under inexperienced department heads. Both of these will affect your
> saving potential and peace of mind. There is very few greener pastures in
> international teaching currently.

'...very few greener pastures in international teaching currently'.

Yes, this. More than in any other year, I would advise remembering this. I don't think this is a good year to be making a blind jump. If you can stand your current working conditions, I would suggest hanging on for now. I know multiple teachers who are currently wondering if they will be able to get into their new countries in time for the next school year, and a few more who have had new contracts cancelled.

I work for a director who does this to female staff and I hate it. We all hate it. Someone wrote about it in a review for him on ISR, but he keeps doing it. He is a large man and it is intimidating to be grabbed and pulled in for an unwanted hug but he is also easily offended and no teacher wants to get on his bad side.

unsure wrote:
> Rhysboy wrote:
> > But I’ve heard that teachers salaries are high to offset the cost of living?
>
> Bare in mind that the monthly minimum wage in Switzerland where these schools are is
> between 3800 to 4000 Eur ($4500 - $4800) - so many of these 'schools' pay their
> teachers barely above the minimum wage.
>
> The issue is that most of the bottom tier schools in Switzerland are for profit
> boarding schools. They charge exorbitant fees (often in the 100s of thousands of US$
> / CHF), pay their teachers less than the day schools, and treat the teachers
> extremely badly. They're often for profit money making machines, that hire
> semi-qualified teachers, and take on the children of the wealthy that the genuinely
> good boarding schools around the world don't want. While there are some exceptions to
> this, it does seem to be a very popular business model in Switzerland.

Yes, this was what I observed. And I wasn't even at a bottom tier school. It was like a posh social club for wealthy children, and the teachers were like servants. A low point for me was having to clean up vomit left by a bulimic student we weren't permitted to speak to about her bulimia. The housekeeping staff had refused to clean up any more vomit themselves. It was the least enjoyable teaching experience of my career.

PsyGuy wrote:
> @EyEyEy
>
> Those arent wrong, they are wrong for you. Swiss boarding ISs can be
> amazing great places to work and an IT can save a lot at them. You cant
> save what you dont earn. There are ISs that provide boarding for the IT as
> part of the contract saving a considerable amount of coin in expenses.
>
> Im going to keep focusing on salary, do you repp most ITs, that you can
> claim most ITs primary concern is savings, or is that just something you
> think?
>
> @clarita
>
> I concur to the extent, it depends what your idea of fun is. The night life
> isnt going to compare to BKK, but it does exist. You can be bored in
> Switzerland, but you can also be very satisfied with your personal life,
> how much you have to put into that depends on what type of person you are
> and what you consider entertainment.


What EyEyEy wrote is also true for me, and for my former colleagues, and all the other teachers I met at other Swiss boarding schools, so that's quite a few teachers.

Which Swiss boarding ISs 'can be amazing great places to work', PsyGuy? Because from my experience, and that of the others with whom I worked and those I knew at other Swiss ISs, the life of a teacher working on boarding was a small kind of hell. No private life, pressure to be available even when off hours, very poor work-life balance.

One school in Dubai's offer of free housing was really a bedroom in a flat shared with three other teachers! The director tried to convince me this was a good offer because Dubai was so great I wouldn't be spending much time in my flat anyway.

A school in South America offered me a position as a primary years class teacher. I am a secondary teacher. When I saw the salary I understood why they were having problems finding qualified people to fill the vacancies.