I would say it depends more on the curriculum the school uses. If a school uses a UK curriculum, they are likely to lean toward hiring teachers from the UK. Brunei is such a small country that there may not be a market for an American school in addition to English, Canadian, Australian, etc. schools.

My situation is that I have been teaching part-time for an online school in the Sates for many years. It's pretty slow during the regular school year - I may be responsible for at most 7 students at a time who are all working at their own pace. It's strictly grading and answering any questions they have by email. There's no direct instruction. There are a lot more students during the summer (mostly kids recovering credit for a course they failed during the year). I could be responsible for as many as 100 students during the summer. It's very lucrative, especially during the summer, and I wouldn't be willing to give it up in order to work for an IS. It's part of how I intend to have a wider array of options of schools. Without that gig, I would have a lot more financial limitations as to which schools/regions I would be able to work for.

I believe it was a GEMS school in the UAE that I read about being very strict with the "no outside work" rule. I understand not being allowed to tutor or otherwise work in the country, but I'm wondering if since the work is technically in a different country if it would be subject to the same rules. I'm sure it varies widely by school, if it's something that most schools tend to turn a blind eye to, I may choose to omit my online work experience from my résumé in order to keep suspicions low. It still just makes me really nervous to not follow the rules in another country, though!

I've read in some reviews that schools frown upon or prohibit working outside the school (i.e. tutoring). I'm sure it varies, but does that rule tend to be decided on a school-by-school basis or is it by country? Would schools take the same take on working during the summers in your home country or teaching online for a school in your home country? I also understand that some schools enforce it more strictly than others. I would just be nervous to break labor laws in another country or be in violation of my contract.

In considering which regions/countries I would be interested in working in, the biggest deal breaker has been the requirement for dogs to arrive as cargo or be subjected to quarantine upon arrival. I have traveled with my 10 lb. dog as carry-on luggage within the U.S. several times before with no problems. I just had to pay a $100-$200 fee. Each airline has its own policies on accepting carry-on pets and I am willing to research and select the airline that will be most accommodating, but as I understand it certain countries (UAE and Oman, to name a few) will only allow pets to be imported as cargo and other countries have required quarantine time, regardless of the health of the dog (China and several small island nations). I've read too many horror stories about dogs escaping while in cargo or arriving dead or injured and the same could be said for quarantine. While I'm sure only the bad stories are reported, I just don't think I could subject my dog to either of those situations knowing the risks.

In the U.S., it is not uncommon for people to have a psychiatrist prescribe and register a dog as an "emotional support animal" in order to have the same benefits that someone with a service dog for a physical disability (like blindness) might have. In terms of air travel, this means they would avoid the $100-$200 fee and be allowed to have the dog travel in the cabin and be out its crate. Airlines are too worried about being sued for denying the rights of someone with a disability. While I've never done it myself and I feel that it is morally questionable, at best, to "fake a disability" in order to avoid paying $100, I would be willing to consider it in the name of the health and safety of my dog if it would allow him to bypass quarantine or avoid having to fly as cargo.

My questions is this: has anyone done this or heard of someone else doing this while traveling internationally to avoid quarantine or cargo requirements? I'm sure it varies by country since not all countries are as concerned about the rights of the disabled as we are in the U.S. Have you heard of any other creative ways that people have avoided restrictions on traveling with animals?

First of all, if you're not a U.S. citizen it would be almost impossible to find a job in the Sates. Schools in the States will not provide housing. If it's a public school, they will provide schooling for your kids. They have to - it's the law. Some schools can get pretty desperate to fill maternity leaves. They would prefer a local candidate with a teaching license, but more often then not it ends up being anyone who can pass a background check. If I were a principal, I know I would prefer to fill a maternity leave with someone who WANTS a short term placement rather than someone who is forced to settle for one because they couldn't find a full time job. Unlike private international schools in other countries, public schools in the States almost always pay more (sometimes way more) than private schools, but just like with international schools, it pays to do your research. There are some excellent public schools and there are some pretty terrible ones.

Why not go back to the States? Schools are always in need of people to cover maternity leaves and many never actually find a qualified candidate to do it.

Technically summer pay is payment for services already rendered throughout the school year, so they ought to still pay you. Summer pay is not a "bonus." It would depend on the integrity of the school and unfortunately, unless you're in WE, you probably don't have lot of recourse if they decide not to pay you.

Regardless... point being there's really no way to have a new job lined up before you officially resign from your old one? Has anyone found a way to get around that? Has anyone left a job and decided to take a year off from IT (maybe return to the U.S. for year) due to not being able to find a job they were happy with?

When you make the decision not to renew a contract with your current IS, how often do you already have a job lined up at another school? From what I can tell, most schools expect you to re-sign (or not) at the beginning of December, right before fair season. Is there any way to (respectably) search for another IT job without having to give up your current contract? As a teacher in the States, I couldn't fathom quitting the job I have now without having already been offered another. I guess maybe it's just another difference/risk one must accept in order to take this career path.

If you interview with a school, get an offer, and then turn them down, have you pretty much burned the bridge with that school should you decide you may want to work for them in the future (say later in the recruiting season that year or in future years)?

I've seen some comments about the UNI fair not being one of the preferred fairs for more experienced ITs. A lot of the negativity seems to be centered around the quality of schools that tend to attend. Nevertheless, there are quite a few schools registered for it this year that I would be interested in (though I won't be attending any fairs until next recruiting season). With it being later in the season (early February), is it fair to say schools may be a little less selective at that fair? I also fear that waiting for that fair is a little risky since a lot of positions would likely have been filled by that time. Can anyone who has attended this fair speak to those questions?

It seems that cost of living in a lot of African cities is considerably higher than one might expect. Can anyone recommend any schools/cities/countries in Africa that have favorable COL rates compared to the salary/package offered?

Does anyone know of some schools with compound housing outside of Saudi? The only one I've found is Riffa Views in Bahrain. I believe part of the confusion is that they don't always refer to it as a "compound" since that might not sound very appealing. Riffa Views is a "gated golf course community."

I've read some posts indicating that safety has become somewhat of a concern in Bahrain. Violent protests? I also seem to remember something about these protests being scheduled in advance and posted in public to let you know where to avoid. Does anyone know anything about that?

From what I've read, it seems like most would consider Oman or Jordan the safest countries to work in in the ME. I'm not as sure about UAE. It's probably pretty safe, but I've heard some horror stories about the types of kids you are expected to teach in a lot of the UAE schools. (Extremely rich, parents view teachers like another one of their servants - cook, housekeeper, gardner, teacher, etc.)

Does anyone have any experience taking any of the Teacher Training Center courses with the Principal's Training Center (PTC)? Are they valuable from a marketability standpoint? I'm currently teaching in the U.S. but I aspire to be an IT within in the next few years and I'm wondering if taking few of their summer courses and/or getting the TTC Certificate of International Teaching would make me stand out a little bit more as a teacher without any international teaching experience.