A few years ago I was just out of University and in the poorhouse and I didn't think twice about paying for Search. If it gives me even a small advantage, or even peace of mind, it be worth the money (coin).

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of multiple members of the ISR forum.

I don't know why people are splitting hairs over the use of the term Ivy to generalize the most elite universities in the world. It is pretty easy to understand what Psyguy means, even if the term is being applied in a more general way. But there are also plenty of "name" schools with prestige like UCLA and they are going to give you a leg up with recruiters, so no way are all non Ivy masters created equal.

Dubai. Lots of expats and there is no local dating pool.

National Board Certification will also allow you to clear a CA credential without all the beginning teacher induction paperwork. You have 5 years to clear the preliminary credential.

Grades have inflated everywhere, but it has not been uniform. Some schools hold onto higher standards, but it is in a school's best interest to inflate grades. This is certainly going to help your students get into university. It is rarely going to get back to the school community that your "A" students are not well prepared for college.

I would argue that students can be made to understand where they are academically, even if their grade doesn't really reflect that. There is a wealth of external assessments to help universities deal with the fact that grading is completely inconsistent between schools, but the admissions officers cant help being swayed a a bunch of A's on a transcript.

You can be a curmudgeon and fight administrators about grades, but it is a losing battle. I personally am willing to fight with parents and students about grades, but if an administrator wanted something changed then I would do it. It is just a grade, and you are not saving the world by handing out low grades.

Maybe at the worst bottom feeder schools non-paying parents are treated differently, but this is something I have never heard of. I would absolutely approach the music teacher with questions. My daughter's piano teacher is fully booked up before the start of every school year, so it is a good idea to find out about private teachers in your new destination. In many countries the best Anglophone tutors are in high demand. Most teachers will welcome a student who is passionate about their particular subject area.

It also depends on your marital status. A teaching couple with two kids will be able to save at least one of their salaries per year in Bangadesh (50k?), put their kids in very good school with other highly motivated students, and travel regularly. There would also be the benefits of cooks, nannies and housekeepers, which are really nice if you have children. In Seattle the family would have to live in a very expensive area in order to get their kids into the best public schools. Childcare would be expensive and there is always stuff to spend your money on in the USA. No Amazon.com in Bangladesh, and you would struggle to spend much money.

Teacher with a non-teaching spouse would not do as well in Bangladesh. There is little chance the spouse would be able to find a decent paying job, and from what I've heard they would likely be bored out of their mind.

A single teacher would probably be bored in Bangladesh, and they could live in Seattle in a cheaper neighborhood with lesser schools (and hopefully commute to work at one of the better schools).

For a teaching couple a good overseas post is going to be hard to beat financially. If you want stability and tenure then sure, DT is the way to go. I have also seen a number of colleagues go back to the USA recently and land jobs at good domestic schools via Skype interviews.

PsyGuy...

It is not realistic to just compare take home salary to decide if teachers are taking a pay cut. In Washington DC and San Francisco where I spend my summers it is virtually impossible to save a single penny or afford to travel as a teacher.

No offense meant Binky...I was merely answering your questions. You obviously don't agree with my answers....but as PsyGuy also said, economists have not had success answering your second question.

I enjoyed this article the other day, and I thought it might add some fuel to the fire, since multinationals play a large role in many of our schools.

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/ ... eat-global

From Binky:
"Again, here are are the questions: Why are the IT salaries going down? What will this market be in twenty years? Economists, (it goes without saying, that this answer will come with data) can you answer?

And here is a simple explanation of why you are wasting our time."

Psyguy...
I certainly did not say data is worthless. Quite the opposite. I said you would not find it on this forum, as nobody is going to take the time to write a research paper in response to a completely unanswerable question like: "is IT still a good career?"

I certainly welcome any data, as I enjoy reading economist predictions of the future. I also cited a feature in the Economist magazine (not Forbes), because it is good reading on this subject. The OP is obviously not a subscriber to the AEA journal or any publication that is "serious" by your standards.

Blinky, you are asking for an in depth economic -, and then chastising people for not answering your questions with charts and graphs. I am merely pointing out that it is unlikely that someone would go to all that trouble. Did you check out that Economist feature I mentioned in an earlier reply to your post? That is a good place to start if you want some data and some easy to digest economics.

@blinky

It is said that economists have predicted 11 of the last 7 economic crises. It doesn't matter how much data you have, the world is unpredictable, and it is a common fallacy to think markets will continue to behave the same ways they have in the past. Experts also have a poor track record for predicting the hot employment fields of the future. If it were that easy then we would all encourage our children to go into some easy to access field where they can live the good life.

As for data, there are literally thousands of economists pouring over mountains of data all the time. You can read well-researched articles and books all day if you want to go deeper into the data side. You are not going to get that on an internet forum. The whole global economy, cultural preferences, demographic trends etc is involved in your question, so maybe you are expecting a very complex answer. But what everyone has observed is that today there are more talented teachers competing for the same number of "good jobs." That is the kind of information that you will only find on a specialized forum like this.

And if any of us could predict future markets with accuracy we would already be very wealthy.

A few things that might pertain to teaching at international schools...

Lately there has been a lot of talk of increased protectionism in global trade, and this would obviously affect the number of expat families who would be paying tuition at the top schools. I am at a US embassy school, so I was also alarmed by Trump's announcement that his administration would try to cut the State Department budget by 37%. The Economist Magazine had a big feature at the end of January on the decline of the multinational corporation. I have been at a school where a major multinational pulled out and it had a huge effect on the enrollment.

These trends don't make the future look too rosy, and most people agree the IT scene is already getting more competitive. In 2007 when I moved abroad I had the director of Shanghai American school calling me at home multiple times. I had less than a year of teaching experience. (I didn't get the job.) Now they won't even talk to someone who has less than 5 years of teaching experience. Jobs at top schools have become much more competitive in the last ten years, and this could certainly continue. I am not too worried because teachers are still going to be in demand, and you can always repatriate to your home country if things don't work out abroad. It is still a good career choice, but not as easy as it once was.

Wow, relax! I have a business education, and no economists do not have a crystal ball, and in both my posts I described the current market changes that affect IT.

@blinky

This forum is not that big, and telling people to buzz off your thread because you assume they are not "economics or business people" if seriously obnoxious. You have no idea what any of our qualifications are, and you are not going get people to present their CV before responding to your thread.

I have to agree with Thames Pirate on people feeling entitled in international teaching. There are good jobs out there, and if you can land one that is great, but if you can't it doesn't mean you deserve that big paycheck and are somehow being taken advantage of.

There are plenty of really good, well paying schools out there where you can still save a ton of money. The number of international schools is growing rapidly, but most of these new schools are catering to host country nationals, and are not as desirable. As more people go into international teaching the competition for jobs at the top schools increases. The career is not dead by any means, but that great job is no longer easy to land. If you only want to work at a top school you need to do an honest self-assessment of your abilities and qualifications and see if you stack up to the competition.